Repoll ordered in Drugmulla, Sonawari DDC constituencies

The State Election Commission has ordered re-election of two District Development Council constituencies where vote counting was not carried out as one contestant each were originally from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

In these two constituencies, Drugmulla in Kupwara and Sonawari in Bandipora, the administration said that they have received complaints that two women from Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK) had fought the polls.

   

The polling held to these DDC Constituencies has been declared as void and fresh dates will be announced soon.

The two candidates are Somiya Sadaf from Drugmulla and Shazia Aslam from Sonawari. They are among the women from PaK, who came via Nepal and settled in Kashmir along with their ex-militant husbands, as part of a policy of rehabilitation initiated by the then Omar Abdullah government in 2010.

The State Election Commission (Election Authority) vide Order No. 54/SEC/Pyt/2020/1867 dated 22-12-2020 has withheld the counting of votes in Hajin-A and Drugmullah Constituency of District Development Council, Bandipora and Kupwara. This order provides the course of action required to be taken to complete the election process in the aforesaid District Development Council (DDC) Constituency, it said.

Election authorities said that off lately, it came to the notice of their office that Shazia Begum and Somiya Bagum are not reportedly from this country, as was also circulated in some media Whatsapp groups by the media fraternity, which allegedly transpires that she has entered wrong information in declaration regarding her place of birth/being citizen of India during inclusion in FORM-6 required for registration as elector.

They said after a notice Shazia Bagum and Somiya Bagum submitted a report to SEC which was examined in light of the Citizenship Act, 1955 read with amendments issued from time to time & The Citizenship Rules, 1956 as amended from times to time and it was found that they could not substantially prove their citizenship of India and have therefore entered wrong information in declaration regarding being citizen of India during inclusion in FORM-6 deemed to be included in Panchayat electoral roll before 2019.

Even ECI said that it has been learnt that Shazia Bagum and Somiya Bagum have not applied for registration as citizen before any competent authority as provided by Sec 5(1) and has not provided supporting document thereof

“Now therefore in terms of Rule 21(A) of the Registration of Electors Rules, I960, the name Shazia Begum and Sumiya Bagum are treated as deleted ab-initio from Electoral Roll of Panchayat Halqa Sadunara-A,” ECI said.

Shazia Begum and Somiya Bagum, SEC said, had filed  nomination papers as Independent candidates. The mandate given by the political parties to their respective candidates to contest the election and make appeals to the electorate seeking their votes in the Hajin-A Constituency is however not to be disturbed since this order does not purport to countermand the election but instead calls for a re-poll.

(With inputs by Tariq Rahim from Kupwara)

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