The State Election Commissioner's (SEC) statement that the draft voters' list for the upcoming local body elections in the State will be published on July 1 is unacceptable, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala has said.
In a statement here on Monday, Mr. Chennithala said the voters' list should not be published on the said date as the delimitation process was yet to conclude. The SEC's statement that he had no role in the process was wrong as he is the presiding officer of the delimitation commission, the statement said.
The hearing on complaints regarding delimitation was completed three months ago. The boundaries of the local bodies should be known to political parties so that the shortcoming in the voters' list can be addressed, he said.
The delay in completing the process will help in electoral malpractices, Mr. Chennithala said.
He took strong exception to the SEC's ‘reluctance' to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. The Commission had convened such meeting in the past, he said.
Mr. Chennithala pointed out complaints that the database created in 1995 was being used in certain panchayats. There was no word from the SEC on when the delimitation process would be completed in the newly created municipalities and the ‘expanded' City Corporations. The SEC should ensure that the process is transparent, Mr. Chennithala said.
