Report By Suyash
Photographs Devidas
Team Mangalorean Goa

Panaji, June 18, 2007:  The ballot papers and the ballot boxes will be soon a history for Goa as the Election commission of India has decided henceforth to conduct the elections to the civic bodies like Panchayat, Municipalities and the Zilha Parishad using electronic voting Machines.

This was decided in the recently concluded 2 day national conference of the state election commissioners at Nainital. The conference was presided by the Chief Election commissioner N. Gopalaswamy and his associate election commissioners and it debated on the electoral reforms with regards to the elections of the civic bodies in the country. 

The Goa will be the second state to implement such electoral reforms for civic polls after the state of Rajasthan.

"After the Assembly and the Parliament elections, henceforth in Goa all the civic body elections will have EVMs instead of Ballot papers", informed the state election Commissioner Prafulla Borkar.

 The minor amendments in the state "Panchayat Raj Act" and the "Municipalities Act" are required, further stated Mr Borkar.

The general elections for the 13 municipalities and the 50 Zilha Parishad constituencies in the state are scheduled in the year 2009.

The conference has resolved that for election commission to supply EVMs for the poll process of the civic bodies, the concerned state must purchase reserve quota of at least 25% of the required quota of EVMs. The remaining quota of 75% will be supplied to the state by the central election commission.

"Accordingly the state election commission has made a budget provision for purchase of 400 EVMs in next two financial years", said Borkar.

It has also been resolved to have a common data base of voters of Assembly and the civic polls, by sharing the information with regards to the electoral rolls that are being prepared by the chief electoral officers in the state under the supervision of central election commission.

"The state election commission will also move proposal to the State Government to amend the state Panchayat and Municipalities act and election rules so as to debar the candidates from contesting the elections, who are charge-sheeted in various serious offences under IPC", said Mr. Borkar. As per the current election rules only the convicts are debarred from contesting elections.

"Also the state commission is also moving proposal for penal powers to disqualify the candidates who cross the limits of election expenditure", said Mr Borkar.