Tura, Feb 27: In a surprise move that is being seen as a victory for those advocating for a district council solely for tribal representation, the Executive Committee of the GHADC has passed an order that blocks anyone without a tribal ST certificate from contesting the upcoming elections.
Outgoing Chief Executive Member Albiniush R Marak told The Meghalayan Express that his Executive Committee passed the order on the 17th barring any non tribal from contesting the council elections.
“We passed the order on the 17th of this month and today the notification is being released. Anyone who does not have an ST certificate will not be allowed to contest any council election or by-election from now onwards. This is solely for candidates and not voters, tribal or otherwise,” said the CEM.
The sudden move of the council authorities to bar non tribals from contesting is expected to have a cascading effect. Constituencies such as Zikzak (Mahendraganj), Balachanda and Shyamnagar (Rajabala/Phulbari) have a high non tribal population and have voted in non-garos, particularly from the minority Muslim community on previous elections. Currently, there are two non-tribal MDCs in the GHADC, representing Zikzak and Shyamnagar.
