Election Commission threat to countermand polls, if needed, welcomed

The Forum for Electoral Integrity has welcomed the Election Commission's warning threatening to postpone or countermand polls to Assembly constituencies in the event of receipt of a large number of complaints.

Considering the spate of press reports and other information of cash and gifts flowing all over the State, stringent measures could not be avoided, the Forum convener M.G. Devesahayam said in a statement.

The Forum wanted the Commission to use the ‘Brahmastra' of postponement or countermanding of polls in “really bad constituencies reeking of electoral corruption and malpractice.”

It also called upon officials on poll duty not to be partisan betraying the democratic trust reposed in them by the people of the State, he added.