SIKKIM POLL LIKELY TO BE ANNOUNCED IN FEB END

NEW DELHI:20 DEC 2008. With the Election Commission getting clear indications that the government wants to last the full term, the dates for the 2009 general
election are likely to be announced in the last week of February.

Highly placed sources said unlike the 2004 general election, the next poll could be in more than four phases. But a few states could have single-phased polls also.

Simultaneously, the schedule for assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim would also be announced.

Explaining the rationale for more than a four-phase election, sources said apart from logistic reasons, the EC is also taking into account delimitation, Naxal violence, insurgency and increase in election booths to eight lakh from seven lakh at present.

The next general election would also be a test for senior most election commissioner Navin Chawla who would take over from CEC N Gopalaswamy in the middle of the poll process in April.

"We would wait till the vote-on-account gets passed. The government has already said another Parliament session would be called. We have begun our preparations for an early summer election," a senior EC official said referring to the three-day meeting of state chief electoral officers that ended on Thursday. States have been told to complete revision of electoral rolls by January 5, 2009.

EC sources also said that even if the government were to dissolve the Lok Sabha, there would not be any major change in the schedule.

For the next general election, EC has already decided that for the first time every habitation with up to 300 people would have a polling booth. In preparation for the poll, EC has also decided that rules on defacement of public property should be strictly enforced.

EC has also ordered 1.8 lakh Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to deal with new booths. The new EVMs would replace the 1.5 lakh existing machines.

As for defacement of public property, EC has prepared a detailed directive to all states. After studying defacement laws of all states, EC decided that in each state the existing law would prevail. In case a state does not have any law, EC has told it that public property should not be defaced during the election campaign. Private property can be used for writing slogans only after seeking the permission of the owner.

( Source:TOI)