Citizens’ groups oppose ENPO nominees in Municipal and Town councils
KRC TIMES NE Desk
Dimapur : The results of the Municipal and Town Council elections in Nagaland held on June 26, were declared on June 29. The polls, held with one-third of women reservation, saw a significant increase in female participation. Out of 198 women candidates, a record 102 emerged victorious, including in eight unreserved wards.
The youngest winner was 22-year-old Nzanrhoni I Mozhui from BJP in Ward 1 of Bhandari Town Council, while the oldest was 71-year-old Sibeule from Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Ward 6 of Peren Town Council.
Out of the 278 contested seats, as many as 176 were male and 102 were female candidates. Earlier, 64 candidates were elected unopposed. The counting took place across 16 approved centres. A total of 1,84,126 electors, making up 81.66 per cent of the electorate, cast their votes to elect candidates in 214 wards across 24 municipalities.
In terms of party performance, the NDPP secured the most seats, winning 153, followed by BJP with 25. Independents got 56 seats while other parties got 44.
The Western Sumi Hoho (WSH) and Chakroma Public Organisation (CPO) have voiced their strong opposition to any attempts by the Nagaland government to nominate candidates from the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) area as government representatives in municipal and town councils under their jurisdiction.
In a joint press statement issued on Saturday, the two organizations reminded the Nagaland government that candidates from the eastern areas have been previously restricted from participating in elections within CPO and WSH’s territories.
This restriction complies with the ENPO resolution to refrain from engaging in Indian and State Elections. The appointment of individuals from the ENPO area as government nominees would not only violate the principles of the ENPO but also undermine the integrity of the state government’s electoral process, they argued.
The CPO and WSH called upon the Nagaland government to respect their autonomy and refrain from appointing ENPO area nominees in their municipalities. “We affirm our commitment to defending the interests and autonomy of our people and will resist any such appointments,” they added.
