the goan I network
PANAJI
Polling to elect 50 members of the two district panchayat bodies -- North and South Goa Zilla Panchayats -- are just eleven days away. But more than the 200-odd aspirants who have jumped in the fray it’s the officials shouldering the responsibility to ensure that the election machinery functions smoothly who are sweating it out.
The reason: Polling on March 22 will be held not by the controversial Electronic Voting Machines but on ballot papers.
Sources in the State Election Commission (SEC) said, officials from the two district Collectorate offices and others deputed for the conduct of the ZP election are currently engaged in working out the logistics of printing and readying ballot papers for each of the 50 constituencies.
The exercise has to be conducted in complete obscurity and secrecy as any leak of the design and other features of the ballot paper could render the whole system insecure and susceptible to manipulation and rigging, the official told The Goan.
“It is quite a task. The officials who are routinely deployed for duty are not habituated to the ballot paper system as EVMs are generally used for conducting elections in Goa,” said the official who did not want to be identified. He also did not reveal whether the SEC will utilize the services of the historic Government Printing Press to get the ballot papers ready.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commissioner R K Srivastava has notified the protocol for postal ballots to be availed by government officials who will be deployed for election duty.
Srivastava said, under Rule 46 of Goa Panchayat & Zilla Panchayat (Election Procedure) Rules, 1996, a person who is on election duty and not able to vote at the polling station shall send an application in ‘Form No 18’ to the respective Returning Officer of the constituency in which he/she is registered to vote, at least four days before
March 22.
The postal ballot paper will be prepared by the Returning Officer and hand over the same to all election duty officials who have applied in Form 18 during the second training session for them.
The returning officer shall also keep a ballot box at the training location and election officials who have been issued the postal ballot paper can deposit in the box the postal ballot paper after marking their vote, the protocol notified by Srivastava said.
For police personnel, the postal ballot paper formalities are to be fulfilled by the respective district Superintendents of Police, the protocol adds.Meanwhile, in another notification, Srivastava has allowed the use of seven cards other than the EPIC issued by the Election Commission of India to verify the identity of the voter.
The cards/documents which will be permitted for use to verify identity of the voter include photo ID issued by any department of the Central or State government or Corporation, smart card or any other photo ID issued by Central or State government, a valid driving license, passport, Pan Card issued by I-T department, pass book of any nationalised, scheduled or co-operative bank containing photograph of the holder, Aadhar card or photo ID issued by the head of any educational institute recognized by the Central or State governments.
