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SGPC general poll: Now Sept 16 last date for voter registration
In view of the lukewarm response to enrolment for the ensuing Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) general elections, the Gurdwara Election Commission (GEC) has extended the last date for enrolling as a voter.
In view of the lukewarm response to enrolment for the ensuing Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) general elections, the Gurdwara Election Commission (GEC) has extended the last date for enrolling as a voter.
Earlier, July 31 was the last date, which has now been extended to September 16 this year, said Justice SS Saron, chief commissioner, gurdwara elections, while speaking over the phone.
The process for the registration of voters for the gurdwara elections has been in progress since October 21, 2023. The eligible voters for the SGPC house election were to be registered by November 15, 2023. The date was then extended to February 29, 2024, then April 30 and then July 31.
Justice Saron said, “The voter registration process was affected for almost five months from February to June 2024 as a result of the Lok Sabha elections and there had been negligible progress during the said period. To ensure adequate representation of the people in the electorate, it has been requested that the voter registration process be extended by at least a month”.
“…27,87,670 application forms have been received for the registration of voters till July 26, 2024. Religious and other organisations, besides, parties and prominent persons have represented for extension of the last date for the registration of voters,” he said.
The letter issued by the office of the chief commissioner, gurdwara elections, to commissioners (gurdwara elections) of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, reads, “The process has been somewhat steady and gradual. Many eligible voters have not got themselves registered as voters for the election of members of the new board (house), which is to be constituted. There appears to be a lack of enthusiasm in the public for the registration of voters. This may be due to there being not enough publicity by the government machinery to emphasise the need for the registration of eligible voters to elect representatives for the constitution of the SGPC board”.
The elections of the SGPC house are supposed to be held after five years as per law, but present general house of the gurdwara body was elected in 2011. Later, the Supreme Court (SC) in case of right to vote to ‘Sehajdhari Sikhs’ stayed the new house from taking over and asked the then executive to run the SGPC affairs.
In 2016, the SC reinstated the general house and disposed of the petition advocating the right to vote to ‘Sehajdhari Sikhs’ as the case became irrelevant following a new central law taking away their right.
As the elections have not been conducted for the last 13 years, nearly 28 members have died and two had resigned, said SGPC officials.
