NT Reporter
Panaji
The general election to the 30 wards of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) will be held on March 11, 2026, and the counting of votes will be taken up on March 13, 2026.
Commissioner of the State Election Commission Menino D’Souza on Monday announced the schedule of the election for the lone corporation in the state. The announcement was made in the presence of Secretary Venancio Furtado and Assistant Director (IT) Sagar Gurav at Altinho.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect and shall be applicable in all areas under CCP jurisdiction.
As per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission, the filing of nominations will begin from February 17, and February 24 will be the last date for receiving the nomination papers. Scrutiny of the nominations will be held on February 25 from 10 am onwards till it is complete, while the date for withdrawal of candidature is February 26 from 10 am to 3 pm.
The list of candidates will be finalised on February 26 after 3 pm.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 5 pm on March 11, while the counting of votes will begin from 8 am on March 13 at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium, Taleigao. The State Election Commission has set up 48 booths for polling in the city.
D’Souza said that a total of 32,496 voters are eligible for polling at the CCP election. He said 15,225 are male voters, while 17,271 are female voters. Out of the 30 wards, 10 are reserved for women, eight for OBC and one for ST.
The maximum limit of total election expenses by a contesting candidate in a ward of the CCP has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh.
The last election to the CCP was held on March 20, 2021, and the tenure of the current council will end on March 29, 2026. The State Election Commission has adopted the electoral roll of the Goa legislative assembly, prepared under provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1950, for the time being in force as on January 1, 2025.
Additional Collector, North Goa, has been appointed as the Municipal Council Election Officer (MCEO), while the Deputy Collector, Tiswadi, has been appointed as the Returning Officer and mamlatdar of Tiswadi taluka has been appointed as the Assistant Returning Officer.
The state poll panel has appointed general observer, expenditure observers and flying squads in order to monitor effective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
