Chief Electoral Officer of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Yatendra M. Maralkar, chaired a meeting on March 26 to assess the preparedness for the general election to  Lok Sabha.

He impressed upon all the State Nodal Officers to take charge of their roles and responsibilities immediately and submit compliance reports to his office on a daily basis. He also stressed that the 22 Nodal Officers appointed for various election-related tasks should discharge their duties diligently in accordance with the instructions, SOPs, and protocols prescribed by the ECI.

The CEO emphasised that all officials and political stakeholders involved in the electoral process should adhere strictly to the guidelines and instructions issued by the ECI, including the model code of conduct guidelines, media certification instructions, and all other relevant legal provisions. He also apprised them that deviation from the standing instructions of ECI and legal provisions regarding the conduct of elections would be taken very seriously, and strict legal actions would be taken against the defaulters.

The CEO also emphasised to all the stakeholders of the election, both official and political, to uphold Indian democratic traditions and the legal and constitutional provisions in their conduct during the entire election process.

Joint CEO and Nodal Officer for Expenditure Monitoring, Sonam Chosjor, emphasised the coordination among the Nodal Officers for Model Code of Conduct (MCC), Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC), and Expenditure Monitoring. He also briefed the attendees on the instructions relating to the pre-certification of political advertisements during the meeting.