J-K elections: EC sets up 24 polling stations for Kashmiri migrants

The Election Commission (EC) has set up 24 special polling stations in Jammu, Udhampur and New Delhi to facilitate voting by Kashmiri migrants in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, a senior official said.

People who were displaced from the Kashmir Valley and are residing in Jammu and Udhampur will not have to fill Form-M, as was done in the Lok Sabha elections, chief electoral Officer (CEO), Jammu and Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole said in a statement issued on Friday, 23 August.

"Kashmiri migrant voters residing in various relief camps in Jammu, Udhampur, and Delhi, who have opted to cast their votes in person through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the election, can do so at 24 polling stations -- 19 in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur and 4 in Delhi," he said.

"Continuing with the historic decision taken by the ECI during the Lok Sabha elections, the earlier requirement for migrant electors in Jammu and Udhampur to fill out Form-M has been removed," he said.

Electors residing in zones and camps will be mapped to their respective polling stations in Jammu and Udhampur, the CEO added.

The draft roll extracts, mapping migrant electors residing in various zones in Jammu and Udhampur to the respective special polling stations, will be published soon. Any additions, deletions or corrections will be allowed for a period of seven days, Pole said.

Following this, the final photo electoral roll extracts will be published for each polling station, based on which migrant electors will be allowed to vote at these special polling stations like any other voter, by producing the Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) or any of the 12 alternate photo identity documents notified by the EC, he said.

Migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur can now self-certify Form-M, instead of getting it attested by a gazetted officer or other authorities, Pole said.

"Those voters who are required to fill out Form-M -- those residing outside Jammu and Udhampur who wish to exercise their franchise in person -- should intimate the details of the electors in their families to the designated election officials," he said.

Additionally, all migrant voters who have not opted to vote in person have the option to vote through postal ballot papers, he said.

The 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls in three phases starting 18 September. Votes will be counted on 4 October.