Counting of votes for historic ULB elections in Nagaland on Saturday

Kohima: Counting of votes for the civic body polls in Nagaland, held after a gap of two decades, will be held on Saturday.

Everything is ready for the counting of votes for the polls to 25 Urban Local Bodies – three municipalities and 22 town councils spread over 10 districts, an official of the State Election Commission said.

Counting of votes will commence from 8 am onwards in 16 counting centres, the official said.

The urban local body polls 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 against reservation for women, and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.

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

A total of 523 candidates from 11 political parties were in the fray. Another 64 candidates have been declared elected unopposed for 64 wards.

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 elections were held in 14 in six districts in the eastern part of the state.

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.