‘Municipal Council elections should be held’

Mokokchung, December 21 (MExN): The Municipal Council election ‘will be held’ and ‘it should be held’, was the clear stand of the NPF Division leaders of Mokokchung district. If the Municipal elections are held, then the NPF Mokokchung division would put up its own women candidates for the reserved seats, asserted the newly inducted Mokokchung NPF Division president Imtiyanger at an interactive meeting with local media persons at Hotel Metsupen here this evening.
While the NPF Mokokchung Division leaders discussed threadbare topics regarding the socio-economic and political scenario of the town, one important topic was the Municipal elections of the town. The Municipal Council elections tentatively scheduled to be held next year in 2012. The NPF Mokokchung Division president said that it was the DAN Government that endorsed the 33 percent reservation for women and that the Mokokchung NPF Division also sticks by it since ‘we don’t want to discriminate the other half of our part’.
“Municipal elections will be held and our party wants the Municipal elections to be held,” said the NPF Mkg Division president, Imtiyanger. Saying that the High Court have also given a ruling to hold the Municipal Council Elections, Imtiyanger asserted that the Mokokchung Division of Naga People’s Front will be ready for the election, as and when the elections are announced.
However when queried on the question of the women candidates to be put up for the reserved seats in the Municipalities or town Councils, Imtiyanger simply said that the NPF Mokokchung Division, ‘as a political party’, would set up its own candidates and fight for the election.
It may be noted here that the topic of Municipal or town council elections have become a hot topic in the past after the Nagaland state government amended the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 in the Legislative Assembly in 2006 giving 33 percent to women in the Town and Municipal
Councils.  Different NGOs have been opposing the 33 percent reservation of various grounds. However with the Guwahati High court giving a ruling in favor of the 33 percent women reservation, it is quite certain for now that the Municipal and town council elections will be held next year.