Shillong: The Meghalaya government has once again extended the terms of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) for another six months. However, the state’s Governor has directed that elections to the two councils must be completed by March 5, 2025.
This decision was announced by District Council Affairs (DCA) Minister Prestone Tynsong on Wednesday. He informed that the Governor had given assent to the cabinet’s proposal, made on August 29, to extend the elections for the two Autonomous District Councils.
“The Governor has specified that the election process or the formation of the new House for both councils should be concluded by March 5, 2025,” Tynsong said.
Addressing public concerns over the second extension, despite the completion of delimitation committee work, Tynsong explained that the delay was necessary due to logistical challenges. These include scheduling the elections, revising electoral rolls, inspecting existing EVMs, and ordering new ones, all of which will take time.
“We are guided by the Sixth Schedule, which allows the Governor to extend the ADC’s term in special circumstances, but for no more than one year. The extension was approved after all election schedules were prepared, but it will take at least one and a half months to notify the appendix of the AD rules, which includes changes in the village list. After that, electoral roll revisions will begin. The DCA department is already working on this,” he explained.
To streamline the process, the government has requested permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow state officials to access electoral roll data published by the ECI.
Tynsong emphasized that these procedures are time-consuming, and they have accounted for at least three and a half months to reach the final publication of the electoral rolls.
Regarding the EVMs, Tynsong mentioned that only one public sector company is authorized by the Government of India to produce EVMs. The DCA department has requested this company to inspect the old EVMs in Shillong. If the old machines are found to be non-functional, the government will place an order for 2,000 new EVMs. The entire process, from inspection to delivery, is expected to take around three months.
Tynsong also addressed claims that the government is avoiding elections. He clarified that the only reason for the delay is the lengthy process involved, and that the extension was inevitable.
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When asked why the media was not briefed about the August 29 cabinet meeting, Tynsong explained that it was held during the Autumn Session of the Assembly. “The meeting took place before the session, and we had to attend the Assembly proceedings immediately afterward. Until the Governor approved the cabinet’s decision, we couldn’t confirm the extension,” he clarified.
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