The State Election Commission has announced that the Panchayat elections in the State will be held in June reminding that the entire process needs to be completed by June 19. The timing of this announcement comes as a surprise because the State is yet to complete its electoral process of Assembly elections.
The SEC says that it has already begun the crucial process of delimitation of 186 panchayat areas using customised web-based software to ensure that no households or voters are excluded. On paper, the SEC appears to have ticked most of the boxes. The Election Registration Officers are told to prepare the final delimitation proposals after considering the suggestions, modifications and corrections from the public, before submitting the same to the Election Commission via the designated officers. It is also informed that the delimitation process will be carried out as per the recent amendment to Section of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, and reservation of seats will be decided in consultation with the State government.
Delimitation and ward reservations are the two most crucial and contentious aspects of a panchayat election. The 2017 assembly election is testimony of the arbitrary, flawed and hurried mechanism that operates in the background under the guise of transparency and fair democracy. How can one forget the pitched court battles that were fought over a flawed delimitation and ward reservation process that made national headlines? How could one forget that court intervention was needed to set right a wrong even in the demarcation of wards? The glaring inconsistencies in applying the reservation, based on the census of 2011 for the 2017 election, not only exposed the internal manipulation that happens to seize an electoral advantage but shows the undercurrents that are at play. Hence, there is every need to examine these sensitive and crucial electoral aspects with all the attention. Delimitation and reservation processes must be held according to laid down norms, and cannot be at the random discretion of any powers.
Panchayat elections, over time, have grown in significance and involvement. These grass-root bodies are considered crucial vehicles of socio-economic transformation and hence there is a need for transparency in the electoral process, as much as there is a need for responsible citizens to stand up and be counted for the sake of Goa. Panchayats are seen as founding stones of rural development and hence need competent people at the helm to ensure its effective functioning. There has to be active participation of such people so that the roots of our democracy are strengthened. We don't want a repeat of the Old Goa heritage structure saga, neither do we want a situation faced at Varkhand.
It's time for all those who have stood up for Goa's causes to rise to the occasion and take the Panchayati movement forward in the spirit of participatory democracy. Let the panchayat election be focused on transparency and good governance. It’s time to put mind over matter and strengthen the roots of democracy.
