Staff Reporter 

ITANAGAR, Nov 15: The State Election Commission (SEC), Arunachal Pradesh, today officially announced the schedule for simultaneous general elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and the municipal bodies of Itanagar and Pasighat. The elections will be conducted in a single phase.
The State Election Commission, during a press conference held today, informed that the issue of the election notice and public notice will begin on November 17, 2025, followed by the last date of nomination filing on November 24. Scrutiny will take place on November 26, while November 29 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The statewide polling will be held on December 15, with counting scheduled for December 20, and the entire election process to be completed by December 23.
This will be the 12th General Local Bodies Election for PRIs since NEFA Panchayat Regulation 1967 and the 3rd municipal election for Itanagar and Pasighat.
The state currently has 27 Zilla Parishads with 245 Zilla Parishad constituencies and 2,103 Gram Panchayats comprising 8,181 Gram Panchayat constituencies. The two municipal bodies—Itanagar Municipal Corporation and Pasighat Municipal Council—have 20 and 8 wards respectively.
The total electorate includes 7,59,210 PRI voters and 72,438 municipal voters, making a combined total of 8,31,648 voters.
Notably, the female electorate outnumbers the male electorate in Panchayats, with 1,123 females per 1,000 males. Upper Subansiri has the highest PRI electorate at 61142 while Dibang Valley has the lowest at 4249. In Municipalities, Ward No. 19 of Itanagar Municipal Corporation has the highest electorate at 5,106, and Pasighat Ward No. 6 the lowest at 812.
A total of 2,171 polling stations will operate for Panchayats and 79 stations for Municipalities (67 in Itanagar and 12 in Pasighat).
While PRIs will use ballot boxes, Municipal elections will be conducted using EVMs.
More than 40,000 personnel, including 15,000 polling staff, will be engaged in the election duties. District-level master trainers have recently completed training and will further train polling and presiding officers at the district levels.
The SEC will deploy 29 General Election Observers—one for each district including two municipal bodies—from senior IAS, IFS, and APCS ranks.
Elaborate security arrangements have been planned across the state, with additional forces for sensitive districts in the Tirap, Changlang, and Longding (TCL) region. Control rooms will be set up in SEC, DEO, and RO offices for real-time monitoring.
The Commission confirmed that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect immediately from today’s announcement. All political parties, candidates, party workers, and agents are required to comply with MCC provisions.
Appealing for cooperation from all stakeholders, the SEC urged the State Government, political parties, and contesting candidates to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections to strengthen grassroots democracy and fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List