In a press conference, on July 1, INC candidate I. Temsu Jamir from Sangtemla Ward 10 of Mokokchung Town expressed discontent over the electoral process during the recently concluded ULB election. Jamir highlighted discrepancies and lapses during polling and counting, including extra and missing votes in Polling Stations 1 and 2 of Sangtemla Ward 11, respectively. He noted issues with the Blue Paper seal and wax sealing of ballot boxes, as well as discrepancies in Form 17 and Form 23 entries. Jamir and his supporters plan to pursue legal action, supported by the District Congress Committee of Mokokchung (DCCI) and the Nagaland Pradesh Youth Congress, based on a State Election Commission notification issued on June 27, which they were unaware of during the election. The full press conference was attended by notable party members, including Watimongba Aier, Sanglipong S. Pongen, and Limanaro Pongen.
Jamir said, “As per the declared result, I am the losing candidate, and I am here to address some issues related to the election. I am not voicing it because I have lost the election.” He said we will be facing many elections in the future where ballot papers will be used and we need to be very careful. Here, there were discrepancies and lapses during the electoral process, which we feel are unjust.
Jamir said, “We are not happy over the discrepancies during the polling day and counting day of the electoral process.” He clarified that he is not making any accusations but sharing dissatisfaction over the electoral process, which is not acceptable.
He mentioned that the main issue is that Sangtemla Ward 11 had two polling stations where Polling Station 1 recorded an extra vote and Polling Station 2 recorded two votes missing, which he said is well documented.
Jamir mentioned the lapses include the Blue Paper seal lapses in Polling Station 1 and the negligence of wax sealing of the ballot box in Polling Station 2 as reported by his polling agent. He said, “My polling agent raised issues about this during the process but was told that it’s not mandatory.” The second issue he mentioned was the Form 17 entry form, where he said that at Polling Station 1 of Sangtemla Ward, a total of 621 electoral voters cast their votes as per ballot papers received in the entry, which were signed off by the Presiding Officer and the polling agents of each of the three candidates (NDPP, INC, and IND) on the polling day. However, it turned out that there was an extra vote during the counting day – 622.
Jamir mentioned that at Polling Station 2, a total of 634 electoral voters cast their votes as entered in Form 17, but two votes were missing from the polling station during the counting, and the signatures of the polling agents were not obtained.
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He stated that they protested these issues during the counting day of the extra votes and missing votes and asked for some minutes for consultation. They were informed to draft a complaint letter to the Returning Officer (RO) as advised by the District Commissioner (DC), also informing them that it might go to the Tribunal. He said that he kept the complaint letter with the polling agent for submission and was informed to write another letter addressing the Tribunal, but the request to withhold the result was not taken into consideration, and the result was declared without the signatures of the polling agents of both the INC and IND candidates. They felt disappointed over the hurry, and the results were declared, so they approached the RO.
He Informed that the RO had replied to both candidates over the complaints, addressing them and stating that they followed the procedures based on the guidelines provided by the State Election Commission, which was issued only on June 27, one day after the polling day. Jamir said that they were not aware of this notification/order because it was issued only on June 27, stating that their main protest is on this order. He said that the order was not issued to the candidates, political parties, nor was the public informed. He said that the issue will be taken up by the NPCC for further legal action.
Jamir also raised issues on Form 23, stating that authentication was not done in their presence.
Limanaro Pongen, State chief coordinator (JBM) INC as well as the Polling and counting agent of the INC candidate I Temsu Jamir explained the discrepancies during the electoral process.
Watimongba Aier, President of DCCI, stated that the party fully supports taking up the issue legally and officially looking into the matter seriously. Sanglipong S. Pongen, General Secretary of Nagaland Pradesh Youth Congress, also stated that based on the notification issued on June 27 by the State Election Commission, they will take up the case seriously after consulting with a senior advocate.
