MARGAO: Elections to the panchayats will be held on Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm with the candidates or their representatives requested to be present at the polling booth earlier to check the sealing of the ballot boxes.
This time around the electoral process is expected to take long as instead of the Electronic Voting Machines; ballot papers will be used and at many places voting for two wards will be done simultaneously in one ballot box.
The Returning Officers have prepared special slips which are given to the presiding officers to be given to voters present at the booth at 5 pm when polling ends so that they can cast their ballot, while no new voter will be allowed to join the queue.
Polling booths were set up this evening with the polling staff taking charge of the place and the ballot boxes being transported to them from the Jawaharlal Nehru Football Stadium where they were kept ready.
As the candidates have provided the voter cards this time, candidates and voters have been advised not to take the slip where the candidate’s name, photograph or symbol is printed in the polling booth. Voters are advised to carry an identity proof the best being the Election Photo Identify Card or a driving license or Aadhar card or passport.
The expenditure limit for candidates was increased to Rs 40,000 as against the Rs 25,000 limit at the 2012 panchayat elections with candidates asked to file their expenses within 30 days of polling.
