E-Paper
Observers appointed for local body elections in Haryana
These observers have been assigned responsibilities across three key categories to oversee all aspects of election management
Haryana’s state election commissioner Devinder Singh Kalyan on Friday said that general, police and expenditure observers have been appointed for the May 10 municipal corporation, municipal council and municipal committee elections to ensure that the polls are conducted in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner with strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
Kalyan said that the Commission has deployed senior IAS, IPS and HCS officers in Ambala, Panchkula, Sonepat and other concerned districts to monitor every stage of the election process.
These observers have been assigned responsibilities across three key categories to oversee all aspects of election management. The general observers, who are senior IAS/HCS officers, will function as representatives of the Commission at the ground level. They will supervise the randomisation of EVMs and polling personnel, oversee the nomination process and scrutiny of nomination papers, ensure availability of basic facilities at polling stations and report any irregularity or attempt to influence voters to the Commission.
The police observers, who are senior IPS/HPS officers, will monitor law and order and security arrangements. They will assess the sensitivity of polling stations, review deployment of police forces and home guards, ensure strict enforcement of prohibitory orders on liquor and arms and oversee the single-window system for granting permissions for rallies and use of loudspeakers.
Similarly, expenditure observers will work to curb the influence of money power in elections and monitor candidates’ daily expenditure registers and ensure adherence to prescribed expenditure limits. All these observers will remain deployed in their respective districts until the completion of the counting process on May 13, 2026.
The mayoral post in Ambala has been reserved for women belonging to Backward Classes Block-B (BC-B), while the mayoral seats in Panchkula and Sonepat remain unreserved.
