Voting underway for historic civic body polls in Nagaland

KOHIMA: Polling was underway for elections to 25 civic bodies in Nagaland on Wednesday morning, amid tight security arrangements, an SEC official said.

This was a historic election in the northeastern state as the polling to three municipalities and 22 town councils was being conducted after a gap of 20 years.

The urban local body polls were being held for the first time with 33 per cent women reservation, said the official at the Nagaland State Election Commission.

The government had announced elections to urban local bodies several times in the past but objections from tribal bodies and civil society organisations against reservation for women, and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.

Voting began at 7.30 am and will continue till 4 pm.

"Polling has been peaceful so far. Security has been beefed up for the elections," the SEC officials said.

Over 2.23 lakh voters, including 1,13,521 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 523 candidates from 11 political parties.

Instead of EVMs, voting was being conducted in 420 polling stations through ballot papers, he said.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) has decided that the six districts in the region will not participate in the elections.

ENPO, the apex body of seven Naga tribes living in the six eastern districts, has been demanding a 'Frontier Nagaland Territory', claiming that the region has been neglected for years.

There are 14 town councils in the ENPO area. As many as 59 nominations were accepted from the area but the tribal bodies compelled the candidates to withdraw their nominations.

The ENPO also refrained from participating in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls for the lone seat in the state.