Coimbatore: Three days after the nominations opened on August 29 for the mayoral polls in Coimbatore, not a single nomination has been filed so far with corporation commissioner and returning officer S Ganesh.
In an indication of the political and public apathy towards civic body election, not even independents have filed nomination papers. The last day for filing nominations is September 4.
The elections will be held at 1,300 polling booths spread over 100 wards on September 18. As many as 6,500 personnel would be engaged in conducting the polls and providing security arrangements.
Meanwhile, the corporation has received 1,380 electronic voting machines and as many ballot units. This year, the civic body has received 154 machines more that what is required. The EVMs are being stored at the corporation school in North Coimbatore. As part of poll arrangements, the corporation commissioner inspected the counting centre at the Government College of Technology. The counting of votes for the mayoral election will be done on September 22.
According to returning officer and commissioner S Ganesh, officials have been instructed to follow the model code of conduct stringently and to remove hoardings, posters and graffiti. Poll preparedness was reviewed by 6,500 -odd polling personnel. Officers from Bharath Electronics Limited have been engaged in checking the functioning of the electronic voting machines.
Meanwhile, a corporation release said that any person willing to contest could file a nomination or anybody proposing him/ her could file the nomination on the contestant's behalf, in person before the returning officer. Both the contestant and his/ her proposer have to sign the nomination papers. A single contestant could file a maximum of four nominations. Only five people should be present at the time of filing nomination papers.
