Agartala: Elections to the village committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) will be held on September 28, State Election Commissioner PK Chakravarti announced on Monday.
According to the election schedule, the notification will be issued on September 1, marking the beginning of the election process. The last date for filing nominations is September 8, with nomination papers to be accepted between 11 am and 3 pm.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted on September 9, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until 3 pm on September 11.
Polling, if required, will be held on September 28 from 7 am to 4 pm. In the event that repolling is necessary at any polling station, it will be conducted on October 3. Counting of votes will take place on October 5.
Elections will be held for 587 village committees, covering 2,634 electoral areas and 4,597 seats, according to the schedule. A total of 9,61,977 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. The electorate comprises 4,82,041 male voters, 4,79,930 female voters and six third-gender voters.
The State Election Commission has identified 1,550 polling stations for the elections.
District Magistrates and Collectors of eight districts have been appointed as District Election Officers, while Block Development Officers of 52 RD blocks have been designated as Electoral Registration Officers. The election process will also involve 231 Assistant Returning Officers and 373 Sector Officers, the SEC said.
Around 8,500 polling personnel will be engaged in conducting the elections. Voting will be held through ballot boxes, while counting will take place at block headquarters or other locations designated by the administration.
The village committee elections had remained pending after the term of the committees elected on March 8, 2021, ended. The election process was subsequently delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and legal issues.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in areas under the TTAADC.
The authorities have also discussed security arrangements for the elections, with security deployment planned at polling stations and areas identified as sensitive.