Vijayawada: The State Election Commission (SEC) has decided to hold a meeting with the Chief Secretary, DGP, and collectors, and SPs of all the districts of the state to make arrangements to hold village Panchayat elections.
In a statement, the commission said that the apex court of the state had cleared the decks to hold the elections after taking into consideration the undertaking of the State government that it would take all possible steps for the organization of the elections. It said that the elections would be held in four phases.
The first phase of the elections would be held on February 5, 2021, the second phase on February 9, the third phase on February 14, and the fourth phase on February 17, 2021. The commission has said that it was more concerned about the safety of the poll staff and voters of the state. It said that the model code of conduct had come into effect as a sequel to the pronouncement of the judgment of the High Court.
HC asks Govt to hold panchayat elections without any problem
The High Court of the State today asked the state government and state election commission (SEC) to hold the Panchayat elections without any problem. The HC which heard the arguments on the appeal filed by the SEC two days back, delivered its verdict today. In its verdict, the HC made it clear that panchayat elections and public health were both important.
It said that there were no logical and pragmatic reasons to stay the conduct of the elections. “ The conduct of elections is important as per section 9 and 9A of the schedule of the Indian constitution. The people have the right to elect their public representatives. The final decision to hold the elections lies with the state election commission. The SEC has the same powers as the central election commission. The verdict of the single judge of this court is against the fundamental principles. It is not good to attribute Ill intentions to the commission. If the local body elections are held, the elected representatives would take the ongoing Covid 19 vaccination process forward.
There is no logic behind the contention of the state government to postpone the elections in the name of the vaccination. ,” the HC said. The division bench also said that the organization of the elections would be the right thing to do as the vaccination process would have to be held in a massive way in their phase.
