The district administration is all set to conduct the Gram Panchayat elections in the first phase on December 22, said Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy.
In the first phase, elections will be held for 66 Gram Panchayats in Madikeri taluk (26) and Somwarpet taluk (40). There are 357 polling booths with 135 in Madikeri and 222 in Somwarpet. The election will be held from 7 am to 5 pm, she told reporters.
There are 676 candidates in fray for 267 seats in 108 wards in Madikeri taluk, while, there are 1,488 candidates for 462 seats in 177 wards in Somwarpet taluk.
As per the direction of the State Election Commission, Madikeri taluk has 45 sensitive, 6 hypersensitive, 8 Maoist-infected and 80 general polling booths. Somwarpet has 48 sensitive, 24 hyper-sensitive and 154 general polling booths, said the deputy commissioner.
The mustering will be held at St Joseph School in Madikeri and Government First Grade College in Kushalnagar, on December 21. Each polling booth will have a presiding officer and three polling officers.
Annies said that voters can cast their vote by producing the identity cards accepted by the Election Commission. These include the voters’ identity card, passport, driving license, Aadhaar, PAN, identity cards issued by the Central or state government, public undertakings, bank/Kisan card or passbook issued by the postal department.
She said that even the Covid-19 infected people are also allowed to exercise their franchise.
43 candidates elected unopposed
As many as 43 candidates have been elected unopposed in the first phase. This includes 24 from Madikeri taluk.
Elections are not held in Kumbaladali, Emmemadu-1, Emmemadu-2 and Koothi wards as no nominations have been filed so far.
Ban on liquor sale
On account of the election, shandy market and fairs will not be held in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluks from midnight of December 21 to midnight of December 22. The sale and transportation of liquor are banned from 5 pm of December 20 to 5 pm of December 22. The sale of liquor in restaurants, bars, shops and clubs is banned, said the deputy commissioner.