Goa ZP polls: EC awaiting govt notification on reservation

The Goa State Election Commission is still waiting for a notification from the Pramod Sawant

government on reservation of constituencies to announce the schedule for the Zilla Parishad elections.

The commission has already written to the Goa government, asking it about the notification to reserve the

constituencies, State Election Commissioner R K Srivastava told reporters on Thursday.

"The commission has no role to play in reserving the constituencies (for women and Other Backward Classes)," he

said. The state government will have to notify the

reservation of constituencies, only after that the date of election and a detailed schedule can be announced, he said.

The delimitation of constituencies done during the 2015 Zilla Parishad (ZP) elections will hold good even this

time, he added. Last month, Srivastava said the ZP polls would be held

around March 15, without giving any specific date. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant last week announced that

the polling date for elections to all 50 ZP constituencies has been postponed from March 15 to 22 owing to celebrations like

Holi. However, the Goa Forward Party on Wednesday questioned

the announcement of the ZP poll date by the chief minister, saying it was the prerogative of the State Election

Commission.