SEC officials ordered to conduct local body elections peacefully in Andhra Pradesh

State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha has directed district collectors and police superintendents (SPs) to work in close coordination to ensure that the ongoing local body elections in Andhra Pradesh are conducted transparently and peacefully. He issued these instructions during a video conference held at Vijayawada on Thursday.

According to a report by The Hindu, taking into account past incidents during elections, Commissioner Punetha emphasised the need to maintain law and order in sensitive areas, deploy adequate police force, and take preventive measures. He stated that the first phase of elections for MPTCs, ZPTCs, and 100 urban local bodies has been completed. Elections for Mandal Parishad presidents will now be held on 19 November and for Zilla Parishad chairpersons on 20 November. Voting for the remaining 23 urban local bodies will take place on 26 November, and counting will be held on 30 November.

Gram Panchayat elections will be held in three phases, for which notifications will be issued on 13, 16, and 19 November. The counting for these elections will be held on 26 November, 29 November, and 2 December respectively. Additionally, indirect elections for the remaining urban local bodies will be held on 3 December. The entire election process is expected to be completed by 3 or 4 December.

The Commissioner has instructed officials to provide adequate security to candidates filing nomination papers and to make appropriate arrangements at the district headquarters where necessary. All nomination centres, strong rooms, and counting centres must have CCTV camera or videography facilities. These recordings must be preserved for at least 60 days or until the disposal of the election petition.

State Election Secretary A. Mallikarjuna stated that two to four panchayats with a population of less than 10,000 should be grouped in clusters to accept nomination papers, while every panchayat with a population of more than 10,000 must have a separate returning officer.

Inspector General of Police B. Rajakumari directed police superintendents to strategically deploy strike forces and mobile police teams. She added that complaints were received from nearly 25 districts during the MPTC and ZPTC elections. She advised maintaining special vigilance to prevent kidnapping of candidates, threats, and obstructions in candidacy.

Panchayat Raj Commissioner M.V. Krishna Teja and other senior officials were also present at the meeting.