Nagaland urban elections: The Nagaland Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the bill to reserve 33 percent seats for women in urban local bodies (ULBs). With this, the way has been paved for municipal elections in the state after two decades.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that as per the instructions of the Supreme Court, a provision to provide one-third reservation for women in ULBs has been made in the bill.
Tribal body also accepted women’s reservation
According to the report of news agency PTI, Rio said that the apex tribal body, which had earlier opposed such reservation, has now accepted it and the State Election Commission (SEC) will soon announce the dates of the municipal elections. “This law is not the end, but just a beginning,” he said. He said that now the time has come for women to participate in the administration of urban local bodies.
Elections have not been held since 2004
Let us tell you that ULB elections in the North-Eastern state are pending for a long time. The last elections were held here in 2004. Introducing the Nagaland Municipal Bodies Bill 2023 in the House during the session, Rio said that the provisions related to tax on land and buildings have been excluded from the new bill. He said that the provision of reservation of one-third seats in ULBs for women in the Bill has been kept in view of the clear instructions of the Supreme Court and its acceptance by the top tribal bodies in the state.
Elections had to be canceled twice
In 2017, when the TR Zeliang-led state government tried to hold elections, there was violence. Then two persons were killed and government property and offices were damaged. In March this year, the all-party government led by Neiphiu Rio had also announced to hold elections with 33 percent women’s reservation. However, again after strong resistance, the government canceled the elections.
Now that the bill to reserve 33 percent seats for women has been passed, elections for 39 urban local bodies can be announced soon.
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