News desk... keeping you up-to-date with happenings
Main adultsx Page... more categoriesIf this is your first visit please click here before continuing
| More candidates than voting machines can handle Indian election officials are urging dummy candidates to withdraw as new electronic vote counting machines can't handle the burgeoning number of contestants. So far 6,615 candidates have filed their nominations for 403 provincial state assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh state. But the machines can only cope with a maximum of 16 names on ballot papers. A senior election official told rediff.com: "With each EVM configured to take a maximum of 16 names in a ballot paper, we are in for a crisis in some 171 assembly constituencies where the number of nominations filed exceed the machine's upper limit." The last provincial election in 1996 saw 6,138 nominations. Even after scrutiny and withdrawals, there were as many as 4,429 still in the fray for the 425 constituencies in the undivided Uttar Pradesh. This time 22 seats have been transferred to the new hill state of Uttaranchal. A large number of candidates file nominations as 'dummies' and some file as covering candidates - who will contest the poll in case the nominations papers of the main candidate is rejected. "All political parties field dummy candidates as independents who, being eligible to all the rights and privileges of a candidate, provide a helping hand to a party's official nominee. There is no law under which we can deny anybody the opportunity to file a nomination," said Lucknow city's District Magistrate Jeevesh Nandan. If the candidates number remains large then polls at some seats may have to be postponed, but the chief election officer, Noor Mohammed, is optimistic. He said: "Political parties should come forward and ensure withdrawal of dummy candidatures in the larger interest of the state and the elections." 29th January 2002 |
Copyright 2001 adultsx All Rights Reserved
ACIP worldwide copyright protection If you believe we have infringed on a copyright that you own
please contact us and the offending item will be removed immediately
Grateful appreciation to all contributors. Emma