MARGAO: Raising a strong objection to the State Election Commission’s decision of asking the “caretaker government” (led by Parsekar) to conduct the delimitation of wards of village panchayats in view of the forthcoming election, the president of Goa Forward Party Prabhakar Timble demanded “to stop such a process with an immediate effect as it casts a shadow on the independence of the State Election Commission, which is supposedly a statutory authority for conducting free and fair panchayat
election.”
According to Timble, the State Election Commission has fixed a tentative date for Goa panchayat election as May 21, and that “the caretaker government is been asked to carry out the delimitation process of the panchayat
wards.”
The GFP president said, “I do not know what is a hurry. And, why the State Election Commission is asking the caretaker government to do such an important job. The power of delimiting the constituencies (wards) should vest with the State Election Commission and not the Directorate of Panchayats, as it strikes at the very roots of free and fair conduct of election. Let the new government ensure that the delimitation of wards of panchayats is done under the control and supervision of the State Election Commission.”
He said that “a caretaker government is not expected to take basic and critical decisions, like that of the delimitation of the wards. Any delimitation of the wards by a government which may not gain power again, would then be a mockery of justice, and the panchayat election process would be a farce.”
He further criticised the appointment of the former chief secretary as the State Election Commissioner, saying it is a compromise on the independence of the office of the State Election Commission. “It is for the State Election Commissioner to gain the public faith and confidence in the machinery for conducting free and fair elections in the state,”he added. “We would not accept such illegally done delimitation process,” he said.