The Election Commission on Friday announced that assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held in a single phase on November 12. Addressing a press conference at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, the results of the elections in Himachal will be declared on December 8, 2022. The Commission has not announced the dates for the Gujarat assembly election. The filing of nominations will begin on October 17 and continue till October 25.
The EC said that over 55 lakh people were eligible to vote in Himachal, out of which, 1.86 lakh people were first-time voters, and 1.22 lakh are aged 80-plus. There are 7,881 total polling stations, including 142 managed entirely by women and 37 by persons with disabilities. The elections have to be free, fair, inclusive, accessible. The voting experience has to be comfortable, hassle-free,” Kumar said.
On why the dates for the Gujarat elections were not announced, Kumar said, various factors were considered, including convention, the gap in qualifying dates, and weather. “We do not want entire election process to continue for a very long period; Model code of conduct period reduced to 57 days,” he said. The term of the Gujarat Assembly ends on February 18, 2023.