VIJAYAWADA: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena took stock of the arrangements being made for the fair conduct of elections, and enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in the State. Holding a video conference with the District Election Officers (DEOs) from the State Secretariat on Wednesday, the CEO enquired about resolving pending Form 7 and 8, expediting the process to give approvals for the programmes of political parties, redressal of complaints lodged through cVIGIL, implementation of ES MS and other issues.
Making it clear that prior approval is a must for the programmes to be conducted by the political parties, Meena said they should apply through Suvidha portal 48 hours in advance to get permission. In case there is not much time, they can directly apply for permission offline, and permission should be given after entering the details in the encore portal.
Stating that representatives of all political parties raised objections to taking prior permission for door-to-door campaign, he said, besides going through the guidelines in force in various States, they will be taken to the notice of the Election Commission of India (ECI). A decision on the door-to-door campaign will be taken soon and informed to the DEOs, he said. Approval for political advertisements should be given considering all the Acts. However, permission should not be given for setting up new hoardings, he added.