No. ECI/PN/67/2018                                                                                                                                                                                         Dated:   6^th October, 2018

PRESS NOTE

Subject :  Schedule for bye-elections to fill casual vacancy in the Lok Sabha from Parliamentary Constituencies of Karnataka and State Legislative Assemblies of Karnataka – Regarding.

 There are three clear vacancies in the Lok Sabha from Parliamentary Constituencies of Karnataka, which need to be filled up: 

  There are two clear vacancies in the State Legislative Assembly of Karnataka, which need to be filled up: 

 After taking into consideration various factors like local festivals, electoral rolls, weather conditions etc., the Commission has decided to hold bye-elections to fill these vacancies  as per the programme mentioned as under: -

ELECTORAL ROLL

The Electoral Rolls for all the aforesaid Lok Sabha and Assembly Constituencies have been finally published w.r.t 01.01.2018.       

ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES (EVMs) and VVPATs

 The Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in the bye-elections in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been made available and all steps have been taken to ensure that the polls are conducted smoothly with the help of these machines.

IDENTIFICATION OF VOTERS

In consonance with the past practice, the Commission has decided that the voter’s identification shall be mandatory in the aforementioned bye- elections at the time of poll. Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) shall be the main document of identification of a voter. However, in order to ensure that no voter is deprived of his/her franchise, if his/her name figures in the Electoral Rolls, separate instructions will be issued to allow additional documents for identification of voters at the time of poll in the said bye-elections.

MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT

The Model Code of Conduct shall come into force with immediate effect in the district(s) in which the whole or any part of the Parliamentary/Assembly Constituency going for bye-election is included, subject to partial modification as issued vide Commission’s instruction No. 437/6/INST2016-CCS, dated 29^th June, 2017 (available on the Commission’s website). The Model Code of Conduct shall be applicable to all candidates, political parties and the State Government concerned. The Model Code of Conduct shall also be applicable to the Union Government for the State concerned.

(SUMIT MUKHERJEE)

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY