SHILLONG, JAN 21: Meghalaya principal secretary and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Prashant Naik must be the only officer in the state to have conducted parliamentary and assembly elections in the state for the last twenty-five years in different capacities. The 2013 Meghalaya election slated for February 23 will be the second assembly elections he will be conducting as CEO.
Naik, who took over as the Meghalaya CEO in 2005, said every election was a different experience altogether and you get to learn new things. “I have conducted election since the time I was a Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) in Baghmara in 1988…Generally, the elections in Meghalaya are peaceful and not volatile in the real sense of the term,” he said.
Naik, however, cautioned that the election department will keep a close watch at the upcoming assembly elections, especially in Garo hills where militant activities are a cause of concern, and asses the security need of the region to ensure that voters exercise their franchise without fear from any quarters. The election department has categorized 1222 out of the 2485 polling stations as hyper- sensitive and sensitive.
Apart from the full-fledged Assembly and Parliamentary elections, Naik has been involved in the conduct of many bye-elections, both Assembly and Parliamentary, in the past 25 years. These include the two occasions in Tura when Purno A Sangma resigned and contested from different political parties. (By Our Reporter)
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