PANAJI: Strongly criticising the manner in which postal ballot voting has been conducted in the state, a meeting of Opposition political parties on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India to immediately send its team from Delhi to Goa to discuss the matter with the parties.
The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, the Goa Vikas Party and the Goa Suraj Party, also accused the ECI and the chief electoral office of Goa of inconspicuously enrolling personnel of armed forces as voters in certain constituencies of the state.
The meeting, which did not see any representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, was held in the city to deliberate on the controversy over postal ballot voting and other pressing issues as regards the 2017 assembly elections.
The meeting demanded that the system of paper-based voting for government servants should be replaced with the electronic voting machines. General secretary of the all-India Congress committee Girish Chodankar alleged that the ECI has made a mockery of postal ballot voting, asking the poll panel to stop such practices so as to maintain faith and confidence of the people in it.
Goa Forward Party spokesperson Durgadas Kamat accused the ECI of deliberately enfranchising military personnel particularly in Navelim constituency on the instructions of certain Union ministers.
He insisted that the ECI must send a delegation to Goa for discussions with political parties over the election process in the state.
Alleging that the ECI, guardian of election process of the country, has been biased and gave in to pressure tactics of the ruling BJP, NCP Goa unit spokesperson Avinash Bhosle demanded that the ECI must explain to the people the whole episode.
However, the meeting said the postal balloting system provides an opportunity to service voters to exercise their franchise.
This right to vote has been there all these years and would continue to exist, the meeting said adding that no political party has any issue with the service voter.
“However, the ECI has made a mockery of postal balloting,” the meeting charged.
“There has been carelessness, imprudence and injudiciousness which have brought postal balloting to public ridicule. The ECI should own up the responsibility as the man on the street perceives the entire process of postal balloting as a joke which adversely affects the public confidence in the electoral process and thereby in Indian democracy,” the conclave maintained.
The meeting was also critical of a special camp for postal voting held by the chief electoral officer, Goa violating the guidelines for conduct of postal balloting, and which amounts to tampering with the already laid down process for postal balloting.
It has sought explanation from the ECI and the CEO as to under which provisions of law or guidelines the special camp was conducted.
The meeting also drew the attention of the ECI to some critical issues as regards postal ballots especially secrecy of the vote; during the long-drawn postal ballot voting identification of a voter is possible on account of serial numbers.
Stating that the postal ballot voting running into 35 days defeats the purpose of free and fair elections, the meeting expected the ECI to examine whether it would be reasonable, fair and just to consider the postal ballots for counting and declaration of election results.
The meeting also discussed the issue of sudden and ‘secret’ enrolment of “Army voters” in certain constituencies and demanded investigation into whether the laid down procedures were followed in this regard.
The meeting, which also took note of the expenditure connected with the conduct of the assembly elections, called for economy and transparency in expenditure by the ECI and the CEO.
Narayan Sawant and R S Mardolkar of the MGP, Florian Lobo and Inacio Vas of the GSP, Lyndon Monteiro of the GVP and Sidhanath Buyao also attended the meeting.
General secretary of the GSM Hrudaynath Shirodkar supported the Opposition political parties on the issue.