PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
In a major decision, the State Election Commission has said that the nomination of any candidate in the ongoing three- tier Panchayat elections will not be cancelled if his/her name figures in the voter list of more than one Gram Panchayat or in the Urban Local Bodies.
The order clears confusion over the candidature of many candidates in the Panchayat elections in 12 districts of the State.
In his order dated July 6, 2025 to the district magistrates, the State Election Commission secretary Rahul Kumar Goyal said that the nomination papers of such people should not be cancelled in the Panchayat election if their names figure in the voter lists of more than one Gram Panchayat or municipal bodies. The order further stated that the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act 2016 is not clear on the eligibility of such candidates.
However, he added that the provisions of section nine, subsection (6) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act 2016 should be followed.
Meanwhile, the SEC has said that the nomination process has shown that the rural population has great enthusiasm for the three-tier Panchayat elections in the State. A total of 63,569 candidates have submitted their nomination papers. The SEC secretary said that a total of 37,356 women have submitted their nomination papers which is 59 per cent of the total nominations. Terming the large participation of women in the election process as a sign of women empowerment the SEC said that a total of 931 women have filed papers for the post of district Panchayat member. Similarly 11,478 candidates have filed papers for 2,974 posts of member block Panchayat and out of them 62,221 are women. As per the data of SEC, a total of 21,912 people have filed nomination papers for the post of Pradhan village Panchayat and out of them 17,694 are women.
