Elections to the village panchayats, where auctions were held for unanimous election of sarpanches, should be withheld and the role of money must be probed, the Election Watch Committee has demanded.
The Andhra Pradesh State Election Watch Committee submitted a representation to the state Election Commissioner P Ramakanth Reddy to his effect, here on Saturday.
Election Watch convener V Lakshmana Reddy, along with M Padmanabha Reddy, S Srinivas Reddy and others, also urged Ramakanth Reddy to take measure for the closure of two lakh belt shops running across the state. All the belt shops should remain closed at least till the completion of the elections to facilitate free and fair polls, they said.
They wanted the SEC to cancel the transfer of police officers and other officials who have not completed two years of service in their posts. The sudden transfer of officials by the state government will show its impact on the polls, they said.
In connection with poll-related cases, they wanted the SEC to open a toll-free telephone at its head office and also at all the district headquarters and have adequate staff to deal with the cases.