By-poll ill-timed, assert CSOs
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 29 2020:
CCSK, HERICOUN, LIPUL, MMWO and UCM have questioned the move to hold by-election to the vacant Assembly seats of the State at a time when COVID-19 infection is at its peak with the number of deaths on the rise.
The civil bodies said it is ill-timed and it should be deferred until the situation improves.
Those MLAs have resigned from their positions with a selfish motive to gain power without even giving a thought to the sufferings of the people during this time of pandemic.
Conducting the bye-election in favor of re-electing them does not make any sense and it is ill-timed when the spread of the virus is at its peak, said the CSOs.
According to experts, the highest number of infections and deaths may be reported in the month of October.
The State Government's readiness to face these kinds of impact is still questionable and also adding to the woes is the inadequate health facility of the State.
The situation is going to be very grim, it further said.
The move to hold bye-election amidst the trying situation by undermining all preventive and containment measures evokes a sreious question if the election is more important to the Centre and the State Government than the lives of the people.
"After going through the booklet issued by the Election Commission of India on broad guidelines for conduct of general elections and bye-elections during COVID-19, we feel that the SOP provided is not enough and holding the election will endanger lives of the people", said the CSOs.
Deployment of security personnel at schools, office buildings, etc in every Assembly segment will increase the chances of mass spreading of the virus.
There are many reports of transmission in large numbers among security personnel in camps, it said.
The ECI guideline allows door to door campaigns by candidates with five members and with security personnel which means the number might come to around 10 people.
If there are four candidates, that means 40 people will go for door to door campaigns and if there happens to be an asymptomatic COVID patient among them, there are high chances of transmission of COVID-19 at community level.
The ECI guideline also allows road shows.
But it remains a big question whether people would be allowed to join the road shows or not.
At a time when only 30 to 40 people are allowed even for death ceremonies, the ECI guideline allows election meetings, public gatherings/ralles, the CSOs pointed out.
The State Election Commission and the State Government should come up with an assessment report on whether the election will endanger the lives of the people or not before considering any other moves, they added.