New Delhi: Manipur Chief Electoral Officer R R Rashmi on Saturday said that the third phase of the Manipur assembly elections, which will be held in 12 assembly constituencies on February 23, will be the "most difficult" one.
A large area in the hill districts of Churachandpur, Tamenglong, and Chandel will be covered in the third phase of the Assembly elections that will decide the fate of 76 candidates.
As quoted by PTI, Rashmi told reporters in Imphal that all 516 polling stations in the three districts had been declared as "sensitive" and the deployment of security forces had already begun.
Of the polling stations, 467 covered a large area and polling personnel would have to walk between 25 km and 30 km to reach about 100 of them.
Rashmi said in view of the logistical difficulties posed by the unfavourable terrain, electronic voting machines and other election materials will be airlifted to far-flung polling stations.
In the third phase, all the voters who reach polling stations by 3.30 pm, the deadline for close of voting, will be allowed to exercise their franchise to avoid problems that occurred in the first two phases of the polls.
The district administration will provide accommodation to the electorate of seven polling stations of Khengjoi range in Chandel district who were displaced from their homes due to counter-insurgency operations in the area. This is being done to enable them to vote at re-allocated polling stations in Leijang and Holenjang, he said.
For the 60-seat Manipur Assembly, polls were held in 19 constituencies in the first phase on February 8 and 29 seats went to the polls in the second phase on February 14.
While an estimated 72 per cent of nearly 6 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of Manipur Assembly elections, over 85 per cent of the electorate cast their ballot in the second phase at 827 polling stations.
Comments
0 comment