Bhubaneswar, Oct. 2: The higher education department has asked educational institutions to strictly adhere to the Lyngdoh Commission’s recommendations during the annual students’ union elections.

The elections are scheduled to be held on October 19.

Unlike previous years, elections at both undergraduate and postgraduate colleges will be conducted on the same day.

College authorities will issue a notice regarding the polls on October 10. Students will file nomination papers between 9am and noon on October 12. Scrutiny of papers will be done on the same day in the afternoon and the list of candidates will be declared on October 13.

The candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nomination papers between 2pm and 4pm on October 13 and the final list will be put up in the evening.

During the “Why I Stand for Meeting”, the candidates will address the students and make their positions on various issues clear on October 18 and voting will be conducted between 8am and 2pm the next day. The results will be announced between 2pm and 6pm, soon after counting is over. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on October 20. According to the Lyngdoh Committee reports, the age limits for aspiring undergraduate and graduate students must be within 15 to 22 and 24 to 25 respectively.

The candidates must have 75 per cent attendance.

They should have no criminal antecedents and there should be no political interference in the polls.

The maximum limit for expenditure for each candidate is Rs 5,000. They are also expected to abide by the model code of conduct. Also, the contesting students should not carry any academic backlog in the year they contest the polls.

No outsiders will be permitted to take part in the election process. Elections will be held at almost all the colleges in the state except Utkal University, where the elections have been canned, following a clash among two groups of students in July.