SILCHAR: Panchayat elections in Assam’s 27 districts will be conducted in two phases on May 2 and May 7, State Election Commissioner Alok Kumar said on Wednesday.
The first phase will cover the districts of Upper Assam and Barak Valley including Cachar, Hailakandi, Sribhumi, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur.
The second phase will cover districts including Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Bajali, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon and Darrang.
The votes will be counted on May 11, Kumar said.
Kumar said through the Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2023 provided the framework for the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVM) in local body elections, the panchayat elections in May will be conducted using traditional ballot papers.
Assam government undertook a fresh delimitation of Gaon Panchayat, Anchalik Panchayat, and Zilla Parishad constituencies in 2024, excluding areas under the Sixth Schedule and municipal regions.
Seven districts of the state are under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, where autonomous council polls are held, Kumar said.
Panchayat elections were initially scheduled to be held last year but were delayed due to the delimitation exercise in the state followed by several writ petitions filed in the Gauhati High Court, challenging the delimitation of some panchayats. The high court subsequently allowed the elections to be held except in the areas mentioned in nine writ petitions in Sribhumi, Hailakandi, Cachar and Morigaon.
Candidates with more than two living children born after March 2018 at the time of filing nomination are not eligible to contest.
{{/usCountry}}Candidates with more than two living children born after March 2018 at the time of filing nomination are not eligible to contest.
{{/usCountry}}Candidates for a Gaon Panchayat member are also required to have cleared the Class 10 examination However, candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and More Other Backward Classes (MOBC) should have studied up to Class 10.
Similarly, candidates for Zilla Parishad and Anchalik Panchayat should have passed Class 12 examination or equivalent examination under any council or board recognised by the State or central government.