Team Herald
MARGAO: Many candidates and voters questioned the secrecy of secret ballot as the serial number was printed on the ballot paper and the counterfoil. “An astute polling officer can very well note the serial number against the voter thereby making it easy to know who voted for whom,” was the argument.
Although the Returning Officers asserted that the serial number on the ballot paper was not disclosed, at some polling booths the polling officer cutting the ballot paper could be heared telling the serial number to the other polling officer.
However, this is a problem faced every time elections are held with a ballot paper.
There were glitches galore as the elections were held in Salcete. The main problem was booths where polling for more than one ward was done. The general complaint was that the process was slow and huge queues were seen at these booths.
In fact the officials were forced to dispatch additional staff at Navelim, Davorlim-Dicarpale, Raia and Nagoa where complaints of slow movement were too loud.
Idinha Rebello a candidate from ward No 5 of Navelim complained that the officials gave the wrong ballots to the voters. “Voters from Ward No 6 were given ballots of ward No 5 and vice versa and people voted blindly for the symbol without checking the names of the candidates,” she said.
The problem came to light only when some voters objected and pointed out that they were given the wrong ballots. “Who knows how many have voted wrongly in this manner because the polling officers were negligent,” she said.
Poonam Prabhugaonkar also complained over elections to two wards being held in one booth at the Government Primary School near Fatima Church at Davorlim Dicarpale. “The place was very crowded as the two wards had 12 candidates meaning there had to be 12 polling agents,” she said besides the fact that voting was slow.
She claimed that many people who went away because of the long queue could not vote as they reached after 5 pm and were not allowed to stand in the queue which was quite long.
At Chandor Cavorim for example, voting for only one ward was held in the spacious school premises while voting for two booths was held in the tiny panchayat office which was too packed with hardly place to even move for the voters. Candidates complained that they were not taken into confidence about voting for two wards being done there.
Many candidates were also upset over the fact that the electoral roll taken by the polling agent inside the polling booth was not allowed to be taken out. “The Election Commission asks everyone to vote but we are not allowed to get the voters to the booth as there is no way for us to know who has voted and who has not since the electoral roll was not allowed to be taken out,” said Melba Joshila Gomes contesting from ward No 5 of Dramapur Sirlim village.
The long waits for voting had tempers running high at many places with arguments taking place. However, at Manora Raia it turned physical with two women lashing at each other by pulling each other’s hair and even rolling on the ground. The misfortune was that there was no lady police personnel present to separate the two and the male constables remained mere spectators.
All the three returning officers with their staff have shifted base to the Jawaharlal Nehru Football Stadium and by evening the stink emanating from the toilets indicated how well the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex is maintained as such a problem was never faced there.
