PANAJI: The Goa State Election Commission (GSEC) has issued a fresh notification on ward delimitation for 11 municipal councils following a Bombay High Court order that quashed its earlier notification due to procedural irregularities.
The revised notification, issued on Monday, follows the High Court’s direction to restart the process in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure, including consultation with the state government.
The delimitation exercise covers the municipal councils of Margao, Mapusa, Mormugao, Curchorem-Cacora, Bicholim, Pernem, Canacona, Valpoi, Sanguem, Quepem and Cuncolim.
Earlier, the High Court had set aside the SEC’s September 9 notification after observing that the commission had proceeded with the delimitation process without completing the mandatory consultation with the state government. The court directed the commission to consider objections to the proposed ward boundaries and complete the exercise by October 26.
The court also instructed the SEC to forward all 77 objections received against the draft delimitation proposals to the state government, along with the relevant documents. These included reports and maps prepared by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), decisions on individual objections and other supporting records.
The documents were considered essential for the government to assess the proposed ward boundaries and submit its views under Section 10(3) of the applicable Act.
The High Court noted that the state government had not received the supporting material used to finalise the proposed boundaries and that the commission had proceeded without waiting for the government’s response.
In view of these procedural shortcomings, the court directed the SEC to submit the complete delimitation records to the state government for consultation before taking further steps in the process.
