MARGAO: Can elections for the statutory municipal panel such as market panel be held by show of hands? Or is it mandatory to hold the elections by secret ballot?
These questions have come to the fore after Pratima Coutinho was elected to the top post of Margao Municipal market panel by show of hands. MMC Chairperson Dayanand Deulkar, who presided over the meeting, completed the election by show of hands when Chief Officer Deepali Naik and her staff had made all arrangements to hold the election by secret ballot.
When questioned, Deulkar said he decided to hold the election by show of hands since there were only two nominations for the post.
Moreover, Deulkar contended that he had gone ahead with the polls by show of hands since there was no objection from any of the councillors attending the meeting. He, however, had no answer to the question of whether the presiding officer enjoyed any discretion in conducting the polls.
When contacted, MMC Chief Officer Deepali Naik said that she had put in place all arrangements to conduct the elections by secret ballot. “I had made arrangements for the ballot box and the papers, but the presiding officer decided to hold the poll by show of hands”, she said.
