Ordinance to use EVMs in rural areas issued

The ordinance, Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Fourth Amendment) Ordinance of 2019, stated that “EVMs will be used in the elections to rural local bodies on the lines of the provisions contained in the laws relating to Town Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations.”

Following the ordinance, EVMs will be used for the first time in rural local body elections replacing the existing method of paper ballot. So far, EVMs were used only in urban local body elections, but the SEC Commissioner had recently recommended government to introduce EVMs in rural areas too citing the reduction in time and man power to conduct elections. The changes will be reflected in the elections conducted for the post of Chairmen in village panchayats, district panchayats and panchayat unions.

The changes were announced in the all-party meeting conducted by the SEC and the Commissioner R Palaniswamy informed the representatives that EVMs would be used on an experimental basis only in Kanniyakumari district.

The state also issued an ordinance to scrap the status of third grade municipalities. The last third grade municipality in the state was Melvisharam in the newly formed Ranipet district and it was upgraded recently.