Sikkim panchayat polls peaceful

GANGTOK, Oct. 26: The rural polls went off peacefully in Sikkim today.According to the State Election Commission, 85 per cent votes were cast in North district, 65 per cent in West, 75 percent in East and 75 per cent of votes were cast in South district."There was some problem with the electronic voting machines at Kaluk in West district which was replaced immediately," said Mr CB Dhakal joint chief electoral officer. "Another minor technical error occurred at Samdong in East district which too was sorted out immediately," he added. The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front already leads the polls having won 640 of the gram panchayat seats and 45 zilla parishad seats uncontested. The district collector of North, Mr TN Kazi reported that the polls were held in peace.Senior SDF leader Mr BB Gooroong, said: "It is a clear indication that the SDF would sweep the polls. We are expecting a landslide victory which would make us stronger.”