Kashmir Impulse Desk
Leh, Oct 21
Ladakh will hold panchayat elections on November 21, the Union Territory’s State Election Commission said, setting in motion the first such polls since the region became a separate Union Territory.
The entire election process is scheduled to conclude by November 30, according to the commission’s order. The Model Code of Conduct came into force immediately following the announcement.
Ladakh has 193 panchayats, including 95 in Leh district and 98 in Kargil.
Panchayat and municipal elections were last held in 2018, when Ladakh was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The elected bodies completed their terms by the end of 2023 and early 2024.
The announcement follows an administrative decision two months ago to address what officials described as a democratic vacuum at the grassroots level and revise electoral rolls.
The election notification is scheduled to be issued by the Administrator and the State Election Commission on October 26. The last date for filing nominations is November 2, scrutiny will take place on November 3, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 5.
The commission said candidates and political parties must comply with the Model Code of Conduct, which prohibits activities that promote hostility between communities, the use of places of worship for election propaganda and the unauthorised use of public or private property for posters.
The code also bars candidates and parties from using official positions or government machinery for campaigning.
The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department conducted a draw of lots on Wednesday to determine the reservation of seats for women among panchs and sarpanchs across the territory’s eight districts.
Panchayat elections will be followed by polls to the eight Autonomous Hill Development Councils, officials said.
Those elections require further delimitation following the creation of six new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar, Drass and Sankoo — and amendments to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils framework.
The administration has said the hill council elections cannot be held until April or May next year because of weather conditions and the time needed to complete delimitation.
