Aliya Abreu
PANAJI
What happens if an elector goes to vote, enters himself in the register of voters, gets his finger marked with indelible ink...and then decides against voting?
This situation arose on Tuesday morning at the PWD polling station in Fatorda, where Neil Strauss (name changed to protect identity) decided against voting, after registering his attendance.
Neil said the polling staff took his signature, and put a remark on the register saying “Refused to Vote.” On a separate paper, they made him sign again, put his thumb impression, and again wrote “Refused to Vote.”
An official from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) told “The Goan” that there was a provision for this in the “Handbook for Presiding Officers.” The 23rd point of the handbook tells the presiding officer how to deal with “Electors Deciding Not to Vote.”
“If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the Register of Voters (Form 17A) and has put his signature/thumb impression on that register, decides not to record his vote, he shall not be forced or compelled to record his vote,” reads point 23.1 of the Handbook.
Why did Neil refuse to vote instead of simply pressing NOTA? He explained, “I don’t trust the BJP or Congress. Elvis Gomes (AAP) was a good candidate, so pressing NOTA didn’t feel right.” The reason he “refused to vote” was a protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“The ECI has not been transparent about the voting process, and has been in denial mode about violations, instead of protecting the democratic process. I lost faith in them, so decided to register this,” Neil explained.
Since he did not press any button on the EVM machine, the final tally of votes for that booth will have one vote less than the number of voters who registered at the polling booth, said an official.
