Joint CEO, staff requisition repoll vehicles
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 03 2012: With no vehicles available for transportation of polling parties to polling stations of Tamei AC and Senapati district, the Joint Chief Electoral Officer personally came out to roads for requisitioning vehicles along with police this morning.

Together with police, Joint CEO N Praveen requisitioned 43 vehicles and they were sent to Senapati and Tamenlong this morning itself for transportation of polling parties to polling stations of Tamei AC and Senapati district which would go to re-poll tomorrow.

Claiming that most of the polling parties have reached their designated polling stations, information received from election office said that five polling personnel including a presiding officer have been suspended for refusing to go for election duty.

The employees who have been suspended by an order issued by the District Election Officer yesterday are Presiding Officer M Madhuchandra (who works as a Research Analyst in Planning Department), polling officers N Ajit, S Hemanta, S Deban and polling peon L Ibotombi.

It is informed that for the fresh round of re-poll scheduled tomorrow, altogether 110 vehicles have been requisitioned and they have been sent to concerned District Election Officers.

Talking to The Sangai Express, Deputy Director (Transport) Shivadas Sharma said the vehicles requisitioned by the department included not only private vehicles but also Government vehicles.

In view of the inclement weather, some Shaktiman trucks have also been requisitioned so as to enable polling officials and polling materials reach remote polling stations in time.

For some remote polling stations of Tamenglong district, 15 Shaktiman trucks have been allotted to the concerned DEO for transportation of polling officials and materials.

Of the 110 vehicles requisitioned, 23 have been allotted to Chandel, 46 to Tamenglong, 27 to Senapati and three to Kangpokpi.

Some other vehicles have also been reserved for transportation of observers, said the Deputy Director.

The private vehicles requisitioned for the re-poll would be given fares fixed by the Government, he added.

Meanwhile, the joint CEO has instructed Returning Officers to exclude from counting all postal ballot papers in which the signatures of electors did not match.

MPP candidate Th Chaoba has also filed a complaint to the CEO in this regard.

On the other hand, peeved with exclusion of certain polling stations from the re-poll schedule, some people of Wabagai AC have formed a joint action committee and submitted a complaint to the CEO.

The complaint was lodged in protest against leaving out 12 polling stations of Wabagai AC from the re-poll even as complaints were filed about election malpractices in these polling stations earlier.

The JAC members who came in three buses were however stopped in front of the Secretariat by police.

Later, two representatives were allowed to called on the CEO and submit a memorandum.

The joint action committee christened JAC Against the Violation of Democracy in Wabagai AC maintained that agitation would be launched if their grievances are not addressed by the ECI and the CEO by 12 noon tomorrow.

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