Reported by Bit Irom
Imphal: The Manipur Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, has approved the conduct of the 6th General Elections to the Panchayats on October 1, 2026, official sources said on Tuesday.
Following the Cabinet’s decision, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD & PR) Commissioner Sumant Singh issued a notification outlining the election schedule.
As per the notification, the formal election notification will be published on August 21. The last date for filing nomination papers is August 28, while scrutiny of nominations will be carried out on August 29. Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until September 1.
Polling is scheduled for October 1, with re-polling, if necessary, to be conducted on October 5. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Manipur’s five valley districts-Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur function under a two-tier structure comprising Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishads, in accordance with the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
The elections have been pending since the tenure of the previous Panchayats ended in 2022. Although the sixth general election was initially scheduled for June 2023, it was deferred due to the prevailing law and order situation in the state. Since then, local governance has been overseen by administrative committees.
In February this year, the State Cabinet resolved to conduct the Panchayat elections at the earliest in compliance with a directive issued by the High Court of Manipur.
Reacting to the decision, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh stated on X that his government remains committed to ensuring “effective, transparent and people-centric governance for the welfare and development of Manipur.”