Sheikh Imran gets 7 votes, 19 councilors abstain from voting; scuffle, protest mark day at SMC office, Imran says councilors dragged as if they were militants, Matoo thanks corporators for voting in his favour
SRINAGAR: The former Mayor and ex-Peoples Conference leader, Junaid Azim Matoo was on Wednesday elected Mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Correspondent, Matoo has bagged 44 votes while his rival Sheikh Imran, who is former Deputy Mayor has secured only 7 votes.
Officials informed KNO that at least 19 councilors abstained from the voting process today as they walked out during the election process as a mark of protest against what they stated that the authorities wanted a selective mayor for Srinagar.
According to KNO Correspondent, the scuffle broke out between the councilors after they alleged that they were being forced to vote in favor of former Mayor Junaid Azim Matoo.
Former Deputy Mayor, Sheikh Imran said that they should have been informed about the voting procedure as it was for the first time that polls were being conducted through open ballot rather than secret ballot.
However, he said that after sometime, the Congress candidate was selected following which they protested after doubts and later police reached and took them out from the hall.
“We are not anti-nationals. We wanted that elections be held fairly. The elections should not be a selection, it should be elections only, we demand free and fair elections to be conducted,” he said.
He said that the councilors were dragged out of SMC premises as if they were militants.
“Some councilors have been sold as the authorities want a selective Mayor for Srinagar,” Deputy Mayor Parvez Qadri alleged. He said that they want the elections to be held in front of the Magistrate so that the doubts and apprehensions of councilors will be addressed.
Meanwhile, the councilors walked out in the lawns of SMC and staged a protest where they appealed that their demands must be fulfilled at an earliest.
Meanwhile, Matoo thanked the councilors for casting their votes in his favor.
Addressing a news conference, Matoo who was accompanied by councilors, said that he has won the elections by bagging 2/3 majority. “I was elected after 44 councilors cast their votes in my favor,” he said.
He said that the elections were conducted peacefully. “For the first, the elections were conducted transparently at SMC. There was no secrecy today as the polls were conducted through open ballot,” he said.
Matoo further stated that soon after the polls began, his rival along with NC and Congress created chaos in the premises of SMC, but later the police controlled the situation. He also stated that he will come up to the expectations of councilors and ensure Srinagar is taken to the new heights.
“After 74th amendment, many departments are now under SMC and we will ensure the departments including the schools are upgraded,” he said.