There is currently no formal directive allowing Manipuris who have been displaced to vote in host states, including Mizoram.....
Digital desk: Thousands of Kuki-Zo people from Manipur who were forced to flee their homes due to ethnic violence and are now seeking refuge in Mizoram may not be able to exercise their right to vote in the next Lok Sabha elections.
According to a Mizoram election official, no voting arrangements have been arranged up to this point for the Manipur-based Internally Displaced People (IDPs) seeking refuge in Mizoram to participate in the next elections.
There is currently no formal directive allowing Manipuris who have been displaced to vote in host states, including Mizoram, despite discussions among Election Commission officials to allow them to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Manipur will cast ballots in two phases on April 19 and April 26 for two Lok Sabha seats.
The Mizoram Home Department reports that 9,196 individuals from Manipur—adults and children alike—are currently seeking refuge in various Mizoram locations. Out of the 9,196 people, 1,340 are housed in 26 relief camps, and 7,856 are not, according to the report.
The Manipuris, who primarily sought refuge in Mizoram, are members of the Kuki-Zo community, a minority group having ethnic relations with the Mizos.
Since May of last year, they have sought refuge in the northeastern state because of the ongoing ethnic conflict in the neighboring state.
The Election Commission has developed a plan to enable Manipur's displaced population to cast ballots from their various camps, according to recent remarks made by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Reporters were informed by Manipur's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Pradeep Kumar Jha, that the program is only applicable within the state's borders and that no one has contacted them regarding Manipuris seeking refuge in Mizoram.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), based in Churachandpur, claims that in addition to Mizoram, the Kuki-Zo people from Manipur are also internally displaced in Delhi and other national capitals. The Election Commission had previously permitted the internally displaced people to cast ballots in the host states.
In 1997, ethnic tensions in Mizoram forced thousands of the Bru people to flee to Tripura, where they were given permission to cast postal ballots at the relief camps to exercise their right to vote.
Exclusive polling places were installed in Kanhmun village along the Mizoram–Tripura border in 2018 in response to protests from Mizoram civil society organizations advocating that Bru voters not cast ballots in the relief camps.
It is now possible for the Kashmiri IDPs residing in Delhi to cast their votes.
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