Candidates contesting elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council will now be required to possess a Scheduled Tribe certificate. The development comes weeks after the polls were postponed following violence in connection with the nomination process, which left two dead.

The violence had erupted after non-tribal candidates filed nominations for the polls. Two persons were killed in suspected police firing on March 10.

On Tuesday, the Meghalaya governor gave assent to an amendment to the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts Constitution of District Councils Rules.

The amendment was approved by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council on Monday.

After the approval, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the decision “will strengthen true representation of our Garo people, ensuring leadership by those who understand the aspirations, traditions and future of our community”.

Elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council were earlier slated to be held on April 10. However, the elections were postponed and the council’s term was extended till October 18 following the violence.

The Meghalaya High Court had on March 10 set aside a notification issued by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council that had made Scheduled Tribes certificates mandatory for candidates to file nomination papers. The High Court had held that the notification was issued without following procedures under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Sixth Schedule provides for autonomous decentralised self-governance in certain tribal areas of Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.