Panchayat elections in Goa on May 05

Panaji, May 4: As many as nine lakh voters will decide the fate of 5650 candidates contesting a total of 1483 wards in 185 village panchayats, elections to which will be held tomorrow.

Fifty-four candidates have already been elected unopposed. The panchayat elections are being held ahead of the June 2 assembly elections.

The State Government has declared a public holiday tomorrow throughout the state in view of the panchayat elections. Polling will be held between 0800 hrs and 1700 hrs. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 6.

As many as 77 booths have been declared as ''sensitive'' and ten others as ''hyper-sensitive''.

Around 6420 polling staff have been employed for tomorrow's elections, State Election Commissioner P M Borkar said. The ballot boxes, papers and other material have been dispatched to the respective polling booths, he added.

The block development officers and joint mamlatdars, appointed as executive magistrates, will oversee the law and order situation in each taluka with police assistance. Mobile squads consisting of sub-divisional magistrates would also monitor the conduct of the polls, Mr Borkar said.

The State Election Commission has appointed one observer in each of the eleven talukas to oversee the polling and counting process.

UNI