The DMK filed two representations with the State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday with regard to the local body elections.
The party, through its organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi, requested the SEC to follow all procedures of the Election Commission of India to conduct the polls for the local bodies, and “strictly comply with the mandatory procedure stipulated in the provisions of Tamil Nadu Local Bodies Delimitation Regulation, 2017 by the respective District Delimitation Authority as authorized by the Delimitation Commission, before issuing notification for elections to the local bodies”.
The party also sought the conduct of the polls in a region-wise, phased manner to prevent electoral malpractices, including impersonation of voters, and the appointment of one IAS officer as Election Observer for each Revenue division to ensure free and fair elections.
The DMK also wanted the names of the candidates to be printed in the ballot papers to be used for the election of ward members and president of Village Panchayat, Members to Union Council and District Council; provision of separate ballot boxes to each posts in every local body, CCTVs in each polling booth, designated counting centres to be identified in advance, creation of an official portal by the State Election Commission to receive online complaints, and adequate police protection in all polling booths.
The party also sought a clarification as to whether the process of finalisation of voters’ list for the local body polls would be carried out by SEC, as per EC guidelines.
