Dimapur/Aizawl, Sept 20 NNN: Church organizations in the Christian dominated states of Nagaland and Mizoram are pulling up their loins to ensure for the ‘free and fair’ assembly elections in these two states.
Assembly elections in Mizoram and Nagaland are just few months away and the Church in these two North Eastern states are deeply concerned about it as election times means wild parties, violence, money power displays, feastings and other activities which are hard to be accepted by a decent society.
In Mizoram, the church sponsored Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF) is spending sleepless nights while chalking out strategies for the campaign to ensure ‘free and fair’ assembly election due sometimes in February. In Nagaland, the apex church body of the state Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (NBCC) has just lighted its torch last evening christened as ‘Clean Election Torch’ in the state capital Kohima. Church leaders will light their own torches from this ‘Clean Election Torch’ and carry them to their respective churches or associations and from there the process of lighting of torches and transferring will continue till the village level.
Under the theme, ‘Clean Election and Environment,’ the church leaders of different denominations of Nagaland resolved last evening to fervently carry out the ‘Clean Election’ movement to the district levels and then to the village level.
In Mizoram, the Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF) which is sponsored by the Church had campaigned in the last Mizoram assembly election where it had issued ‘Dos and Don’ts’ to the political parties and the general public. Grand feastings, distributing of money, wild parties, etc., etc., were some of the restrictions issued by the MPF in the 2008 Mizoram assembly elections.
The MPF has been considered as the only genuine election watchdog in Mizoram by the people.
This time round, the MPF has begun its activities campaigning to ensure for the ‘free and fair’ assembly election.
Mizoram Peoples’ Forum (MPF), had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with major political parties in Mizoram so that free and fair elections could be held. The memorandum of understanding is nothing but rule for co-operation by the political parties with the Mizoram People’s Forum.
The parties which had signed the MoU with the state election watchdog are Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), Mizo Peoples Convention (MPC), Zoram National Party (ZNP), Mizo National Front (MNF) and the BJP for co-operation at Synod Committee Hall in Aizawl.
About 27 rules have been made by the MPF for the political parties to abide. Among the 27 points, one is that the political parties should only make an election manifesto which they can implement. If any political party violates any one of the 27 points, the MPF will “invalid” that party.
Some of the rules are that every party will try their best to have free and fair election; only the citizens of India should cast their votes; no political party should drop the voters to their polling stations by means of a vehicle; the MPF will check whether any one indulges in demanding money to the candidates and to the political parties; house to house campaign is allowed till 10 days before the election; “selling and buying” of votes are strictly prohibited and no candidate should distribute some material like silpaulin, Jersy, football, mobile handset, government schemes etc.; no protest rally should be organised 10 days before the election; a fixed number of banners, flags, posters are to be used by the parties.
The MPF is very influential and the people in the state have high regard for the Forum for its impartiality.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/church-bodies-to-check-election-vices/
