Goa:October polls for 11 municipal councils deferred: Official

The new schedule will be announced later depending on the pandemic situation, Goa State Election Commissioner R K Srivastava told reporters. "Elections for the eleven municipal councils which were scheduled to be held on October 18 now stand postponed by three months," he said.

Elections for 11 municipal councils in Goa, scheduled to be held in October this year, have been postponed by three months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a top poll official said on Monday. The new schedule will be announced later depending on the pandemic situation, Goa State Election Commissioner R K Srivastava told reporters.

"Elections for the eleven municipal councils which were scheduled to be held on October 18 now stand postponed by three months," he said. The tenure of these municipal councils is getting over on November 4.

Goa has 12 municipal councils and a municipal corporation. "Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers were supposed to be appointed by this time to conduct the elections, but since all officers are extremely busy in COVID management, we have decided not to overburden them," the state election commissioner said, adding that the safety of voters was also important.

Goa's COVID-19 case count stood at 11,639 on August 16 and fatalities at 104, as per state health department..