Assam: Final Voter List to be Unveiled on August 8 By-Elections: CEO Announces

Sentinel Digital Desk

Published:20th Jul, 2024 at 9:58 AM

GUWAHATI: Assam's chief electoral officer, Anurag Goel, said that the final list of voters for the upcoming by-elections in five assembly constituencies will be released on August 8.

At a press conference on Friday, Goel explained the schedule and preparations for the by-elections, which will be held in the Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri constituencies.

These seats are empty because the previous MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Goel stressed that the Election Commission has started preparing for the by-elections, which must take place within six months of the Lok Sabha election results announcement. He also mentioned that the elections will be based on the pre-delimitation status of these constituencies.

The recent Lok Sabha elections were the first after a controversial delimitation exercise in Assam, which opposition parties criticized as being biased in favor of the ruling BJP.

The Election Department plans to share pre-draft electoral rolls of the pre-delimitation constituencies with recognized political parties on Saturday and ask for their feedback by July 27.

The draft voter lists will be published on July 30, and people can submit claims and objections until August 10.

Because of the recent updates for the Lok Sabha polls, claims and objections will be handled offline this time.

After processing the claims and objections by August 19, the final voter list will be published on August 20, according to Goel.

Meanwhile, by-elections to five Assembly constituencies in Assam are going to be held according to the pre-delimitation of constituencies conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

As the present 15th Assam Legislative Assembly has not been dissolved, the bye-elections will be held as per pre-delimited areas of the five Assembly constituencies, according to ECI rules.

The delimitation of constituencies in Assam was held in August last year. The number of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies remained the same at 14 and 126, respectively, but the areas and boundaries of the constituencies were changed.