Guwahati: The counting of votes for the Assam Panchayat elections, held in two phases on May 2 and May 7, commences today (May 11).
State Election Commissioner Alok Kumar confirmed the vote counting date.
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Officials said all necessary arrangements have been made at the vote counting centers across the state to ensure a smooth and transparent process.
The first phase of the election held on May 2, covered Upper Assam and Barak Valley districts, including Cachar, Hailakandi, Sribhumi, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur.
The first phase of polling saw a voter turnout of 70.19% across 14 districts, with over 89.59 lakh eligible voters.
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Majuli recorded the highest turnout at 80.02%, while Sonitpur had the lowest at 61%. In this phase, elections were held for 216 Zila Parishad constituencies, 94 Anchalik Panchayats, and 1,139 Gaon Panchayats.
The second phase, held on May 7, encompassed districts such as Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Bajali, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon, and Darrang.
This phase recorded a voter turnout of 56.71% with over 91.31 lakh eligible voters and 29,608 candidates in the fray for 181 Zila Parishad constituencies, 87 Anchalik Panchayats, and 10,530 Gaon Panchayat Wards.
Notably, a total of 1,289 candidates have already been declared elected unopposed, including 21 Zila Parishad members, 151 Anchalik Panchayat members, and 1,117 Gaon Panchayat ward members.
The elections, conducted across 27 districts, utilized traditional ballot papers despite the Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which provided for the introduction of EVMs in future local body elections.
The elections were delayed from their originally scheduled date due to the 2024 delimitation of Gaon Panchayat, Anchalik Panchayat, and Zilla Parishad constituencies, excluding Sixth Schedule and municipal areas.
Seven districts under the Sixth Schedule, where autonomous council polls are conducted, were excluded.
The Gauhati High Court allowed the elections to proceed, except in areas affected by nine writ petitions in Sribhumi, Hailakandi, Cachar, and Morigaon.
Eligibility criteria for candidates included disqualification for candidates with more than two children born after March 2018, minimum Class 10 education for Gaon Panchayat members, with exceptions for SC, ST, OBC, and MOBC candidates, and minimum class 12 education for Zilla Parishad and Anchalik Panchayat members.
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