Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: A review of electoral records by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Goa, has found no supporting evidence for claims that voters were illegally shifted from Curtorim to Fatorda. The preliminary findings indicate that 31 electors were registered in Fatorda in 2017 after their applications were approved through the established process.
The inquiry was ordered following a complaint filed on October 16 by Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai. He alleged that more than 50 voters had been moved from Curtorim to Fatorda despite continuing to be associated with their original house numbers.
The report revisits the controversy raised during the 2017 Special Summary Revision (SSR), when the GFP had questioned the transfer of 53 voters between the two constituencies.
As part of the process that year, 96 individuals applied to register in Fatorda using Form 6, the prescribed application for inclusion in the electoral roll. The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) approved 31 applications and turned down the remaining requests.
Following the approvals, the 31 electors’ names were removed from the Curtorim list and entered in Fatorda’s electoral roll through a supplementary publication. The inquiry noted that the relevant application forms remain available with the Fatorda ERO’s office.
The report further records that no Form 7 applications—used to seek deletion of names from an electoral roll—were submitted by any political party in Fatorda from 2017 onwards. No such requests were recorded during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) either.
After examining the available documentation, the preliminary inquiry found no grounds to conclude that the 31 registrations in Fatorda were unlawful. The finding is based on the electoral records reviewed by the CEO’s office.
