Staff REPORTER
Itanagar, Nov 15: The State Election Commission (SEC), Arunachal Pradesh, on Saturday announced the schedule for simultaneous general elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and the Municipal bodies of Itanagar and Pasighat.
The polling will be held in a single phase on December 15, 2025, while counting of votes will take place on December 20, informed State Election Commissioner Rinchin Tashi in a press conference here this noon.
As per the poll schedule, the date of issue of notification by SEC and issue of public notice by Returning Officers is November 17. The opening of nominations begins on November 17 itself; with the last date for filing nominations is November 24. Scrutiny will take place on November 26, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till November 29. The entire election process will be completed by December 23, Tashi said.
He said that this election marks the 12th general local bodies election for PRIs since the NEFA Panchayat Regulation of 1967 followed by APPR Act, 1997 and the 3rd for the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC).
Arunachal Pradesh currently has 27 Zilla Parishads, 245 Zilla Parishad Constituencies, 2103 Gram Panchayats, and 8181 Gram Panchayat Constituencies, while the Municipal bodies comprise 20 Wards under IMC and 8 Wards under PMC.
The total electorate stands at 8,31,648, including 7,59,210 voters for Panchayats and 72,438 Municipal voters. Female voters outnumber male voters in the Panchayats, with a gender ratio of 1,123 females per 1,000 males.
Upper Subansiri district has the highest PRI electorate (61,142), while Dibang Valley has the lowest (4,249). In Municipal areas, Ward No. 19 of IMC has the highest number of electorate (5,106), and Ward No. 6 of PMC has the lowest (812).
A total of 2,171 polling stations will be set up for PRI polls and 79 for Municipal elections—67 in Itanagar and 12 in Pasighat, Tashi informed.
The SEC will deploy 29 General Election Observers – including one each for 27 districts and two for municipal bodies. The Commission will engage over 40,000 personnel, including about 15,000 polling staff, for smooth conduct of the elections.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for municipal voting, while PRIs will vote using ballot boxes.
Elaborate security arrangements will be made to ensure free, fair, and peaceful local bodies election across the state. “Additional forces will be mobilized for sensitive areas of Tirap, Changlang and Longding (TCL) region,” the State Election Commissioner assured.
With the announcement, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect across the State. The Commission appealed to all stakeholders, including the political parties and contesting candidates, “to extend their helping hand and cooperation to ensure that local bodies elections are held in a free, fair, and fearless manner in order to strengthen the local-self government”.
SEC Secretary Taru Talo, Nodal Officer Sangeet Dubey (Director of Research), and Under Secretary Tage Nipa were also present during the presser.