Punjab local body polls to be held using ballot papers

Local body elections in Punjab will be held using ballot papers with the high court here on Friday dismissing petitions seeking polling by EVMs, observing that the petitioners had approached the court quite late and elections were barely days away.

Declining interference, the court dismissed the three petitions seeking elections through EVMs.

Polling for 104 municipal bodies including eight municipal corporations in Punjab will be held on May 26. The counting of votes will take place on May 29.

The PILs before the Punjab and Haryana High Court had challenged the Punjab State Election Commission's decision of holding the elections for municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats through ballot papers.

Punjab's Additional Advocate General Ferry Sofat told reporters on Friday, ''Three petitions were filed that elections should be held through EVMs. State Election Commission had maintained that even after EVMs, which were stated to be in transit by the Election Commission, reach the state, the whole process (involved in preparation, arrangements and conduct of polls through EVMs) takes at least 15 days.''.

A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu observed that the election programme had progressed to an advanced stage with only the polling remaining after last of withdrawal of nominations on May 19.

''The high court has dismissed petitions and observed that the matter had reached an advanced stage and the petitioners had approached the court quite late in the day,'' Sofat said.

These elections will now be held using ballot paper, he said.

He said that notification for polls was issued on May 13 followed by last date of withdrawal of nominations on May 19 and now polling scheduled for May 26.

The counsel for State Election Commission mentioned before the court that the EVMs, which were stated to be dispatched on Thursday morning from Rajasthan, had not yet reached Chandigarh and therefore practically it is not possible to hold elections using EVMs on May 26.

Earlier on Thursday, the EC had told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that EVMs have been dispatched from Rajasthan to Punjab for the May 26 local body elections in the state.

During the hearing on Thursday, the EC's counsel informed the court that EVMs requisitioned for the elections were already in transit from Rajasthan to Punjab and shall be handed over to the Punjab State Election Commission (SEC) at Mohali (SAS Nagar) or at Chandigarh last night.

According to an affidavit of the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer, the SEC is required to furnish to the EC the details of point of delivery as well as the particulars of the officials concerned authorised to take possession of the EVMs.

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