PANAJI
Governor of Goa, Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, has promulgated the Ordinance which amends the Goa Municipality Act, vesting significant powers in the State Election Commission (SEC) over municipal polls but makes holding municipal polls otherwise due in May unlikely before October.
Under the new provisions, the SEC will fix the number of wards in each municipal area and carry out delimitation within 60 days. Draft delimitation will then be published in the Official Gazette, with 30 days given for public objections and suggestions. Final ward boundaries will then be notified after consultation with the government.
The SEC must then also obtain empirical data on political backwardness from the Goa State Commission for Backward Classes, based on which, draft reservations of seats will be published, again inviting public feedback from the public for another 30 days.
Final reservation roster of wards in each municipality will then have to be issued within 30 days of the objection period. And finally, elections will be declared 30 days after publication of the final reservation notification.
The Ordinance clarifies that members of reserved categories, including women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, may contest unreserved seats as well.
Electoral rolls will be streamlined by adopting Assembly rolls under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, divided into ward lists and kept open for inspection 30 days before election notification.
The Goa cabinet had earlier cleared this Ordinance last week, where Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said the move fulfills a long-standing demand.
Until now, delimitation and reservation were handled by bureaucrats under the Urban Development Department.
Advocate General Devidas Pangam had also explained that the timeline for the SEC under the ordinance is fixed and had hinted that the polls, otherwise due in at least a dozen civic bodies in May, may be pushed forward.
"The process will extend the time required, and municipal elections may be pushed forward,” Pangam had said but did not specify the exact time.
Officials, meanwhile, have confirmed that, except for Sanquelim and Ponda, elections to all other councils which were due in May are likely to be postponed.
The State government has already appointed bureaucrats as Administrators to five municipalities, with more expected soon. This means councils will function without elected representatives until polls are eventually held.
Many welcome the empowerment of the SEC, saying it will ensure greater independence in the election process. However, concerns remain over delays and the absence of elected representatives in municipalities under administrators.
