LEH, October 22 (Aalimi Nation) – The State Election Commission of Ladakh has announced that panchayat elections in the Union Territory will be held on November 21, the first such polls since Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019.
The commission said the entire process will be completed before November 30. The Model Code of Conduct came into force with immediate effect and, the commission said, "shall be followed scrupulously by all concerned". State Election Commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey issued the schedule.
Ladakh panchayat elections: the schedule
The Administrator and the State Election Commission will jointly issue the notification for general elections to all Panchayat Halqas on October 26. The key dates are:
October 26: notification issued
November 2: last day for filing nominations
November 3: scrutiny of nominations
November 5: last day for withdrawal of candidature
November 21: polling
By November 30: process completed
The previous panchayat elections were held in November 2018, when the region was still part of Jammu and Kashmir and the state was under Governor's rule. The panchayats elected then completed their five-year term in November 2023, and no fresh polls had been held since. The commission said new Halqas must now be constituted.
Ladakh has 193 panchayats, of which 98 are in the erstwhile Kargil district and 95 in the erstwhile Leh district. Under Rule 7 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, as applied to Ladakh, Panchayat Halqas elect Sarpanches and Panches in consultation with the election authority. The commission described the polls as a major step towards strengthening grassroots democratic institutions in the Union Territory. Details such as seat reservations and the number of voters were not part of the announcement as reported.
Separately, the Ladakh administration on Wednesday notified the delineation of 100 constituencies for the Autonomous Hill Development Councils, up from 52 earlier. Ladakh previously had two councils, in Leh and Kargil. Following an amendment to the Hill Council Act, councils can now be set up in all eight districts of the Union Territory, which became possible after Sankoo was declared the eighth district.
According to the delineation order, Leh has 22 constituencies and Kargil 21, followed by Sankoo with 13, Changthang with 10, Nubra, Sham and Zanskar with nine each, and Drass with seven. The constituencies were drawn on the basis of panchayat circles and municipal wards, taking voter numbers and geographical area into account. Dates for the hill council elections have not yet been announced.
Panchayats are the lowest tier of elected government and handle village-level development and local services. Their absence for nearly three years has left many villages without elected local representatives. The polls are also the first major electoral exercise in the Union Territory since the administrative changes of 2019 and the creation of the new district.
Candidates can begin filing nominations once the notification is issued on October 26. Political parties and independents are expected to announce their candidates before the November 2 deadline, and the commission will release further arrangements for polling closer to the date.
