Goa Chief Minister Vows to Extend Deadline for Voter List Appeals
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made a significant announcement in the state legislative assembly on Thursday. He declared his intention to formally request the Election Commission of India for an extension of the deadline. This extension would allow citizens more time to file appeals against deletions from the voters' list. These deletions are part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Opposition Raises Alarm Over 'Mass Deletion' of Genuine Voters
During a heated discussion in the assembly, opposition members voiced strong concerns. They highlighted that numerous legitimate voters discovered their names incorrectly marked. The categories included dead, permanently shifted, duplicate, and not traceable. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao from the Congress party led the charge. He argued that a voter's right should not be forfeited simply because they were absent during a booth-level officer's visit.
"The door-to-door verification process, conducted in a very short timeframe, cannot serve as the only proof of a voter's existence," Alemao stated firmly. He emphasized the need for greater transparency in the SIR procedure. Alemao pointed out that voters lose faith in the electoral system when they find their names missing from draft rolls without receiving any prior mandatory notice.
He criticized what he called a procedurally flawed approach. "Mass deletion based solely on the non-collection of forms is not justified. Legally, failing to collect a form does not automatically mean the voter has shifted, died, is a duplicate, or is ineligible. This method unfairly treats absence as a reason for disqualification," the opposition leader explained.
Specific Constituency Examples Highlight the Problem
Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira from Aldona provided a concrete example. He reported that in one polling booth within his constituency, over ninety percent of voters faced issues. Their names were either marked as unmapped or deleted for reasons like being declared dead, shifted, or duplicate. Ferreira noted that many of these individuals are well-known and active members of their village communities. Yet, they found themselves labeled as untraceable and removed from the list.
Alemao revealed a startling statistic. He said that more than one lakh voters, specifically 1,00,042 individuals, have been marked for deletion. The primary reason cited is the non-collection of enumeration forms during the verification drive.
Chief Minister Defends SIR Intent, Promises Action
In response, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant defended the core purpose of the Special Intensive Revision. He stated that the exercise aims to clean the electoral rolls. The goal is to weed out fake entries, duplicate voters, and non-citizens to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
"I want to assure every eligible Goan that their name will not be wrongfully deleted. I will personally request the Election Commission to extend the period for filing appeals against deletion notices. The fundamental principle of SIR is clear: one citizen, one vote," Sawant affirmed in the assembly.
Criticism from Other Political Quarters
Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai also expressed strong disapproval. He argued that the SIR exercise has inadvertently erased legitimate Goan voters from the rolls. Simultaneously, he claimed it has failed to effectively identify illegal migrants or duplicate registrations. Sardesai warned about the dangers of over-reliance on automation.
"Linking voter rolls directly to automated databases without proper human verification creates a dangerous, invisible deletion pipeline. This risks turning the constitutional right to vote into a bureaucratic privilege," he cautioned.
The Scale of Deletions in Goa
The data presents a clear picture of the situation. Over one lakh names have been deleted from the draft electoral rolls in Goa. This represents a significant deletion rate of 8.44 percent. According to figures released by Goa's chief electoral officer last month, the total number of electors stood at 11,85,034. Out of these, 10,84,992 individuals, or 91.56 percent, successfully submitted their enumeration forms.
A detailed breakdown of the 1,00,042 deleted electors shows:
- 25,574 are recorded as deceased.
- 29,729 are categorized as untraceable or absent.
- 40,469 have reportedly permanently shifted residence.
- 1,997 are identified as already enrolled in multiple locations.
- 2,273 fall under 'others', which includes those unwilling to register for various reasons.
The political debate in Goa continues as the deadline for appeals approaches. All eyes are now on the Election Commission's response to the Chief Minister's request for an extension.
