The State Election Commission has issued guidelines for guaranteeing timely refund of deposits made by candidates along with their nominations for contesting local body elections.
The Commission has directed returning officers to refund the election deposits to all eligible candidates in a time-bound manner. The guidelines, meant to give clarity on refunds, have been uploaded on the commission’s website, State Election Commissioner A. Shajahan said.
Victorious candidates and others who win more than one-sixth of the valid votes polled are eligible to receive their deposits back within three months. The deposits should also be returned within a week of the publication of the list of candidates to those who withdraw their nominations or whose nominations are rejected.
If a candidate passes away before the voting, the money should be transferred to the bank account of the legal heir at the earliest. The deposits of all other candidates will be transferred to the panchayats and municipalities concerned.
Candidates need not file separate applications for receiving their deposits back, the commission said. When filing nominations, the candidates should also provide the relevant information regarding legal heirs and bank accounts in the prescribed form.
