The Election Commission of India said it is ready to hold the elections in Goa (and by extension, the other states going to polls around the same time), despite the looming threat of another wave of the coronavirus disease pandemic, but emphasized that local election officials have been empowered to ensure strict adherence to Covid protocols during campaigning, and that the polling itself will also be held with adequate precautions.
It’s realistically possible to do this, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said while fielding questions from journalists at the end of a two day visit to review preparedness in the state ahead of the elections.
The Election Commission came in for criticism over the conduct of assembly elections in West Bengal -- Covid protocols were not followed by all parties involved for much of the campaign -- which coincided with the second wave of the pandemic. The Madras High Court even observed that the commission needs to be booked for attempt to murder for failing to react to the changing situation and pressing ahead with the elections.
This time, it is clear the commission is taking no chances.
“We are making all our booths in a Covid compliant manner, we are giving everyone masks and sanitizers, social distancing norms will be followed and it will be an absolutely safe election,” Chandra said when asked whether he was considering a possible postponement of the election should cases being to rise in January-February.
“The commission is monitoring the situation and that is why we have reduced the number of voters per polling station from 1500 to 1000 and have increased the number of booths by 60 (in Goa). So, on average there are only 662 persons per polling booth, we can definitely maintain social distancing, we can definitely maintain social distancing norms also and ensure compliance of every norm will have to be done at the booths,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The commission is monitoring the situation and that is why we have reduced the number of voters per polling station from 1500 to 1000 and have increased the number of booths by 60 (in Goa). So, on average there are only 662 persons per polling booth, we can definitely maintain social distancing, we can definitely maintain social distancing norms also and ensure compliance of every norm will have to be done at the booths,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand also go to polls around the same time, with UP, India’s most populous state, likely to pose the biggest challenge to the commission in terms of conducting the election. Although India has so far detected only a few hundred cases of Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the trajectory of infections in other countries suggests that a surge in cases can’t be ruled out. The variant has been found to be more transmissible, and has the ability to cause breakthrough infections even among vaccinated or previously infected people, although initial evidence suggests the infections are mild and unlikely to require hospitalisation in most cases.
Chandra said that the State Disaster Management Authority will be specifically directed to act against rallies where social distancing is not being maintained.
“Rallies will absolutely have to be restrained and the park or the ground where the rallies are held, they should also maintain social distancing, the rules and conditions of the Disaster Management Act should be followed and the DEO (District Election Officer) has been given the power to act against those who violates the provisions of the Act. If anybody violates the provision, they are liable to be acted against. We will inform the SDMA (State Disaster Management Authority) that they should take actions on those grounds”.
The term of the Goa State Legislative Assembly will expire on March 15, 2022. Elections are to be held before that for 40 assembly constituencies out of which 39 are general and one is reserved for scheduled castes.
“ECI is totally committed to conduct the assembly elections in a free, fair, impartial, transparent and absolutely inducement free elections,” Chandra said.