NEW DELHI: As part of preparatory steps for the upcoming Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued an advisory on the transfer and posting of officials involved in the poll process. The directive has been sent to Chief Electoral Officers and Chief Secretaries of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry, where Assembly terms end between May and June this year.
The Commission reiterated its long-standing policy that officers directly connected with elections should not serve in their home districts or remain posted for long tenures in the same district.
The EC said, “No officer directly associated with election duties will be permitted to continue in their current revenue district if it is their home district, or if they have completed three years of service in that district during the last four years.” It added that this will also apply to officers completing three years on or before May 31 in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and on or before June 30 in Puducherry.
To clarify the calculation of tenure, the Commission said that promotions to another post within the same district will be counted when computing the three-year period. But service at the state headquarters during the past four years may be excluded, even if the headquarters is located in the same revenue district.
The EC stated that transferred officers may be posted at the state headquarters, even if the headquarters falls within the same revenue district.
It also directed that key functionaries should not be repeated in the same areas. “No District Election Officer, Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer, or police personnel of the rank of inspector or above should be posted back to, or allowed to continue in, the Assembly constituency or district where they were deployed during the last Assembly election or any subsequent bye-election.”