Mizoram Assembly Election 2023

The Mizoram legislative assembly elections were held on November 7 to elect 40 members to the house. The tenure of the current Mizoram assembly expires on December 17 this year. The term of the legislative assembly in this north eastern state is five years. The counting of votes will take place on December 4.

Mizoram came into existence as a state on February 20, 1987. The state is currently governed by Mizo National Front under chief minister Zoramthanga. In the 2018 elections, his party MNF had won 26 out of 40 seats, with Congress bagging five and the Bharatiya Janata Party winning just one seat. The MNF had returned to power after 10 years, ousting the Congress from the lone northeastern state it had been ruling.

In 2008, Congress had defeated the MNF, which had been in power since 1998, by winning 32 seats. Five years later, Congress won 34 seats while the MNF managed to bag just 5.

How are assembly elections held?

The electoral process starts with the Election Commission of India announcing the schedule of assembly polls. It includes the dates for filing nominations, scrutiny of nominations, withdrawal of nominations, voting date and the counting of votes.

According to the Election Commission, the gazette notification was issued on October 13. The last date to file nomination was October 20 and the scrutiny of nominations took place on October 21. The last date for withdrawal of nominations was October 23. Voting took place on November 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 4.

After the poll dates are announced, the model code of conduct comes into effect in the election-bound state. The candidates contesting on political parties' tickets or as independents submit their nominations. They have a deadline to withdraw their nomination if they wish. The poll panel reviews the nomination papers before polling date.

On the day of polling, the electors cast their votes at the nearest polling booth. The polling station is manned by EC officials and security personnel. The polling is usually held in a single or multiple phases as per announcement by the election commission. The voting process usually starts at 7 am and goes on till evening.

The counting of votes takes place to decide the winner in the respective constituencies. After being elected, the winner is granted a winners' certificate by the returning officer. In case of disputes, the EC may order recounting of votes if necessary.

The political party or coalition with a majority of seats in the respective assembly is invited by the governor to form the government. The leader of the majority party is sworn-in as the chief minister. The other ministers also take oaths in the presence of the governor. After the oath ceremony, the new government takes charge of running the state for a term of five years.

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