SHILLONG — Tura MDC Bernard Marak wants the Meghalaya government to explain why the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council’s delimitation exercise remains unfinished and whether the delay is being used to keep the council elections at bay.
Marak has approached District Council Affairs Minister Prestone Tynsong with a series of questions about the committee entrusted with redrawing GHADC constituencies. His principal concern is the reported political association of its chairman and some members with the National People’s Party (NPP), an issue he said surfaced during the council’s previous session. He stopped short of treating party membership as proof of misconduct. Instead, Marak argued that an exercise determining who votes where and how communities are represented cannot afford doubts over the neutrality of those conducting it. The government, he said, must address those doubts rather than expect the public to accept the process without scrutiny.
The Tura MDC has also challenged the manner in which the exercise has been conducted, alleging that elected council members were not adequately informed and had little opportunity to put forward their views. He wants affected constituencies consulted before any boundary changes are settled, with public hearings and discussions involving MDCs and traditional institutions.
Marak has invoked the Sixth Schedule, arguing that its constitutional protections for autonomous district councils should not be turned into a political convenience. He has specifically sought an explanation for the absence of public hearings and questioned why the boundary exercise was not completed before the election process was due to take place.
The six-month extension of the GHADC’s tenure has become another point of contention. Marak wants the government to clarify whether the additional time is strictly needed to finish delimitation or whether other considerations are influencing the election timetable.
His demands include releasing the proposed boundaries, disclosing details of the delimitation committee, holding hearings in affected areas and announcing a definite schedule for the polls. He has warned against allowing the constitutional process to serve the electoral calculations of any party.
“Delimitation must be for the people, not for any political party,” Marak said.
