PANJIM: Shiroda People’s Forum (SPF) has launched a mass awareness programme in the constituency to ensure that the 3000-plus missing and new voters are added to the revised electoral roll 2019 in the grace window period provided by the State Election Commission, after the final rolls are published on January 5, 2019.
More than 3000 names of old voters from Shiroda could be missing from the revised electoral roll 2019, the final copy of which will be released on January 5, 2019, a majority of them due to technical errors and some of them due to mischief by other vested interests.
In a statement released here, Curtorim Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said, “Most of the names have gone missing due to technical errors and misunderstanding among voters who may have changed their place of residence and moved to a new location in the vicinity and have failed to update their details.”
“In the interest of all residents of Shiroda, Congress workers and volunteers will be carrying out a drive in Shiroda starting from this week, to help the residents who have changed their place of residence or need to update their details in the revised electoral roll. Residents of Shiroda are requested to take note of this and get their details updated,” Lourenco said.
SPF members also spoke to Goa State Election Officials who reassured them that one more chance would be given to residents before the elections to rectify missing entries and errors. The same was confirmed by Ponda mamlatdar Abhir Hede who agreed that the voters would get another opportunity to rectify errors in the election lists.
Nearly 25-30 percent of first-time voters have not yet been enrolled from Shiroda itself, explained Pascal Rodrigues, of Karai village in Shiroda and co-convener of SPF.
SPF has demanded that election officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI) look into the matter of missing persons as well as go the extra mile to ensure that new voters are enrolled in time to cast their votes.
