The Election Commission of India (ECI) published the final electoral list for Goa on Saturday after completing the nearly four-month-long Special Intensive Review (SIR) process, reflecting a shrinkage of 2.5% compared to the draft list and 10.8% compared to the pre-intensive review list. This makes Goa the only state so far to see a decline in the number of voters compared to the draft list. All the other nine states/union territories where the SIR was finalized since last year saw an increase in the number of voters between the draft and the final list.
Goa’s rolls got 1,185,034 voters on October 27 last year, before the start of the SIR exercise. This number fell to 1,084,992 in the draft list published after the enumeration phase of the exercise on 16 December, a decrease of 8.4%. The final list includes 1,057,666 voters, an additional 2.5% contraction compared to the draft list.
How did the number of voters in Goa decrease between the draft list and the final list? The short answer is that the state got fewer listing requests than the discrepancies and other issues it found with the listings.
A press release from the state’s chief election officer (CEO) explains this in detail. Of the 1,084,992 voters on the draft list, only 902,589 were assigned to the latest SIR list and 182,403 were not. However, even out of 902,589 voters, 58,923 voters were listed as logical discrepancies, such as mismatch with father’s name (41,116 voters), too low an age difference with parents and grandparents (10,629 voters), too large an age difference with parents (3,830 voters), and more than six children (3,348 voters). On the other hand, 24,949 forms were submitted during the period of claims and objections to include or change residence.
Of the cases of 182,403 unidentified voters and 58,923 logical discrepancies between appointees in the draft list, only 35,780 were marked for deletion during the claims and objections phase. Of the forms submitted for inclusion or change of residence, 12,166 forms resulted in inclusion after the draft list, and 3,812 forms resulted in deletion. This resulted in a total of 39,592 deletions and 12,166 additions, which translates to a net deletion of 27,426 between the draft and the final list.
“If you compare with the draft list and the final list that we published today, we have a total deletion of 39,592 and addition of 12,166 which makes it a net deletion of 27,426 voters. And if you add the ASDD voters as well, who were not in the draft list itself, the total deletion against the list that we had when we started the SIR process, we have a net deletion of 1,27,468 voters, which makes it a net deletion of 1,27,468 voters,” said Sanjay Goel, state chief electoral officer. 10.75% of the electoral list that we obtained on October 27.”
The net deletions include a total of 428 people who obtained Portuguese passports, but whose names are still on the electoral rolls, Joel said in a press conference on Saturday.
The bulk of the deletions occurred in the electoral districts surrounding the coastal city of Vasco da Gama, with the Vasco da Gama constituency itself recording the highest number of net deletions in the state with 11,657.
The second highest constituency was Courtalim constituency also in Mormugao taluka with 9,389 deletions, while neighboring Dabolim constituency recorded 5,489 deletions, the third highest in the state.
In North Goa, Talegao constituency, close to the state capital Panaji, recorded 4,947 deletions while Panaji itself recorded 4,274 deletions.
Of the 1.06 million voters on the final list, there are 511,436 males, 546,121 females, and nine belonging to the third gender. The proportion of people aged 18-19 (first-time voters) is 0.89% on the final list compared to 0.5% on the draft list.
The sex ratio on the state’s final roster is 1,068 compared to 1,073 on the draft roster. “Anyone who is aggrieved by the final list, the appeal falls within 15 days with the DEO, which is the aggregator, and if the decision of the aggregator is aggrieved, the decision lies with the CEO within 30 days. In parallel, one can also file Form 6 afresh, with the declaration with supporting documents, and that will also be considered,” the CEO said.
