2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election

The legislative assembly election was held on 28 November 2018 to elect members of the 40 constituencies in Mizoram. Mizo National Front won 26 seats in the election. This was the first time that Congress does not have any government in any of the states in Northeast India.

Background

The tenure of Mizoram Legislative Assembly was due to end on 15 December 2018.
Four high-profile leaders of the Congress including the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in Mizoram defected to the BJP before the polls.

Schedule

The Election Commission of India has announced the poll dates on 6 October 2018. It was held in single phase on 28 November 2018. The result was declared on 11 December 2018.

Event	Date	Day
Date for Nominations	2 Nov 2018	Friday
Last Date for filing Nominations	9 Nov 2018	Friday
Date for scrutiny of nominations	12 Nov 2018	Monday
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures	14 Nov 2018	Wednesday
Date of poll	28 Nov 2018	Wednesday
Date of counting	11 Dec 2018	Tuesday
Date before which the election shall be completed	13 Dec 2018	Thursday

Protests against chief electoral officer

On the eve of the election, there were protests against the chief electoral officer Sashank. The state government wanted the Reang people living in camps in the neighboring state of Tripura, who are registered voters for the elections in Mizoram, to travel to Mizoram, the CEO sided with the groups representing the Reang people, who wanted to vote from Tripura. The CEO alleged interference by the principal secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and wrote to the election commission in the last week of October, alleging interference from the state government in the conduct of the elections. Subsequently, the election commission issued orders to the state government to remove Chuaungo with immediate effect. People led by Young Mizo Association and consisting of Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl and other student bodies, took to the streets in Aizawl demanding removal of CEO Sashank and reinstatement of Chaungo. Eventually the election commission recalled Sashank and appointed Ashish Kundra as the new CEO.