Panaji, March 22 :     ?Save us from our politicians,? was the message citizens of Goa passed on to chief election commissioner M.S. Gill when he visited the state over the weekend. Wherever he went, Gill was mobbed by Goans pleading for a further six-month extension of President?s rule. The politicians seemed to be the only ones eager to get back in power. ?Political parties normally articulate what citizens want,? said Gill, suggesting that in this case, things were different. In an effort to persuade people that elections were the best option, Gill told a gathering at Azad Maidan that ?democracy, with all its imperfections, is still the best option?. He called on political parties to give serious thought to the problem of defections. ?Those who claim to be in this or that party, must continue to stay in it,? he said. The average voter is disgusted by the spate of money-inspired toppling games played out in the Assembly. Bowing to the sentiment, Gill criticised politicians who ?keep on hopping around like flies? and warned that if the situation persisted, ?people will lose faith in the system?. But he hinted that the polls in Goa could not be practicably delayed. President?s rule expires in early August. The monsoon, which paralyses normal life here, begins anytime after early June. So elections will have to be held before May-end, unless Parliament ratifies a further extension of President?s rule. Some citizens were heard appealing to Gill, saying that in the vitiated atmosphere of defections and political corruption, holding elections early would be unfair to the voter. One poster at Panaji read: ?Gill, election hum logon ko abhi nahin chahiye. MLA jaise choro ke liye paisa bachaiye. (Gill, please delay elections and save money for thieves like the MLAs).?? Goa?s Editors? Guild, a body of editors of local newspapers, threw their weight behind the campaign to get elections delayed. ?This is the right opportunity for every Goenkar (Goan) to tell the Chief Election Commissioner that we are sick of the politics of opportunism, of defection and counter-defection. That we are sick of politicians and political parties which are only interested in looting and plundering the people,? commented one daily. The paper reminded its readers that politicians had indulged in ?wild behaviour... ruined the state of Goa... betrayed the trust of the people?. It also charged politicians with causing political instability that was leading the state towards bankruptcy.