Itanagar, May 22: A group of contesting candidates from Ward No-11 of the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) has raised serious concerns over what they claim is the mass inclusion of ineligible voters in the electoral roll. Speaking at a press conference held at the Arunachal Press Club (APC) on Wednesday, the candidates demanded immediate deletion of what they described as a “huge number” of suspicious entries in the voter list.
Led by former IMC councillor Gora Lotak, the candidates alleged that despite submitting several petitions and representations to the Municipal Electoral Registration Officer (MERO), the Capital Administration, and even the state government, no corrective action has been taken so far.
“It is alarming that only Ward No-11 has seen an unusually large increase in voter numbers, many of whom have no verifiable address or residence within the ward’s jurisdiction,” said Lotak. “This could potentially lead to serious law and order issues during the election period.”
The group, which includes five contesting candidates united on this issue, alleged that most of the newly-enlisted voters were added based on documents such as electricity bills, water bills, PRCs, Aadhaar cards, and household numbers — many of which they claim are fake or unverifiable. “Several household numbers used during voter enrollment are non-existent,” Lotak said, describing it as a direct threat to the conduct of free and fair elections.
The candidates have filed a formal complaint with the MERO, urging the authorities to verify and delete all entries that are found to be ineligible or fake. “If our grievances are not addressed before the publication of the draft voter list, we will be compelled to launch a democratic movement,” they warned.
The candidates called upon the state administration and election authorities to act promptly to maintain the sanctity of the electoral process not just in Ward No-11 but across Arunachal Pradesh.
