Meghalaya to revisit GHADC electoral rolls after Rule 8 amendment gets Governor’s nod

Meghalaya is set to undertake a crucial revision of the electoral rolls of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) following the Governor’s approval of amendments to Rule 8, with Deputy Chief Minister in-charge District Council Affairs Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday indicating that the exercise will realign the council’s electoral framework with the prevailing system in the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councils.
The move assumes significance against the backdrop of long-standing concerns over the composition of electoral rolls in Garo Hills, with the amended provision explicitly restricting the rolls to “Only Schedule Tribe,” thereby bringing it in line with the existing electoral practices followed in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council.
“We are so thankful to the honourable who has ultimately approved the ammendment passed by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council relating to the rule 8. The rule 8 where ultimately it was replaced by the word Only Schedule Tribe. Then today, the Governor has approved it, now the ammendment is in place. Then the next step from here is again, we are working out how to revisit the electoral rolls because the electoral Rolls has to be revisited in this particular case,” Tynsong said.
He indicated that the government will move swiftly to operationalise the amendment through consultations and administrative directions to the council authorities. “So now I think, I’ll have a detailed meeting and Ultimately necessary instructions will be given to the GHADC. This is for Garo Hills as in Khasi and Jaintia Hills we have Electoral Roll of only tribal voters. So now since this ammendment has taken place, we have to also be main applicable, the practises done by Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills,” he added.
Signalling a broader push for uniformity, the Deputy Chief Minister said the State government would formally communicate with the other autonomous district councils to ensure consistency in electoral provisions. “And I said you very soon, we are going to write letter from the government side to both the District Councils KHADC and JHADC that they should also ammend the very same Autonomous District Council Rules and sent it to the Governor for his assent.”