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EC going all out to ensure free and fair J&K poll

The Election Commission is taking a number of confidence-building measures to ensure that the forthcoming assembly election in Jammu & Kashmir is free and fair.

On the basis of feedback from various political parties and the people, the commission has decided to set up more than 7,000 polling stations in the state to make sure that the average voter does not have to walk more than 2km to cast his vote.

"We have decided to go back to the system we followed in 1988," Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh told a press conference called to announce the election schedule. "The commission has considered this matter and directed that the polling stations shall be dispersed and located as far as practicable at the locations indicated in the electoral roll of 1988, subject to changes approved by the commission. This has involved opening up of more than 900 additional locations where voters can cast their votes."

The commission has also decided to set up polling booths in Delhi, Jammu, and Udhampur to enable Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants from the valley to cast their votes.

"Keeping in view the convenience of voters living in the said camps and also nearby," he said, "special polling stations will be set up at six places in Jammu, namely, at Gandhinagar, Janipur, Muthi, Chandarbhagha, Agricultural Complex and Nagrota, one place near the migrant camp in Udhampur and two places in Delhi -- Tis Hazari courts and the office of the resident commissioner of Jammu & Kashmir. Those who cannot come and vote personally would have to use postal ballots."

Voter slips will be posted directly by the office of the state's chief electoral officer well before the scheduled date of polling. "Each slip will carry with it two forms for addition or deletion [of names]," he said. "Anyone who has attained the age of 18 years can fill up the addition form and mail it to us. The addition will be made till the last date of nomination of a particular assembly segment. Likewise the name of the dead to be deleted too will have to be posted so that the same can be struck off the electoral rolls."

Lyngdoh said the conventional online booths to generate photo-identity cards were susceptible to militant attack, so the offline method had been adopted. "It was felt that higher security features are necessary for photo-identity cards in Jammu & Kashmir," he explained. "The commission, therefore, entrusted the task of preparing pre-formatted, pre-numbered photo-identity cards on special security paper on which the elector's photograph will be affixed. The cost of photographs is being reimbursed to the voters subject to a ceiling of Rs 15 per voter. Each voter is required to submit an application with two photographs before the identity card is issued after lamination."

In all over 5,600,780 voters can exercise their franchise in the assembly election. The commission will use more than 8,000 electronic voting machines in 7,000 polling booths.

The commission will depute polling parties from Uttar Padesh to conduct the election in the valley as they are familiar with the Urdu language. For holding the election in the Jammu region, polling parties will be brought in from Punjab.

The commission promised to ensure that all the contesting candidates get almost the same level of security. "We know it is a difficult job," Lyngdoh said. "We will try to remove this disparity wherein candidates belonging to the ruling party get more security than candidates of other parties."

The CEC made it amply clear that the model code of conduct would come into force with immediate effect. "This will be applicable to all political parties and to the state and Union governments," he said.

He appealed to the political parties of Jammu & Kashmir, the state government, the Union government and the media to co-operate with the commission to make the election a success.

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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