The all-party team is demanding scrapping of postal ballot and are seeking a re-poll with electronic voting machines, besides also asking for an inquiry into the enrollment of army personnel voters. Besides these several points slated to come up, the Goa team should demand an inquiry into how the serial numbers of postal ballot voters were leaked to candidates. There were instances where postal voters received calls from candidates seeking to know the status of their vote. While the postal ballot involves secrecy, no election personnel, including the Assistant Returning Officers, can allow such a data leak. The extended period of time of 35 days given for voting coupled with a leak in serial numbers of such voters gave ample of room for manoeuvering.
While the presiding officer at Aquem booth number 8 was taken to task after a “technical error” that forced re-polling, those handling sensitive postal ballot material should come in for scrutiny. Assistant ROs and other officers should be questioned and severely reprimanded if found guilty. The secrecy of the ballot cannot be compromised at any cost.
