Life standstill in Panaji as polling on for CCP

The life in the capital city of Panaji came to a standstill as polling for the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) began this morning.

State Election Commissioner Dr M Modassir said that 53 per cent voting was recorded till 1 PM and it could cross 75 per cent by evening, adding, there was no untoward incident so far, barring malfunctioning of an EVM.

“There was malfunctioning of an electronic voting machine (EVM) at one of the booths which was immediately corrected,” he said.

The long queues were seen near many polling booths while in the Christian dominated-areas, the rush was less.

“People will attend the mass (prayers) first and later come here,” CCP Mayor Caroline Po, who is contesting from ward number four, told PTI.

You can see people coming in large number to vote later,” Education Minister Atanasio Monserratte, who has floated his panel, told reporters outside a city booth.

BJP leader Manohar Parrikar predicted that large number of people coming out to vote is favourable for the party’s candidates.

State Election Commission has set up 68 booths in 30 wards to facilitate smooth polling. The commission has also asked commercial establishments within 100 metres of the polling booths to remain closed during polling.

Counting of votes will begin tomorrow at 10 AM and it would be over in an hour, Returning Officer Mihir Vardhan said.

In the first ever experiment, the election commission in association with the National Informatic Centre and state - run Goa Electronic Limited has commissioned a website which is uploading the polling percentage every two hours.

Mr. Modassir said that even results would be displayed on the website immediately.