CEO stresses on smooth conduct of assembly polls
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR

Imphal, December 20 2021: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manipur Rajesh Agrawal has advised District Election Officers (DEOs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of the state to make strict Election Management Plan in their respective districts for smooth conduct of forthcoming elections to Manipur Legislative Assembly, 2022.The CEO was addressing the Review Meeting on Election Preparedness held on Monday at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Lamphelpat.

Rajesh Agrawal informed that Election Commission of India (ECI) team may visit the state next month.

He said that more meetings for the DEOs and SPs will be conducted and instructed the DEOs and SPs to discuss the facts and interchange ideas expressed during the meeting.

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 situations prevalent in the districts in general and will also aid in resolving any similar situations on time.

Emphasising on the importance of election preparedness, he said that everything needs to be ready on time for the upcoming election.

Nodal Officer for Law and Order, ADGP L Kailun highlighted the importance of maintaining law and order in the state especially during the upcoming elections and confirmed the statement of the CEO regarding the issues and problems prevailing in all the districts.

Expressing concern over the porous 'state and international borders', and rise of unwanted activities, Kailun advised 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 trends of political clashes in the state and suggested that the DEOs and SPs do the needful to prevent any unwanted situation from getting complicated.

In order to ensure good 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 maintained and stressed that data on deposit of firearms for each district is the key indicator for proper management and maintenance of Law & Order.

PowerPoint Presentations (PPTs) were the main highlights of the Review Meeting.

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, Bishnupqr, Tamenglong, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kangpokpi, Jiribam and Chandel also placed their respective reports in the form of concrete District Election Management Plan (DEMP) and raised all issues that could be challenging for them in the conduct of the poll process.

The review meeting was attended by additional CEO Naorem Praveen Singh, joint CEO Ramananda Nongmeikapam, joint CEO (II) Md S Daulat Khan, PMC coordinator & nodal officer (Media), W Phajatombi and officials concerned.

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