the goan I network
MARGAO
Saying that the Chief Electoral Officer Goa has proved that votes cast for one candidate have gone to another during mock polling, Aam Aadmi Party state coordinator and South Goa candidate Elvis Gomes on Saturday said that party’s lawyer will present the CEO’s statement in the Supreme Court to draw attention of the apex court that votes cast in an Electronic Voting Machine are transferable.
Elvis also took exception to Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco’s demand seeking apology to the Church by AAP. “Reginaldo should first apologise to Goans in general for the Congress party’s sins of omission and commission and for destroying Goa over the last four decades,” he asserted.
“The CEO’s statement has proved one thing that votes cast for one candidate have gone to another. We are not concerned whether the votes had gone to the BJP or the Congress, but one thing is proved that votes can be transferred by manipulating the EVMs,” Gomes told the media on Saturday.
“I had taken up the EVM issue after preliminary reports indicated that instead of nine, one candidate received 17 votes during the mock poll. That the EVM was faulty became clear when the machine was replaced by the Returning Officer. Now, the CEO says that the votes had gone to the Congress and not the BJP. We are not concerned who had benefited. Our concern is that the EVMs can be manipulated to transfer votes to a particular party,” he said, adding that AAP’s lawyer will present the CEO’s media statement in the Supreme Court to prove how votes can be transferred by an EVM via manipulation.
On Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco’s demand seeking an apology to the Church for saying that 3-4 priests in Salcete had played a role in the elections, Elvis said the “Congress MLA need not take tension. I will go and apologize to the priests.”
He, however, said Reginaldo and his Congress party should apologize for labelling them as toilet cleaners and for the failure to address the employment issues during their long rule in the state.
He said Reginaldo should apologize to Goans for the Congress party’s failure to form the government despite being given 17 seats in the 2017 Assembly election
and for trading their MLAs to the BJP.
“Reginaldo and the Congress should apologize to the people of Goa for the SEZ scam and for acquiring huge chunks of land under the guise of the Mopa airport,” he said, adding that the Congress should also apologize to Goans for bringing the BJP to power in 2000 when Francisco Sardinha and a group of Congress MLAs had dislodged the Congress government.
“The Congress should apologize for the mining mess during 2007-12 period when the party was in power. The Congress should apologize to the people of Goa for its failure to perform the role as an effective opposition because of the fact that the swords of Damocles is hanging over them in corruption cases,” he added.
The CEO’s statement has proved one thing that votes cast for one candidate have gone to another. We are not concerned whether the votes had gone to the BJP or the Congress, but one thing is proved that votes can be transferred by manipulating the EVMs
I had taken up the EVM issue after preliminary reports indicated that instead of nine, one candidate received 17 votes during the mock poll. That the EVM was faulty became clear when the machine was replaced by the Returning Officer
