CEO reviews poll preparation
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR
Imphal, December 20 2021:
Chief Electoral Officer, (CEO) Manipur Rajesh Agrawal has asked District Election Officers (DEOs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of the State to prepare strict election management plans in their respective districts for smooth conduct of the forthcoming general elections to the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
The CEO was addressing a review meeting on election preparedness which was held today at the conference hall of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Lamphelpat.
Rajesh Agrawal informed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) team may visit the State at the beginning of next month.
He said that more meetings for DEOs and SPs will be conducted.
He instructed the DEOs and SPs to discuss the facts and share ideas during the meetings.
The CEO further pointed out that with 90 days in hand to complete the whole process of election by March 19, 2022, it is important that every DEO and SP put forth his/her doubts and issues regarding conduct of election and raise it during the meeting.
This will help in coming up with a common understanding of the situation prevalent in the districts in general and will also aid in resolving any similar situations on time, the CEO said.
Emphasising on the importance of election preparedness, he said that everything needs to be set ready on time for the upcoming election.
Nodal Officer for law and order, ADGP L Kailun, highlighting the importance of maintaining law and order in the State specially during the upcoming election, confirmed the statement of the CEO regarding the issues and problems prevailing in all the districts.
Kailun, while expressing concern on the porous inter-State and international borders and rise of unwanted activities, advised the officials concerned to stay alert, cooperate and tie up with the Central forces to check illegal movements.
He also asked the officials to keep a tab on the rising trend of political clashes in the State.
He told the DEOs and the SPs that such activities need to be checked and contained at the initial stage before they become more complicated.
In order to ensure smooth conduct of election, early planning is required in far flung areas of the State where there is slow and poor communication and where connectivity problems prevail.
He stressed that data on deposition of firearms for each district is the key indicator for proper management and maintenance of law and order.
Powerpoint presentations (PPTs) were the main highlights of the review meeting with interaction among the officials.
The presentations were made by Joint Secretary Election, K Bono Singh on postal ballots/ETPBS; SNO, EEM, Bingku Konsam on election expenditure management and SNO, MCC, Yasser Ahmed on model code of conduct.
DEOs of Churachandpur, Imphal West, Senapati, Bishnupur, Tamenglong, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kangpokpi, Jiribam and Chandel also gave powerpoint presentations on district election management plans and raised all issues that could be challenging for them in carrying out poll process.
The review meeting was attended by Additional CEO, Naorem Praveen Singh, Joint CEO Ramananda Nongmeikapam, Joint CEO (II) Md S Daulat Khan, Coordinator, PMC & Nodal Officer (Media), W Phajatombi and officials concerned.