Of 97 left out in Goa, 88 are back, 3 others are Portuguese citizens: EC

In Goa, 88 of the 97 voters whose names were initially excluded from the electoral roll due to an ECINet issue have now been reinstated, according to the office of the Goa Chief Electoral Officer. However, three of these 97 electors are Portuguese citizens, while six others are currently residing outside India. The office is actively working to establish contact with the voters residing overseas for further action.

Section 9 of the Indian Constitution prohibits dual citizenship, and Portuguese passport holders must surrender their Indian passports if they acquire a foreign one. This means that three of the Portuguese citizens in Goa may be classified as non-citizens and ineligible to be enrolled as Indian electors. The issue of Portuguese citizens being unable to be enrolled as Indian electors has been repeatedly raised by the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to the Election Commission.

Portugal recognizes dual citizenship, but since India does not, these individuals must surrender their Indian passports if they acquire a foreign one. The Goa Chief Electoral Officer had written to the Election Commission multiple times regarding this issue, raising questions about the centralized access to ERONet and why it was not available to field officers.

The Election Commission has stated that due diligence by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for the second time may have resolved the issue, as it aims to eliminate ineligible persons from the voter list. The detection of the problem at the ERO level also proves that the field officers have the absolute right to add or delete a voter based on verification.