Shillong, Oct 13 — Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said on Tuesday that elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) would be conducted at the earliest, adding that the state government aims to complete the electoral process within the council's extended six-month tenure.
The Chief Minister added that the extension was necessary to complete the delimitation of constituencies and other preparatory work, including the introduction of a separate electoral roll.
Explaining the sequence of procedures involved, Chief Minister Sangma said the election process could not move forward until the delimitation exercise was completed, while delimitation itself depended on the preparation and approval of the separate electoral roll.
"The elections cannot be held without the delimitation being held, and the delimitation exercise cannot be completed without the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the separate electoral roll coming in," he added.
Sangma noted that the delimitation exercise had involved extensive work and required the completion of several procedural steps.
The separate electoral roll must receive the Governor's approval before the delimitation committee can proceed with the final stages of its work, he added.
With the process of preparing the separate electoral roll having made progress, the state government expects the remaining formalities to be completed during the extended period, allowing the elections to be held within the stipulated timeframe.
The Chief Minister's remarks came amid concerns over the extension of the council's tenure and questions about when voters in the Garo Hills region would get an opportunity to elect their representatives.
Rejecting allegations that the extension was intended to postpone the elections for political reasons, CM Sangma said the state government had no such intention and remained committed to conducting the polls as soon as the necessary procedures were completed.
"We are not trying to delay the elections for any other purpose," he added.
The GHADC is one of Meghalaya's three autonomous district councils established under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for autonomous governance in tribal areas.
The council administers matters relating to customary laws, land, forests and other subjects within its jurisdiction, subject to constitutional and statutory provisions.
The completion of delimitation and electoral roll preparations is expected to determine the timeline for the next GHADC elections.