Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated proceedings to delist four Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) from Goa after they failed to contest a single election in the last six years and their offices could not be physically located.
As part of a nationwide exercise to clean up the political system, the ECI has identified these parties in the first phase of scrutiny. The four Goa-based RUPPs are: Goa Nationalist Party (Chinchmala, Wada Parye, Sattari), Goa Praja Party (Ella, Old Goa, Tiswadi), Goemcarancho Otrec Asro (Sao Jose de Areal, Salcete), and United Goans Party (Dondrem, Taleigao, Tiswadi).
The Commission noted that out of over 2,800 RUPPs registered across India, many have failed to meet the basic requirement of contesting elections. A total of 345 such parties have already been identified for possible delisting so far.
To ensure fairness, the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all States and Union Territories have been directed to issue show-cause notices to these parties, giving them an opportunity to respond. Hearings will be conducted by the respective CEOs before any final decision is taken by the Election Commission.
The ECI has underlined that the exercise is aimed at weeding out parties that have not participated in any Lok Sabha or State Assembly elections, including bye-elections, since 2019, and those that cannot be physically traced, in order to maintain the integrity of the electoral system.
