The Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections in Goa, initially scheduled for December 13, are now set to be held on December 20. The Department of Panchayati Raj and Community Development issued an order in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, stating,“The general election for the North Goa zilla panchayat constituencies and South Goa zilla panchayat constituencies scheduled on December 13, 2025 vide aforesaid notifications is rescheduled to December 20, 2025.”

The postponement comes in the wake of ongoing administrative and electoral challenges, particularly concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which began on November 4.

Administrative Hurdles: Training New Election Staff

A senior government official explained the rationale behind the delay.“A lot of new staff who have been drawn from various government departments need to be rigorously trained for the zilla panchayat elections duties. Some of the senior staff have already been engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. So, the state election commission proposed to the government to postpone the elections by a week,” the official was quoted as saying in an Indian Express report.

The official added that the postponement was essential to ensure that newly appointed returning officers, assistant returning officers, and other staff are adequately trained to conduct the elections smoothly.

SIR Exercise and Electoral Concerns

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Goel had earlier highlighted the administrative strain.“We had initially requested the government to postpone zilla panchayat polls until the completion of SIR process... because there are returning officers and assistant returning officers of zilla parishad, who are also our electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers and, administratively, they cannot do both the duties,” Goel had said.

He noted that if the elections and the SIR process were to run simultaneously, separate officers should be appointed to handle the duties independently. As of Tuesday, the SIR exercise had collected 5.02 lakh enumeration forms, amounting to 42.42 percent of the total 11.85 lakh electors in the state.

Opposition Raises Red Flags

The postponement and timing of the SIR drive have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties in Goa. They argue that conducting the electoral roll revision simultaneously with the ZP polls could jeopardize the fairness of the elections.

AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta wrote to the Election Commission of India, stating,“We appeal to the Election Commission's sense of reason and its constitutional commitment to amend the guidelines and provide for clear remedies for those citizens whose names are excluded from the draft roll and to ensure that the SIR exercise and zilla parishad elections are not conducted at the same time, but one after the other.”

Senior Goa Congress leader Girish Chodankar also questioned the timing and intent, claiming,“These simultaneous processes appear politically motivated and deeply suspicious.”

Goa has 50 Zilla Panchayat constituencies, with 25 in each district. The term of the current Zilla Panchayats ends on January 7, 2026. With just weeks to go, election authorities now face the dual challenge of completing the SIR process and preparing the staff for a fair and smooth election.

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