The state election commission (SEC) of Sikkim announced the dates for the civic polls of the Himalayan state on Monday.
K C Lepcha, the state election commissioner, speaking at the SEC office in Gangtok, said polling would be held on April 24 in nine civic bodies across six districts of the state and the votes will be counted the next day.
The civic bodies include the 21-ward Gangtok Municipal Corporation, the seven-ward Namchi Municipal Council and the nagar panchayats of Sintam, Pakyong, Rangpo, Gyalshing, Naya Bazar—Jorethan, Soreng and Mangan.
“Eight election observers have been appointed for the municipal elections. Among them, six have been designated for the six districts and the other two are on stand-by to monitor and ensure that the entire process is conducted smoothly and effectively,” said Lepcha.
Lepcha added that elections would be held for 63 seats, with a total of 93,800 voters, 47,273 are male and 46,527 are female.
The Gangtok district has the highest number of voters at 58,806, while the Soreng district has the lowest in the state at 1, 850.
“There will be 121 polling stations,” said a source.
Filing of nominations also commenced on Monday. SEC officials said the last date is March 30.
“On April 1, the nominations would be scrutinised and April 4 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations,” said an official.
Following the announcement, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), which is in power in the state, published its list of candidates. Other political parties are also preparing their lists, a source said.