Civic polls passed off peacefully
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 05 2011:
Other than some sporadic incidents of booth rigging, elections to the eight Municipal Councils and eighteen Nagar Panchayats in the four valley districts of Manipur passed off peacefully under the surveillance of alert security personnel on January 3 .
Over two lakh voters exercised their franchises in 350 polling stations to elect 1666 councillors and ward development members spread over in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur and Thoubal districts.
Unlike in the past civic polls, voters exercised their franchises to elect three representatives including one councillor and two ward development members from each ward this time.
Two more members are to be nominated by the Government later for five representatives in each ward with the councillor being the chairman of the committee.
Besides independent candidates, four national parties � Indian National Congress (INC), BJP and NCP � one regional party, the Manipur People's Party (MPP) fielded their nominees in the fray.
The election to the civil bodies has come barely eight month after the Okram Ibobi Singh government conducted the crucial Autonomous District Council (ADC) elections in the five hill districts of Senapati, Chandel, Tamenglong, Ukhrul and Churachandpur districts.