Date:12/12/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/12/stories/2002121204780100.htm

Front Page

Polls will be free and fair: EC

By J. Venkatesan

Paramilitary personnel on their way to polling stations, on the eve of the Gujarat Assembly elections, in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI Dec. 11. With security forces on "high alert'' for tomorrow's elections to the Gujarat Assembly, the Election Commission today maintained that all steps for the conduct of free and fair elections had been put in place and asked the people of the State to exercise their franchise without fear.

Explaining the measures at a press conference here, the Chief Election Commissioner, J. M. Lyngdoh, flanked by the two Commissioners, T. S. Krishnamurthy and B. B. Tandon, asked the Gujarat administration not to give any scope for "mischief-makers.'' He appealed to the political parties to conduct themselves in a responsible manner, check their over-enthusiastic supporters and ensure that things were under control.

An estimated 3.32 crore electors were likely to exercise their franchise in 36,657 polling stations to elect their representatives to the 182-member Assembly. Election to the Surat City (West) has been countermanded, following the death of the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and Gujarat Law Minister, Hemant Champatwala.

Instilling confidence in the voters, Mr. Lyngdoh said that the State election machinery and observers were in a position to ensure that the people exercised their franchise "freely, fairly and fearlessly." The names of nearly 1.76 lakh migrant and shifted voters of the riot-affected areas in 152 constituencies had been included in the electoral rolls. For displaced electors who could not return to their original place of residence, the Commission had ordered the setting up of special polling stations at the district collectorates. Electronic voting machines would be used in all the polling stations, he added.

Mr. Lyngdoh said that information regarding criminal antecedents of the candidates, if any, had been collected at the district level for all the constituencies and were being made available to the public on payment of a nominal fee. The information was also being displayed by the Returning Officers in the respective constituencies. To preclude complaints of bias by local staff in the conduct of their poll duties, 50 per cent of the staff would be from outside the district.

And to ensure openness, the Commission had issued authority letters to 17 diplomats — eight from the U.S and three from the U.K.; two each from the Netherlands and the European Union and one each from Sweden and Italy — to monitor the elections. Nearly 800 passes had been issued to mediapersons .

The Commission had asked for 400 companies of Central para-military forceswhich would be assisted by the State's armed and local police.