PANAJI: Elections to all 30 wards of the Corporation of the City of Panaji will be held on March 11, with the Model Code of Conduct coming into effect immediately, the Goa State Election Commission (GSEC) announced today.
A total of 32,496 eligible voters will cast their votes by ballot across 48 polling booths.
Announcing the schedule to the press, GSEC Commissioner Menino D’Souza said nominations will be accepted from tomorrow to February 24 between 10 am and 1 pm, excluding Sunday, February 22. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on February 25 from 10 am onwards, while withdrawal of candidature is scheduled for February 26 between 10 am and 3 pm. The final list of contesting candidates will be published after 3 pm on the same day.
"Polling will be conducted on March 11 from 8 am to 5 pm. Counting of votes will begin on March 13 at 8 am at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim," the Commissioner said.
Referring to the tenure of the current council, D’Souza noted that elections must be completed before the term expires. “The last general election was held on March 20, 2021, and the five-year term of the present Corporation expires on March 29. The election must be completed before that date."
The Commissioner added that the maximum expenditure limit for a candidate has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh. The nomination deposit is Rs 2,000 for the general category and Rs 1,000 for reserved categories. Candidates must file an affidavit in the prescribed Form XXVI along with their nomination papers.
D’Souza also noted that the delimitation of all 30 wards has been completed by the Urban Development Department and was notified earlier this month. Of the 30 wards, 10 are reserved for women, eight for OBCs, and one for ST, while none are reserved for SC.
“Reservations have been carried out under Section 10 of the City of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002, using 2011 Census data and information from the State Commission for Backward Classes. For OBCs, we followed the Supreme Court-mandated triple test guidelines,” he said.
Administrative arrangements include the Additional Collector of North Goa as Municipal Council Election Officer, the Dy Collector of Tiswadi as Returning Officer, and the Mamlatdar of Tiswadi as Assistant Returning Officer.
D’Souza also stated that elections will be held on non-party lines. "To ensure effective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the Commission has appointed a General Observer, Expenditure Observers, and flying squads. Adequate police deployment has been planned to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of the polls," he said.
