Arrangements are being made by the district administration for the smooth conduct of the Aruvikkara by-election, scheduled to be held on June 27.
District Collector A. Kowsigan said polling would be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The filing of nominations commenced on Wednesday and will continue up to June 10. Scrutiny of the nominations will be on June 11. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations is June 13.
N. Srinivas Raju, appointed by the Election Commission as observer for the poll, arrived in the State capital. Mr. Raju, a 1993-batch Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) official, took stock of the arrangements. At a meeting held at the District Collectorate, he directed representatives of political parties to ensure that norms regarding expenses incurred during electioneering were strictly adhered to.
Chairing the meeting, Dr. Kowsigan said expenditure incurred by each candidate would be closely monitored. He directed all political parties to comply with the model code of conduct that was in place. As per the model code, no benefits can be distributed within the constituency.
It is also mandatory to open separate bank accounts to maintain the expenditure of candidates. The accounts can be opened either in the name of the candidate or as a joint account by the candidate and election agent. The documents related to the bank accounts must also be submitted to the election expenditure observer.
Permission of the District Election Officer must be obtained prior to issuing advertisements in television channels.
