Amaravati: The State Election Commission (SEC) has decided to make the nomination papers and self-affidavits of candidates contesting local body elections available online, enabling voters to access detailed information about candidates before polling.
The commission informed the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday that it had issued instructions to the departments concerned to upload the documents and establish a dedicated portal for public access. It also assured the court that the information would be made available well before the polling date.
The SEC filed an affidavit detailing the steps taken in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vallaparla Shiva Karthik, a resident of Nuzvid in Eluru district. The petitioner sought directions to make the nomination papers and affidavits of candidates contesting local body elections accessible online.
The proposed online facility will cover candidates contesting municipal and rural local body elections. The nomination papers and details of candidates seeking election as mayors, municipal chairpersons and ward members will be uploaded. The Commission has also directed officials to make available the nomination papers and self-affidavits of candidates contesting MPTC, ZPTC and Sarpanch elections. Considering the large volume of information involved, the SEC has instructed officials to make arrangements to upload the documents through the official websites of the panchayat raj and rural development and municipal administration departments. Links to these departmental websites will also be provided on the SEC’s website.
The commission has written to the commissioners of the two departments, municipal commissioners and other authorities concerned asking them to ensure that candidates’ nomination papers and affidavits are uploaded and updated regularly. State election commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha has directed officials to complete the necessary arrangements at the earliest.
During the previous hearing, the petitioner’s counsel had argued that voters should have access to more than candidates’ names and addresses. Information about their assets and criminal antecedents was essential to enable the electorate to make informed choices, the counsel submitted.
