Kohima: Mizoram State Election Commissioner H Lalthlangliana has announced that polling for the 12-member Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) will be held on November 5.
The SHC has 12 constituencies, comprising 31 villages in the Hmar-dominated northeastern part of Mizoram, covering three assembly constituencies in Aizawl, Kolasib, and Saitual districts.
The council has 12 elected members and two nominated seats and is headed by a Chief Executive Member (CEM).
As per a notification issued by the state election commission, the last date for filing nomination is October 10, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is fixed on October 14.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 11, Lalthlangliana said.
Voting will be held on November 5 between 7 am and 4 pm and counting of votes will be undertaken as soon as voting is over and all ballot boxes reach constituency headquarters, he said.
There are 23,789 voters, including 11,914 female voters within Sinlung Hills Council, according to the final roll published by the state election commission on September 30.
He said, “There are 38 polling stations, of which 16 are located near the Assam and Manipur borders and have been designated as critical polling stations. Adequate police forces will be deployed to ensure free and fair elections.”
The ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and Hmar People’s Convention (HPC) have forged a pre-poll electoral alliance.
ZPM president Lalliansawta said that as per the seat-sharing arrangement, the ZPM will contest in 8 out of 12 seats and HPC in 4 seats.
In the last polls on 5 November 2019, the Mizo National Front (MNF)-HPC combine bagged 10 seats, and the other two were won by independent candidates.
ALSO READ: Drugs worth Rs 160 crore seized, 355 arrested since January in Mizoram: Home Minister K Sapdanga
The SHC was established on July 9, 2018, as a result of the peace accord signed between the Mizoram government and the erstwhile underground Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) or HPC(D) on April 2 that year.
