HC halts release of poll results for Maha local bodies today

$<p>PTI photo</p> <p>” decoding=”async” fetchpriority=”high”/></p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </section></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p> NGAPUR: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday restrained Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) from announcing the results of first phase of municipal council and nagar panchayat polls on Dec 3, a day after polling, on the grounds that it may “prematurely disclose public mood”, and influence the next round of voting scheduled for Dec 20.A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas ordered that entire counting process should be held only after the second phase, and all results must be announced together on Dec 21. The bench held that declaring the first phase results within 24 hours would compromise electoral fairness. “This may materially affect the results of polls on Dec 20. Then, it cannot be said elections on Dec 20 would be held in a fair and transparent manner,” it said.The court also prohibited publication or broadcast of exit poll outcomes till voting ends on Dec 20. The model code of conduct will be in force till combined results are declared, the bench further said.The order came while hearing three petitions — filed by Shakil Hamid Mansuri, Ashwini Burde and Sachin Chute — challenging SEC’s move to defer elections in certain civic bodies, where appeals are pending over acceptance or rejection of nomination papers. The petitioners argued that the revised schedule had fractured the uniformity of the electoral process and risked giving an unfair advantage to some candidates.Under the original programme, all municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra were scheduled to vote on Dec 2. However, SEC last week postponed the polls in seats where appeals had been filed, saying it was necessary to provide a three-day period for withdrawal of nominations after disposal of appeals.While 264 nagar panchayats and municipal councils went to polls on Wednesday, voting in remaining 24 will take place on Dec 20.SEC told the court that while counting for local bodies with pending appeals would be held on Dec 21, results of the polls held on Tuesday will be announced on Dec 3, as originally scheduled.The bench firmly rejected the poll panel’s plan, saying that declaring results on Dec 3 would “affect the second-phase electorate”. </p></div> <p> <a href=$ Go to Source

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