Counting under way for civic body polls in Nagaland

Kohima: Counting of votes was underway on Saturday for the civic body polls in Nagaland, held after a gap of two decades, an official said.

The counting for the polls to 24 urban local bodies, three municipalities and 21 town councils, spread over 10 districts commenced at 8 am in 16 centres, the State Election Commission official said.

The NDPP won the Chiephobozou Town Council in Kohima as its candidates were elected unopposed in all nine wards of the urban local body, he said.

Nearly 82 per cent of the over 2.23 lakh electors exercised their franchise in the civic polls on June 26.

The urban local body polls in the northeastern state were held for the first time with 33 per cent women reservation. The last elections were held in 2004.

The government had announced elections to urban local bodies several times in the past but objections from tribal bodies and civil society organisations to reservation for women and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.

Altogether 523 candidates from 11 political parties were in the fray. Another 64 nominees were elected unopposed across the civic bodies.

Among the parties contesting the elections are the NDPP, BJP, Congress, Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF), Rising Peoples’ Party, RPI (Athawale), JD(U), LJP, NCP and the NPP.

Nagaland has a total of 39 town councils, but no election was held in 14 urban local bodies in six districts in the eastern part of the state as tribal bodies boycotted the polls there.

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of seven Naga tribes in the six eastern districts, has been demanding a ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’, claiming that the region has been neglected for years.

As many as 59 nominations were accepted from the region but the tribal bodies compelled the candidates to withdraw their nominations.

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