Shillong: Meghalaya governor CH Vijayashankar on Tuesday approved amended rules making Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates mandatory for candidates contesting Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections.“Would like to thank the Hon’ble Governor for approving the amended rules making it mandatory for candidates to have ST certificates to contest in the GHADC elections,” chief minister Conrad K Sangma posted on X. The approval came a day after the National People’s Party-led GHADC executive committee unanimously passed a bill amending the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Council) Rules, 1951.
The amendment requires candidates to hold ST certificates, effectively restricting eligibility for the tribal council elections to tribals.“This is a very important decision… District councils are traditionally meant for the tribals of the region. It has been a longpending demand of the people. But for the past 74 years, none of the governments or the district councils were able to do this,” Sangma said.He referred to the establishment of the GHADC in 1952 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect tribal rights and interests.The Garo Hills region had seen unrest after non-tribal candidates filed nominations for the council polls.Amid protests and violence that left two people dead, the state govt postponed the GHADC elections scheduled for April 10 and extended the council’s term by six months until Oct 18 to allow time for changes to election rules.
