Nasir Azam
Srinagar, Jan 14: The election for key positions of chairperson and vice-chairperson of district development councils (DDCs) in Jammu & Kashmir will be conducted through secret ballot.
The rules governing election for the offices of chairperson and vice chairperson of DDCs in the Union Territory clearly state that electoral exercise would be held through secret ballot.
“If the number of candidates is more than one, the election shall be held through secret ballot,” reads the rules.
After holding of DDC polls in Jammu & Kashmir, the elected members would soon appoint chairperson and vice-chairperson of each DDC in the Union Territory. Only elected members would have voting rights for choosing chairperson and his/ her deputy in all 20 districts of J&K.
According to the rules, every candidate for the chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be nominated by two of the elected members, one as a proposer and another as a seconder.
“No member shall be allowed to propose or second more than one candidate,” reads the rules.
Earlier this week, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj unveiled rules governing reservation for women, schedule castes and schedule tribes for offices of DDC chairpersons.
As per the reservation rules, one-third of the total number of seats for the offices of chairperson of DDC shall be reserved for women.
The allocation of seats of chairperson to be reserved for women shall be made on a three-point roster system after arranging them alphabetically.
According to the rules, the offices of chairpersons of the DDCs shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the DDCs as the population of Scheduled Caste or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Union Territory bears to the total population of the Union Territory by applying the principles of mathematic round off with the part fraction of 0.5 and above be rounded off to 1 and part fraction below 0.5 being ignored for the each DDC separately. (KNO)