PANAJI
In view of the pending Public Interest Litigations (PILs) before the High Court of Bombay at Goa challenging the reservation of wards, the State government has announced postponement of the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections by one week. The polls, initially scheduled for December 13, will now be conducted on December 20.
Secretary for Panchayats Chesta Yadav in an order issued on Tuesday has said that the ZP polls are rescheduled for December 20.
“The General Election for the North Goa Zilla Panchayat constituencies and South Goa Zilla Panchayat constituencies scheduled on December 13, 2025 vide aforesaid notifications is rescheduled to December 20, 2025,” the order stated.
However, the election schedule will be notified by the State Election Commission (SEC) only after November 25.
Earlier, on October 15, Yadav had issued a preliminary notification announcing that elections for all 50 ZP constituencies -- 25 each in North and South -- would be held on December 13. However, the process faced legal hurdles after three separate petitions were filed in the High Court challenging the November 6 notification related to ward reservations.
With the petitions still under judicial scrutiny, the SEC opted to defer the polling date to ensure compliance with court directives and maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
The revised election schedule is expected to be issued after the High Court’s further directions.
Total 20 zilla constituencies have been reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) while 18 wards have been reserved for women candidates.
