PANJIM: As the State Election Commission (SEC) recommends seeking “appropriate court of law” permission to postpone elections to 186 panchayats, the State government has once again sought legal opinion on the matter.
The file has been sent to Advocate General Devidas Pangam for his final comments, before the government officially declares postponement of the polls.
The five-year tenure of existing panchayat bodies will end on June 19 and as such the government has decided to appoint administrators to look into the affairs of the local bodies.
Speaking to media persons on Thursday, Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho said that the government has decided to postpone the elections and appoint administrators.
“We have already made it very clear. We believe in following the triple-test mandated by the Supreme Court for OBC reservation. OBC Commission will be working on it,” he said and added, “And now it’s already monsoon and even if we want to conduct elections now, we cannot.”
The Minister, however, ruled out that the SEC has recommended seeking court permission. “Nothing like that. SEC has asked government to take the final decision and we have taken it; but just to be doubly sure, we have sent the file to the Advocate General for his final opinion,” he said.
Godinho said that the Supreme Court has clearly stated that the elections need to be held within six months from the date of expiry of the existing term. “It’s just a matter of three to four months. We will have polls soon after the monsoon,” he said.
In a bid to follow the triple-test mandate laid down by the Supreme Court for OBC reservation and with likely advancement of monsoon over Goa in the first week of June, the State government had recommended to the SEC to postpone the polls by three months. After seeking legal opinion, the SEC sent back the file recommending that it should approach the “appropriate court of law” for necessary permission.
The Supreme Court in its judgment dated May 10, has held “constitutional mandate” for conduct of elections before expiry of the five-year tenure of local bodies “inviolable”.
“Elections which are already due need not and cannot be delayed on that (triple-test) count in view of the Constitutional mandate. As and when, the formalities of triple test are completed, that can be reckoned for future elections to be held thereafter,” a bench had said in a matter related to local body elections in Madhya Pradesh.
The State government had earlier tentatively scheduled the panchayat elections on June 4.
