PROJECT

ON

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

&
ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Submitted to :

Shri Yogeshwar Ram Mishra, IAS

Addl. Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh

&
Special Secretary, Elections, U.P

Submitted by:

Aakash Raj Chauhan & Kushagra Tripathi

BA.LLB(Hons.)
RMLNLU, Lucknow
 INDEX

1. CHAPTER 1 : HISTORICAL BACKGROUND…

2. CHAPTER 2 : LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF ELECTION COMMISSION….

3. CHAPTER 3 : DOMAIN OF ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA…..

4. CHAPTER 4 : ORGINIZATIONAL STRUCTURE……

5. CHAPTER 5 : CURRENT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA…..

6. CHAPTER 6 :SUGGESTIVE ELECTORAL REFORMS ……

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ELECTIONS IN
INDIA

The Indian parliament follows a bicameral system. It has two houses, namely the Rajya
Sabha (Upper House) & the Loksabha (Lower House). The party (or a coalition) that gets
a majority in the Loksabha gets to form the central government. The term of office is for
a maximum period of 5 years or until such time the party (or a coalition) enjoys a majority
in the Loksabha, whichever is earlier. Here is a look at the history of Lok Sabha
Elections since independence. The data is sourced from the statistical reports of the
Election Commission of India.

The Constituent Assembly (1946-49):

The Constituent Assembly, consisted of indirectly elected representatives and was set
up for the purpose of drafting a constitution for India. It remained in being for almost
three years, acting as the first parliament of India after independence in 1947. The
Assembly was not elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage; also Muslims and
Sikhs were given special representation as minorities. The Constituent Assembly took
almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to
complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.

The First Loksabha (1952-57):

It was the first ever election in the Indian Republic. Elections were held for 489 seats.The
total number of eligible voters were about 17.3 crore. The Indian National Congress
(INC) won 364. Only two other parties won double digit seats.The CPI with 16 seats and
the Socialist Party with 12 seats. The Congress polled closed to 45% of the total vote.
The Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS), the previous avatar of the BJP won only 3 seats.
Independents won the second highest number of seats after Congress. Jawaharlal
Nehru was elected the Prime Minister.

The Second Loksabha (1957-62):

Out of 494 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) won 371. Only two other parties
won double digit seats.The CPI with 27 seats and the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) with 19
seats. The Congress polled closed to 48% of the total vote. The BJS won only 4 seats.
Once again, the Independents won the second highest number of seats after Congress.
Jawaharlal Nehru was again elected the Prime Minister. There was no official Leader of
Opposition during the second Loksabha (LoP).

The Third Loksabha (1962-67):

Out of 494 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) won 361. In these elections, four
other parties won double digit seats (CPI, Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party & PSP). The
Congress vote share was reduced to about 45% from 48% in the previous election.
Jawaharlal Nehru was elected the Prime Minister. But after he passed away in 1964,
Gulzari lal Nanda was made the interim PM who was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri
who held the post for about 19 months before his death. Indira Gandhi then took over in
1966.
The Fourth Loksabha (1967-70):

The size of electorate in this election was about 25 crore. The Congress party under
Indira Gandhi’s leadership won a 4th successive term to office by winning 283 out of 520
seats. But the vote share of Congress went down to about 41%. In these elections, six
other parties won double digit seats with C Rajagopala Chari’s Swatantra Party winning
44 seats and emerging as the single largest opposition party. Indira Gandhi became the
Prime Minister for the second time.

The Fifth Loksabha (1971-77):

This was the first election after Indira Gandhi broke away from the Congress. Her party
won a whopping 352 seats out of 518 with the other faction of Congress under Morarji
Desai winning only 16 seats. Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister for the third time.
It was during this time in 1975, that the emergency was imposed in the country that had
a huge impact on the politics of India thereafter.

The Sixth Loksabha (1977-79):

These were the first elections after the emergency. Bharatiya Lok Dal (or the Janata
party) emerged victorius in these elections defeating the congress for the first time.The
BLD was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the
autocratic rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, the Utkal Congress, the
Bharatiya Kranti Dal, and the Socialist Party. In 1977, the BLD combined with the Jan
Sangh and the Indian National Congress (Organization) to form the Janata Party. The
newly formed Janata Party contested the 1977 elections on the BLD symbol and formed
independent India’s first government not ruled by the Indian National Congress. The BLD
won 295 of the 542 seats while congress could win only 154. Morarji Desai became the
Prime Minister, but had to step down in 1979 after couple of parties in the Janata
alliance pulled out. He was succeeded by Charan Singh.

The Seventh Loksabha (1980-84):

After the failure of the Janata experiment, Congress(I) under the leadership of Indira
Gandhi bounced back to power winning a handsome 353 of the 529 seats on offer. The
parties of the earlier Janata coalition could not repeat their performance in the previous
election. There was no Leader of Opposition (LoP).

The Eighth Loksabha (1984-89):

After Indira Gandhi was assasinated,the anti-Sikh riots broke out in 1984. They were a
series of pogroms directed against Sikhs in India, by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the
assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Riding on the wave of sympathy,
the Congress party under Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership (son of Indira Gandhi) came to
power in a landslide victory.The Congress won 404 of the 514 seats. The Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) made its electoral debut winning 2 seats, one in Gujarat and another
in Andhra Pradesh (Now Telangana). Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister
The Ninth Loksabha (1989-91):

The Bofors scandal,LTTE and other issues worked against the Congress. There was a
hung house for the first time with no party getting a majority. The Congress won 197,
The Janata Dal 143 and the BJP 85 out of 529 seats. The BJP made impressive gains.
The Janata Dal formed the National Front government with outside support from BJP
and the left parties. Vishwanath Pratap Singh (VP Singh) became the Prime Minister. His
rival in the Janata Dal, Chandra Shekhar broke away in 1990 and formed the Samajwadi
Janata Party. As a result, VP Singh had to step down. Chandra Shekhar then became
the Prime Minister in 1990 with the external support of Congress. Even this experiment
lasted only for a shortwhile forcing general elections in just 2 years.

The Tenth Loksabha (1991-96):

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the run upto the 1991 general elections by the LTTE.
These elections were also termed as the ‘Mandal-Mandir’ elections after the two most
important poll issues; the Mandal Commission fallout and the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri
Masjid issue.While the Mandal Commission report implemented by the VP Singh
government gave 27 per cent reservation to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in
government jobs, the Mandir issue referred to the debate over the disputed Babri Masjid
structure at Ayodhya, which the Bharatiya Janata Party was using as its major electoral
issue.The Mandir issue led to numerous riots in many parts of the country and the
electorate was polarized on caste and religious lines. No party could get a majority.
Congress emerged as the single largest party with 232 seats while the BJP won 120
seats out of 521 seats. P V Narasimha Rao headed a minority government and was the
first person from South India to occupy the Prime Minister’s chair. He is credited with
ushering in economic reforms and also identifying Manmohan Singh who went onto
become the Prime Minister.

The Eleventh Loksabha (1996-98):

The Indian National Congress came into the election on the back of several government
scandals and accusations of mishandling. There were various factions within the
congress. The BJP grew from strength to strength and emerged as the single largest
party in a hung house. The BJP won 161 eats, Congress 140 and the Janata Dal 46.
The rise of regional parties started with this election. The regional parties won 129 seats.
Prominent among them were TDP, Shivsena & the DMK. As per the prevailing custom,
the President invited BJP to form the government. The BJP attempted to build a
coalition, but could not go far and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to resign as the PM in 13
days. His resignation address in the Loksabha is well known. The Congres Party
declined to form the government but chose to extend outside support to Janata Dal and
other smaller parties that formed into the ‘United Front’. Out of nowhere, H D
Devegowda became the Prime Minister and he lasted for 18 months before he had to
step down and make way for I K Gujral. He also could not last long following differences
within the Janata Dal.

The Twelfth Loksabha (1998-99):

The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 182 seats out of 543. Congress won
141 and the other regional parties won 101 seats. The BJP formed the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) with other regional parties. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in
as the Prime Minister for the second time. His government could not last long and he
had to resign after 13 months in office after the AIADMK withdrew support. The NDA lost
by just one vote when Dr. Giridhar Gamang, the then Chief Minister of Odisha and also a
MP, voted against the NDA. The nuclear tests at Pokhran, The Kargil war were some of
the important incidents in this term.

The Thirteenth Loksabha (1999-2004):

These elections were held in the backdrop of the Kargil war. The BJP again emerged as
the single largest party with 182 seats while the congress could win only 114. This time
the regional parties won 158 seats. The BJP was able to form a more stable NDA this
time around and this was the first time that a non congress alliance lasted a full five year
term. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time.

The Fourteenth Loksabha (2004-09):

The BJP went in for early elections alongside launching an ‘India Shining’ campaign.
Though it could win the middle class vote, the poorer sections voted for the Congress
and other regional parties resulting in the defeat of the NDA. The BJP could win only 138
seats while the Congress improved its tally to 145. The regional parties again ruled the
roost with 159 seats. The BJP conceded defeat and the Congress then formed the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with support from other parties and outside support
from the left parties. Sonia Gandhi refused to become the Prime Minister amidst the
controversy about her foreign origin. Manmohan Singh was chosen as the Prime
Minister.

The Fifteenth Loksabha (2009-14):

The Congress led UPA implemented a lot of its promises including the enactment of
Right to Information (RTI) & the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(NREGS). It also waived off farm loans in 2008. Against this background, it went into the
polls in 2009. The NDA on the other hand was led by L K Advani. The Congress won
206 seats, a huge improvement from 2004. The BJP could win only 116. The regional
parties won 146 seats. The UPA came to power for the second term in a row. Dr.
Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the second time.

The Sixteenth Loksabha (2014-19):

The second term of the UPA proved to be a disaster with numerous allegations of
corruption & scams. 2G, Coal Block, Adarsh, Commonwealth Games to name a few.
The silence of the Prime Minister and the perception that he had no real power made
matters worse. The BJP was successfully able to project Narendra Modi as the man of
the hour and also as its Prime Ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi could not match
Narendra Modi. The BJP won majority on its own with 282 seats while the Congress
recorded its worst ever performance with just 44 seats. This was the first time since 1984
that a party won a majority on its own.

The Seventeenth Loksabha (2014-19):

Riding the wave of Nationalism, popular schemes and the lack of an alternative leader
who can match Narendra Modi, the BJP romped home with an increased mandate.
Narendra Modi led BJP won 303 seats on its own and crossed the 350 mark with its
NDA allies. Narendra Modi became only the 3rd person in India’s history to have
secured a single party majority two times in a row, after Jawaharlal Nehru & Indira
Gandhi. The Congress received a drubbing again winning only 52 seats. Congress
President Rahul Gandhi even lost the election from Amethi.
INRODUCTION
Election Commission of India (ECI), constitutionally mandated body that was established in 1950 to
foster the democratic process in India. Headquarters are in New Delhi. It consists of three members—
a chief election commissioner and two other commissioners—who are appointed by the Indian
president for six-year terms and who cannot be dismissed from office except by parliamentary
impeachment. The ECI, thus nearly invulnerable to political influences and scrupulously nonpartisan,
is charged with conducting fair and orderly elections.

The ECI supervises, directs, and controls the entire electoral process for elections to the national
parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of the national president and vice president. It prepares,
maintains, and updates the electoral roll; supervises the nomination of candidates; registers political
parties and classifies them on national and state levels; and monitors election campaigns, including
political fund-raising. It also facilitates media coverage, organizes polling booths, and oversees vote
counting and the declaration of results. The ECI is authoritative and decisive in matters of elections—
for instance, where the law is ambiguous—but it can be challenged in courts of law.

The Indian general election is easily the world’s most extensive democratic exercise; in the early 21st
century it encompassed roughly 700 million voters across some 700,000 polling stations in diverse
geographic, political, and climatic environments. The ECI operates through a secretariat with some
300 staff members. Each state has a chief electoral officer with a core staff, and civil officers assume
the responsibilities of election officials at the district and constituency levels. During general elections,
however, an enormous team of temporary workers—up to five million people—are deputized to
conduct the polling.

The ECI has undertaken several to keep its operations relevant. Those initiatives include using state-
owned electronic media for the parties’ political campaigning, making efforts to check the
criminalization of politics, computerizing electoral rolls and providing voter-identity cards, and strictly
adhering to a code of conduct that ensures fairness for all parties and candidates.The Election
Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to
conduct free and fair elections in India.
The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election
Commissioners, appointed by the president.

Until October 1989, there was just one Chief Election Commissioner. In 1989, two Election
Commissioners were appointed, but were removed again in January 1990. In 1991, however,
the Parliament of India passed a law providing for the appointment of two Election Commissioners.
This law was amended and renamed in 1993 as the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election
Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Amendment Act 1993. As of 7 April 2011, the CEC
is Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi.

The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by Parliament with two-thirds
majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The
Election Commission shall consist of a Chief Election Commissioner and such other Commissioners
as the President may, from time to time, fix. Other Election Commissioner can be removed by the
President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. Salary of chief election
commissioner is same as justice of supreme court of India. All three commissioner have same right of
taking a decision. Tenure of commissioners is 6 years or up to age of 65, whichever is earlier. The
Election Commission of India has completed more than 300 elections.

The Election Commission shall have the power of superintendence, direction and control of all
elections to parliament and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of the President and
Vice-President.
LEGAL FRAMEWQORK OF ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
aws pertaining to the elections in India are contained in Part XV of the Indian Constitution. The
provisions mentioned in the Articles (324 to 329) cover all aspects of conducting elections
starting from inclusion of names in electoral roll to formulation of laws pertaining to elections.

Article 324 – Superintendence, Direction and Control of Elections

The Election Commission (EC) of India is the only entity that has been given the authority to
supervise, direct and control elections. According to Article 324, the Election Commission should
comprise the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners, who will be
appointed by the President.

Article 324 has a provision for the President to appoint Regional Commissioners before each
Parliamentary, Assembly and legislative council election. However, the appointment should
happen after consulting the EC. The CEC holds his office for tenure of six years, or up to the age
of 65 years.

According to the Article, the tenure of service for the Election Commissioners and the Regional
Commissioners should be determined by the President. The process of removing CEC from his
office is also explained in Article 324. Like a Supreme Court judge, the CEC can only be removed
through impeachment by the Parliament. The Article also states that the removal of Election
Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner takes place only after the recommendation of the
CEC.

The Article gives the President and the Governor of the states the responsibility to provide
additional staff to the Election Commission to enable efficient discharge of functions during the
elections.
Article 325 – Inclusion of Names in Electoral Roll
According to Article 325, every constituency will have one electoral roll for both Parliamentary
and Assembly elections and no person shall be included or excluded from the electoral roll on
grounds of religion, race, caste and sex.
Article 326 – Elections to the Parliament and State Assemblies Based on Adult Suffrage

The practice of conducting elections to the Parliament and state legislatures on the basis of adult
suffrage is enshrined in Article 326. It further states that every individual who is a citizen of India
and has attained the voting age shall be entitled to be registered as a voter. The exception can
happen if the person is disqualified on the ground of “non residence, unsoundness of mind, crime
or corrupt or illegal practice.”

Article 327 – Power of Parliament to Formulate Laws

The Parliament considers Article 327 as an anchor for formulating any law for matters pertaining
to elections to either house of the Parliament or the State Legislatures. The Article gives
Parliament the power to formulate laws regarding the preparation of electoral rolls, delimitation of
constituencies and relevant processes.

Article 328 – Power of State Legislature

The provisions of Article 327 are being replicated in this Article that empowers the state
governments to establish new laws on “all matters relating to, or in connection with, the elections”
to the state legislatures. As a manifestation of the government’s federal structure, the Indian
Constitution guarantees every state the power to make provisions pertaining to the preparation of
electoral rolls and other relevant matters.
Article 329 – Prohibits Court’s Interference in Electoral Matters
To prevent the judiciary from gaining supremacy and intervening in matters of governance, the
Constitution has included Article 329. The Article prohibits courts’ interference in electoral
matters. No court can question the validity of any law related to the delimitation of constituencies
or the allotment of seats.

Amendments to the Indian Constitution

Electoral reforms had led to a series of constitutional amendments. It was during the time of
emergency (1975 to be precise) when the 39th amendment of the Indian Constitution was
enacted. The amendment was made to place the election of the President, the Vice President,
the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha beyond the scrutiny of the courts. The
52nd Amendment Act of 1985 set the provisions for disqualification of members of Parliament or
State Legislature for defecting to another political party after elections. The 73rd and 74th
amendments ensure direct election to all seats in Municipalities and Panchayats. The 73rd
amendment also makes provisions for reservation of seats for SCs, STs and women.
Salient features of the Representation of Peoples Act

Article 324 to 329 of Part XV of the Constitution deals with the electoral system in our country.
Constitution allows Parliament to make provisions in all matters relating to elections to the Parliament
and State Legislatures. In exercise of this power, the Parliament has enacted laws like Representation
of the People Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950), Representation of the People Act 1951 (RPA Act 1951) and
Delimitation Commission Act of 1952. let us focus on the salient features of the Representation of
Peoples Act : RPA Act 1950 and RPA Act 1951.
Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950)

Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950) provides for the following :

 Qualification of voters.

 Preparation of electoral rolls.

 Delimitation of constituencies.

 Allocation of seats in the Parliament and state legislatures.

RPA ACT 1950 PARTS AND SCHEDULES

Part I : Preliminary

Part II : Allocation Of Seats And Delimitation Of Constituencies

Part IIA : Officers

Part IIB : Electoral Rolls For Parliamentary Constituencies

Part III : Electoral Rolls For Assembly Constituencies

Part IV Electoral Rolls For Council Constituencies

Part V General

The First Schedule Allocation of seats in the House of the People

The Second Schedule Total number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies

The Third Schedule Allocation of seats in the Legislative Councils

The Fourth Schedule Local authorities for purposes of elections to Legislative Councils

The Fifth Schedule [Repealed by the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963]

The Sixth Schedule [Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1956]

The Seventh Schedule [Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act]

Representation of Peoples Act 1951 (RPA Act 1951)

Representation of Peoples Act 1951 is an act enacted by the Indian provincial parliament before first
general elections. The People’s Representation act provides for the actual conduct of elections in
India. The act also deals with details like qualification and disqualification of members of both houses
of Parliament (ie Loksabha and Rajyasabha) and the state legislatures (ie. State Legislative Assembly
and State Legislative Council). Rules for the mode of conduct of elections is highlighted in detail.

HIGHLIGHTS OF RPA ACT 1951

1. Actual conduct of elections.

2. Administrative machinery for conducting elections.

3. Poll.

4. Election offences.

5. Election disputes.

6. By-elections.

7. Registration of political parties.

 8. The act is of special significance to the smooth functioning of Indian democracy, as it checks
the entry of persons with criminal background into the representative bodies. Representation
of People’s Act 1951 was amended many times, the major amendment being made in 1966.

Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act

Part 21 of the the Indian Constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly had mentioned for a
provisional parliament. The provisional parliament enacted Representation of People’s Act 1951, so
that general elections could be conducted according to the rules mentioned.

Citation is Article No 43 of 1951.

Representation of People’s Act contains 13 parts (2 parts added as amendments). Each part is
divided into different sections making it a total of 171 numbered sections (including those sections
which were repealed later.).

The details of the parts in Representation of People Act 1951 are as below:

PART I : PRELIMINARY.

PART II : QUALIFICATIONS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS.

PART III : NOTIFICATION OF GENERAL ELECTIONS.

PART IV : ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY FOR THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS.

PART IV A : REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

PART V : CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS.

PART VA : FREE SUPPLY OF CERTAIN MATERIAL TO CANDIDATES OF RECOGNISED

POLITICAL PARTIES.

PART VI : DISPUTES REGARDING ELECTIONS.

PART VII : CORRUPT PRACTICES AND ELECTORAL OFFENCES.

PART VIII : DISQUALIFICATIONS.

PART IX : BYE-ELECTIONS.

PART X : MISCELLANEOUS.

PART XI : GENERAL.

Expressions not used in 1951 act, but listed in Representation of the People Act 1950 (43 of 1950)
shall have the same meaning.

Chief Electoral Officer is mentioned in section 13A.

Corrupt practices are mentioned in section 123.

“Election” means an election to fill a seat or seats in either House of Parliament or in the House or
either House of the Legislature of a State other than the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
POWERS of ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The Election Commission of India enjoys the following powers.

 The Election Commission enjoys complete autonomy and is insulated from any kind
of executive interference.
 The body also functions as a quasi-judiciary body in matters of electoral disputes and
other matters involving the conduct of elections.
 Its recommendations and opinions are binding on the President of India. However,
the decisions of the body are liable for independent judiciary reviews by courts acting
on electoral petitions.
 The Election Commission is responsible for planning and executing a whole amount
of complex operations that go into the conduct of elections, however Election forces
and the Police is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission which
takes effective control of personnel, movable and immovable Government Properties
it deems necessary for successful completion of the electoral process
 Apart from conducting elections to representative bodies, the Election Commission
has been on many occasions, called upon by the Courts to oversee and execute
elections to various governing bodies of other autonomous organizations, such as
Syndicates of Universities, statutory professional bodies, etc.
FUNCTIONS of ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The following are the principle functions of the Election Commission of India:

1. Demarcation of Constituencies

The Electoral Commission, as the authority empowered by the Constitution and the
laws of the land to demarcate the boundaries of constituencies and electoral areas has
to see to it that:

o It is neutral , objective  and non-partisan in its approach to the  demarcation

exercise.
o The appropriate rules and regulations are applied in its demarcation exercises
o The needed resources are procured and applied effectively.
o The staff who undertake the exercise are well trained and  adequately motivated
in order to prevent the incidence of bias.
o The exercise is well monitored and co-ordinated.
o Data collected from the field exercise is well processed and stored.
o The petitions arising out of the exercise are resolved
o The necessary consultations are made with stakeholders including  the Attorney
General’s Department and the Ministry of Local government.
o The necessary instruments giving legal backing to the newly demarcated
boundaries  are drafted and put before parliament.
o The newly drawn electoral boundaries are put into effect.
o The necessary linkages are established between electoral boundaries and
administrative boundaries.

 
2. Preparation of Electoral Rolls.

o The Electoral Roll

The electoral roll is a list of all people in the constituency who are registered to
vote in Indian Elections. Only those people with their names on the electoral roll
are allowed to vote. The electoral roll is normally revised every year to add the
names of those who are to turn 18 on the 1st January of that year or have moved
into a constituency and to remove the names of those who have died or moved
out of a constituency. If you are eligible to vote and are not on the electoral roll,
you can apply to the Electoral Registration Officer of the constituency, who will
update the register. The updating of the Electoral Roll only stops during an
election campaign, after the nominations for candidates have closed.

o Computerisation of Rolls

In 1998 the Commission took a historic decision to computerise the entire

electoral rolls of 620 million voters. This work has been completed and now well
printed electoral rolls are available. The photo identity card number of the voter
has also been printed in the electoral rolls, for cross linking. The printed electoral
rolls as well as CDs containing these rolls are available for sale to general public.
National and State parties are provided these free of cost after every revision of
electoral rolls. Entire country's rolls are also available on this website.

o Electors' Photo Identity Cards (EPIC)

In an attempt to improve the accuracy of the electoral roll and prevent electoral
fraud, the Election Commission ordered the making ofphoto identity cards for
allvoters in the country in Aug, 1993. To take advantage of latest technological
innovations, the Commission issued revised guidelines for EPIC Program in May
2000. More than 450 million Identity cards has been distributed till now.

3. Recognition of Political parties and allotment of symbols.

o Registration with Election Commission

Political parties have to be registered with the Election Commission. The

Commission determines whether the party is structured and committed to
principles of democracy, secularism and socialism in accordance with the Indian
Constitution and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Parties
are expected to hold organisational elections and have a written constitution.

o Recognition and Reservation of Symbols

According to certain criteria, set by the Election Commission regarding the length
of political activity and success in elections, parties are categorised by the
Commission as National or State parties, or simply declared registered-
unrecognised parties. How a party is classified determines a party’s right to
certain privileges, such as access to electoral rolls and provision of time for
 political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations - All India
Radio and Doordarshan - and also the important question of the allocation of the
party symbol. Party symbols enable illiterate voters to identify the candidate of the
party they wish to vote for. National parties are given a symbol that is for their use
only, throughout the country. State parties have the sole use of a symbol in the
state in which they are recognised as such Registered-unrecognised parties can
choose a symbol from a selection of ‘free’ symbols.

4. Scrutiny of nomination papers.

You have filed the nomination paper and other candidates would have also done so. The next stage in
the election process is the scrutiny of nomination papers by the Returning Officer. The Returning
Officer is required by law to hold the scrutiny of all nomination papers received by him on the date
fixed for scrutiny in this election time table issued under section 30 of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951.

o The scrutiny of nomination papers takes place on the day immediately following the
last date for filing nominations. Thus, if today is the last date for filing nominations
then tomorrow will be the date for scrutiny of nominations. But if tomorrow is a public
holiday then the scrutiny of nominations will take place day after tomorrow provided it
again is not a public holiday. In other words, scrutiny of nominations papers cannot
be held as pointed out already on a public holiday.

o By whom scrutiny of nomination papers is held:-

The scrutiny of nomination papers can be held only by the Returning Officer. This
function cannot be delegated by the Returning Officer even to an Assistant Returning
Officer. There is only one exception, that is to say, an Assistant Returning Officer
may be authorised by the Returning Officer to hold the scrutiny of nominations if, and
only if, the Returning Officer is unavoidably prevented from performing the function
relating to the scrutiny of nominations (see the provision to section 22 (2) of the
Representation of the People Act, 1951).

o Who may attend scrutiny of nominations:-

According to law only four persons in the case of each candidate may attend at the
place where scrutiny takes place. These four persons are : (1) the candidate himself,
(2) the candidate's election agent, (3) any one of the proposers of the candidate and
(4) one other person authorised in writing by the candidate. Even if you have filed the
maximum number of nomination papers from the same constituency namely four
nomination papers and there are four or more different proposers, even then only
one proposer can be present at the scrutiny. Thus only four persons for each
candidate can be present, and if there are, say, for example, ten candidates who
have filed nomination papers from a particular constituency then in all forty persons
 can be present at the scrutiny. It will be better for you if the fourth person to be
authorised by you in writing at the time of scrutiny is a lawyer conversant with
election law so that he may adequately protects your interests at the time of scrutiny.
It will also be to your interests if you yourself can be present at the scrutiny.

o  Reasonable facilities for examination of nomination papers:-

The four persons (including yourself) who can be present on your behalf at the time
of scrutiny have a right to have all reasonable facilities for examining the nomination
papers of all the candidates which are taken up for scrutiny by the Returning Officer.
This is a valuable right for you and the three other persons who may be present
along with you, namely, your election agent, one of your proposers and the person
authorised by you.

o  Objections which may be raised :

 You should not raise any flimsy or technical objections in regard to any nomination
paper. Similarly you or the person representing you should oppose any objection
raised against your nomination on flimsy or technical ground. Section 36(4) of the
Representation of the People act, 1951 clearly lays down that the Returning Officer
shall not reject any nomination paper on the ground of any defect which is not of a
substantial character. Rule 4 of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961 lays down that
the failure to complete or defect in completing a declaration regarding symbols in the
nomination papers is not a defect of a substantial character. Therefore, if any of your
opposing candidates raises any objection regarding a defect which is not of a
substantial character you or any of the persons who may be present on your behalf
may oppose it. It has already been pointed out that on the presentation of a
nomination paper the Returning Officer will satisfy himself that the names and the
electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination
paper are the same as those entered in the electoral rolls. The Returning Officer may
not therefore reject your nomination paper on the ground of any misnomer or any
inaccurate description or clerical or technical or printing error in regard to your name
or the name of your proposer or any other person or in regard to any place mention
in the electoral roll or nomination paper, etc., provided that such description in regard
to any name and place is such as to be commonly understood. If at the time of
scrutiny any objection is raised regarding such misnomer or inaccurate description
etc., you may draw immediate attention to the proviso to section 33(4) of the
Representation of the People act, 1951.

5. Scrutiny of election expense of candidates.

o Limit on poll expenses

There are tight legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend during the
election campaign. Since December 1997, in most Lok Sabha constituencies the limit
was Rs 15,00,000/-, although in some States the limit is Rs 6,00,000/- (for Vidhan
Sabha elections the highest limit is Rs 6,00,000/-, the lowest Rs 3,00,000/-). Recent
amendment in October 2003 has increased these limits. For Lok Sabha seats in
bigger states, it is now Rs 25,00,000. In other states and Union Territories, it varies
 between Rs 10,00,000 to Rs 25,00,000. Similarly, for Assembly seats, in bigger
states, it is now Rs 10,00,000, while in other states and Union Territories, it varies
between Rs 5,00,000 to Rs 10,00,000. Although supporters of a candidate can spend
as much as they like to help out with a campaign, they have to get written permission
of the candidate, and whilst parties are allowed to spend as much money on
campaigns as they want, recent Supreme Court judgments have said that, unless a
political party can specifically account for money spent during the campaign, it will
consider any activities as being funded by the candidates and counting towards their
election expenses. The accountability imposed on the candidates and parties has
curtailed some of the more extravagant campaigning that was previously a part of
Indian elections

o Free Campaign time on state owned electronic media

By Election Commission, all recognised National and State parties have been allowed
free access to the state owned electronic media-AIR and Doordarshan- on an
extensive scale for their campaigns during elections. The total free time allocated
extends over 122 hours on the state owned Television and Radio channels. This is
allocated equitably by combining a base limit and additional time linked to poll
performance of the party in recent election.

6. Conduct Of Polls

o Supervising Elections, Election Observers

The Election Commission appoints a large number of Observers to ensure that the
campaign is conducted fairly, and that people are free to vote as they choose.
Election expenditure Observers keeps a check on the amount that each candidate
and party spends on the election.

o Counting of Votes

After the polling has finished, the votes are counted under the supervision of
Returning Officers and Observers appointed by the Election Commission. After the
counting of votes is over, the Returning Officer declares the name of the candidate to
whom the largest number of votes have been given as the winner, and as having
been returned by the constituency to the concerned house.

o Media Coverage

In order to bring as much transparency as possible to the electoral process, the

media are encouraged and provided with facilities to cover the election, although
subject to maintaining the secrecy of the vote. Media persons are given special
passes to enter polling stations to cover the poll process and the counting halls during
the actual counting of votes.
 CHAPTER-V

PRESENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Chief Election commissioner

The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally
empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures and of
President and Vice-President. This power of the Election Commission of India is derived from
the Article 324 of the constitution of India. According to clause 2 of Article 324 of the constitution of
India - The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such
number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time
fix. The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner of India shall, subject to the
provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament be made by the President.

Qualifications

The qualifications or the eligibility criteria is not codified or defined in The Election
commission of India (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of
Business) Act 1991. Generally, the chief election commissioner is a former civil servant
particularly a former officer of Indian Administrative Services.

Appointment

According to our constitutional provisions - The Honourable President of India appoints the
chief Election Commissioner, based on the recommendation made by incumbent
government (Prime minister advised by council of ministers).

Term of office

The term of office of The Chief Election Commissioner of India is duly defined in the in The
Election commission of India (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and
Transaction of Business) Act 1991 -
 The Chief Election hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he assumes his
office:

[Provided that where the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner attains
the age of sixty-five years before the expiry of the said term of six years, he shall vacate his
office on the date on which he attains the said age:]

Provided further that the Chief Election may, at any time, by writing under his hand
addressed to the President, resign his office.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this section, the term of six years in respect of the Chief
Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner holding office immediately before the
commencement of this Act, shall be computed from the date on which he had assumed office.

Process of removal

The procedure of removal of the chief election commissioner is defined under Article 324(5)
of the constitution of India. It states that - Chief Election Commissioner shall not be remove
from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme
Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be varied to
his disadvantage after his appointment. It basically signifies that the process of removal of
CEC is same as that of Supreme court and High court judges. The following points depicts
the process of removal of CEC :

 The chief election commissioner may be removed from office through a

motion adopted by Parliament on grounds of ‘Proven misbehaviour or
incapacity’.
 Removal requires special majority of 2/3rd members present and
voting supported by more than 50% of the total strength of the house.
 The Constitution does not use the word ‘impeachment’, for the removal of the
CEC.
List of chief election commissioners of India since inception-

S.N. CEC Name   Office Joined   Left Office

 1  Sukumar Sen  21 March 1950  19 December 1958

 2  Kalyan Sundaram  20 December 1958  30 September 1967

 3  SP Sen Verma  1 October 1967  30 September 1972

 4  Nagendra Singh  1 October 1972  6 February 1973

 5  T. Swaminathan  7 February 1973  17 June 1977

 6  S. L. Shakdhar  18 June 1977  17 June 1982

 7  R. K. Trivedi  18 June 1982  31 December 1985

 8  R. V. S. Peri Sastri  1 January 1986  25 November 1990

  9  V. S. Ramadevi  26 November 1990  11 December 1990

 10  T. N. Seshan  12 December 1990  11 December 1996

 11.   M. S. Gill  12 December 1996  13 June 2001

 12  J. M. Lyngdoh  14 June 2001  7 February 2004

 13  T. S. Krishnamurthy  8 February 2004  15 May 2005

 14  B. B. Tandon  16 May 2005  29 June 2006

 15  N. Gopalaswami  30 June 2006  20 April 2009

 16  Navin Chawla  21 April 2009  29 July 2010

 17  S. Y. Quraishi  30 July 2010  10 June 2012

  18  V. S. Sampath  11 June 2012  15 January 2015

 19  H. S. Brahma  16 January 2015  18 April 2015

 20  Nasim Zaidi  19 April 2015  5 July 2017

 21  Achal Kumar Jyoti  6 July 2017  22 January 2018

 22  Om Prakash Rawat  23 January 2018  1 Dec. 2018

 23  Sunil Arora  2 Dec. 2018  Incumbent

ELECTION COMMISSIONERS

From the beginning the Election commission consisted of the chief election commissioner
only. The congress(1) government just a week before the commencement of 9 th
general General election appointed two more commissioners on 16 th october 1989
making it a multi member commission.
Finally the post of election commissioner also gained a statutory authority as on
1/10/1993 the government promulgated an ordinance which was subsequently
converted into an act t provide for the appointment of two election commissioners.
Appointment
The Election commissioner is appointed by the president of India on the
recommendation of the chief election commissioners.
Qualification
There is no codified qualifications or eligibility criteria for becoming election
commissioner. Generally it is seen that that post of election commissioner is held by
former IAS officer.
Term of office
The term of office or tenure of the election commissioner is same as that of Chie
election commissioner i.e. 6 years till the age of 65 years.
Process of removal
The election commissioners can be removed by the president on the
recommendation of the chief election commissioner. There is no specific grounds
defined for their removal.

Deputy Election Commissioners

The Chief election commissioner along with his two election commissioner has
power to appoint Deputy Election commissioners to assist them in the administration
of elections.
Director Generals
1. DG Election expenditure
2. DG Communication, International Cooperation, O/L, Library

Additional Director General

Right now there is only one ADG in the commission and he is given the work of
(PIB) & Official Spokesperson of ECI (For media matters only).

Senior principle secretary elections

Directors
At present there are 9 directors posted in the election commission of India. The chief
election commissioner appoints them different types of work field like IT, Media, Law,
Machines etc..
Secretariat of the commission
The secretariat of the election commission of India consist of various principle
secretaries , Joint directors , Secretaries and senior advisors, They are mostly IAS
officers deployed from Government of India by The election commission for the
conduct of free and fair elections.
Chief electoral officers
The election commission of India appoints IAS officers of principal secretary rank as
the chief electoral officer of each state. The chief electoral officer or the Principal
Secretary election is the head in charge for the conduct of free and fair elections in
the state. CEOs are not in the control of the state government .They are in direct
control of election commission of India.
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY ELECTION
COMMISSION OF INDIA

ISSUES IN ELECTORAL POLITICS OF INDIA

1. Money Power

Electioneering is an expensive affair in every democratic polity which plays a more vital role in India.
Money power plays in our electoral system destructive role affecting seriously the working of
periodic elections, It leads to all round corruption and contributes mainly to the generation of black
money economy which rules at present our country? A prospective candidate in each constituency has
to spend millions of money towards transport, publicity and other essential items of election
campaign. In recent years the election expenses have increased beyond any limits due to the desire on
the part of every political party to spend more than their rivals in the fray. The elections were not as
costly in 1952 as they have become today. Political leaders and workers considered it unethical to
work with a desire for any reward. But scenario now has changed. The elections in Indian polity are
becoming increasingly expensive and the gap between the expenses incurred and legally permitted is
increasing over the years. The observers are watching the system that requires unbelievably enormous
expenditure collected through the dubious means by political parties and their candidates. The
adoption of planning and of mixed economy with a large amount of control, regulation, licenses,
permits and quotas in free India provided enormous opportunities for political corruption and resulted
in an unethical nexus between the electoral politics and the business sector of the country. This seems
to be continued even today with more disastrous consequences of an overflow of black money into
the corridors of political parties despite the liberalized economy induced to the political system of
country. Elections in India so far from a common man, only those people can participate in elections
as a candidate who has a lot of money, because today vote is not a mean of public opinion. It is being
purchased.
 1. Muscle Power: Violence, pre-election intimidation, post election , victimisation, most of
the riggings of any type, booth capturing both silent and violent are mainly the products
of muscle power. These are prevalent in many parts of the country like Bihar, Western
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra etc. and this cancerous disease is slowly spreading to south
like in Andhra Pradesh, Criminalisation of politics and politicalisation of criminals, freely
indulged in now, are like two sides of the same coin and are mainly responsible for the

manifestation of muscle power at elections. By using of violence, the criminals are able to achieve
success at elections for their benefactors.

For example, in parties like the SP, a candidate with a clean record has an 18% chance of winning, his
chances go up to 31% if he has a criminal record. In the BJP, the chances of being elected with a
clean record is 28%, while with a criminal record, chances go up to 40%. 

This correlation is best reflected in the analysis of criminal records of 4181 repeat candidates by
ADR. It shows that 1072 of them had a criminal case the first they contested elections, and in 788
cases of 74% of the time, they managed to get a party ticket to recontest. 

2. Misuse of Government Machinery: It is generally complained that the government in

power at the time of election misuse official machinery to further the election prospects
of its party candidates. The misuse of official machinery takes different forms, such as
issue of advertisements at the cost of government and public exchequer highlighting their
achievements, disbursements out of the discretionary funds at the disposal of the
ministers, use of government vehicles for canvassing etc. The misuse of official
machinery in the ways mentioned above gives an unfair advantage to the ruling party at
the time of elections. This leads to misuse of public funds for furthering the prospects of
candidates of a particular party.

3. Criminalisation of Politics:
During the election period, newspapers are usually full of information about the number of criminals
in the field sponsored by every party. The reason of the criminals behind entrance to politics is to gain
influence and ensure that cases against them are dropped or not proceeded with. They are able to
make it big in the political arena because of their financial clout. Political parties tap criminals for
fund

and in return provide them with political patronage and protection.Rough estimates suggest that in any
state election 20 per cent of candidates are drawn from criminal backgrounds: Mafia dons and other
powerful gangsters have shown that they can convert their muscle power into votes often at gun point.
Voters in many parts in the country are forced to vote for the local strongman. Tickets were given to
the candidates with criminal records even by National Party. All these instances reported time and
again show that democracy in India has largely failed to be what it was meant to be because the
electoral system has been perverted. Our

politics have been corrupted because the corrupt and criminals have to entered it,Criminalisation of
politics has become an all-pervasive phenomenon. At one time politicians hired criminals to help
them win elections by booth capturing. Today, those same criminals have begun entering parliament
and the state legislature

Our constitution does not specify as to what disqualifies a person from contesting election for the
Parliament, Legislative assembly or any other legislature, the Representation of Peoples act which
mentions the criteria for disqualifying a person for contesting an election of legislature. Section 8 of
the act, i.e. Disqualification on conviction for certain offences, according to which individual
punished with a jail term of more than two years cannot stand in an election for six years after the jail
term has ended. The law does not bar individuals who have criminal cases pending against them from
contesting elections therefore the disqualification of candidates with criminal cases depends on their
conviction in these cases. With cases dragging in courts for years, a disqualification based on
conviction becomes ineffective due to low conviction rate.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in their report from 2014 gave concrete numbers to
this effect. According to their report, 30% of sitting MPs and MLAs were facing some form of
criminal proceedings, and only 0.5% were convicted of criminal charges in a court of law.

If a lower court has convicted an individual, he cannot contest an election unless a higher court has
overturned his conviction. Simply filing an appeal against the judgment of the lower court is not
enough. In 2013, the apex court in the case Lily Thomas vs. Union of India ruled that a sitting MP
and MLA convicted of a jail term of two years or more would lose their seat in the legislature
immediately. Further, Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, which allowed elected
representatives three months to appeal their conviction,[2] was declared unconstitutional by the bench
of Justice A. K. Patnaik and Justice S. J. Mukhopadhaya.

Every political party now a day’s need criminals and mafia’s to work for their party so that these guys
can distribute liquor, money, food and other things in return for votes during the implementation of
code of conduct, or to rig election voting, collecting political funds for parties and many other things.
Every politician and big leader has either faced criminal charges or has been to jail, including many
ministers of the union and state both. In fact many chief ministers of various states are accused of a
criminal case and some of them have been found guilty.

4. Cast in politics :
 Although there is hardly any instance in India of a political party being totally identified
with any particular caste group, yet there are cases of certain castes lending strong
support to particular political parties. Thus while political parties struggle among
themselves, to win different caste groups in their favour by making offers to them, caste
groups too try to pressurize parties to choose its members for candidature in elections, If
the caste group is dominant and the political party ,is an important one, this interaction is
all the more prominent. In many political parties, in place of ideological polarization
there occur the determination of policies and programmes as well as the nomination of
electoral candidates and the extension of support to

them on caste consideration. Caste dominates the political field, especially at the lower level. The
emergence of regional parties and the „withering away of national outlook and spirit‟ thus sets off
another crisis. Candidates come to be selected not in terms to accomplishments, ability and merit but
on the appendages of caste, creed and community. Ultimately caste becomes the deciding factor on
selection. Caste based politics and castism are eroding the „unity‟ principle in the name of regional
autonomy. Inspite of all the modern school of thoughts of potics of devolopement it is still a reality
that at the end of the day, all the political parties seek vote or appeal for vote in the name of caste and
hence caste act as their important vote bank. To reduce the use of cast in politics a complete legal
provision – section 125 was included in the Represntation of People’s Act 1951 which states that -

Section 125 in the Representation of the People Act, 1951

Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election.—Any person who in connection with
an election under this Act promotes or attempts to promote on grounds of religion, race, caste,
community or language, feelings of enmity or hatred, between different classes of the citizens of India
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or
with both.

Issues related to the electronic voting machine

1.  The Election Commission of India is globally acknowledged as a ''Gold Standard'' in conduct of

free and fair elections with integrity in India. It has set ever-higher standards of efficient, smooth and
professional conduct of Elections and has been at the forefront of embracing, adopting and
implementing the latest technological advancements in improving and fine-tuning the election
processes and systems.

2.  The Commission has taken the pioneering initiative of introducing Electronic Voting Machine
(EVM) for recording, storing and counting of votes across the length and breadth of this country in a
transparent, credible and secure manner, duly backed by appropriate legal support.

3.  Over the last twenty years, the Commission has successfully conducted 107 State Legislative
Assembly elections and 03 Lok Sabha elections using EVMs. Since September 2013, Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines have also been used in various State Assembly and
Parliamentary constituencies for enhanced transparency and credibility in the voting process.
4.  The introduction of EVMs in 90’s was a positive electoral reform by the Commission. Some
doubts have been raised on the functioning of the EVMs from time to time and from some quarters.

5.  After the announcement of the results of the five State Assembly Elections (UP, Uttarakhand,
Punjab, Goa and Manipur), in March 2017, again certain doubts have been raised on the functioning
of EVMs. Some complaints and suggestions were received by Commission after declaration of results
of five State Assembly elections. The Commission duly examined these complaints and asked for
evidence and credible material information supporting the claims, but so far no evidence has been
provided by complainants to ECI.

6.  A group of thirteen political parties met the Commission on 10th April, 2017 and expressed certain
reservations about the use of EVMs. Some political parties also raised queries about incidents relating
to VVPATs used on 31/3/17 during demonstration (NOT in actual poll) at Bhind (M.P) and Dholpur
(Rajasthan) Bye-elections held in the first week of April, 2017.

7.  To understand the concerns of political parties, Commission convened an all-party meeting on
12th May. A press statement was also issued by ECI the same day to the following effects.

(i)            The Commission stated before political parties that all future elections will be mandatorily
held with VVPATs. The Commission firmly believes that use of VVPAT machines along with the
EVMs in all polling stations, in all future elections, will bring utmost transparency and credibility in
the EVM-based voting system. This will enable each voter to see for himself in VVPAT whether his
or her vote has gone to the right candidate.  After press of button on BU, name and symbol the
concerned candidate will appear on the screen of VVPAT machine and paper slip bearing name and
symbol will be dropped in a sealed box connected with VVPAT. These slips will serve as audit trial
of the vote cast by voter on EVM. Audit trail will enhance confidence and trust of voters. Use of
VVPATs with EVMs must conclusively put to rest all misinformed doubts and misgivings regarding
EVMs. It will also be a matter of pride that India will become the first country to deploy 100%
VVPATs or paper trail in the world, an element that was missing in many countries including
Netherland, Germany and Ireland.

Funds for procuring the required VVPATs for 100% deployment have already been sanctioned and
production is to begin in August, 2017 and will be completed by September, 2018.

(ii)        It was also stated that the Commission has also taken into account suggestions made by
various political parties regarding counting of VVPAT slips. The Commission will count VVPAT
slips up to a definite percentage, which will be determined by the Commission. The ECI will shortly
evolve an appropriate framework in this regard.

(iii)      The Commission will hold a challenge and offer opportunity to political parties to demonstrate
that EVMs used in the recently concluded Assembly elections were tampered or that EVMs can be
tampered even under the laid down technical and administrative safeguards of ECI.

(iv)      Commission also urged all parties to ensure their continuous and qualitative participation in all
crucial steps during elections such as First Level Checking (FLC), randomisation of
EVMs/VVPATs/polling personnel, EVM preparation and candidate setting, mock poll, EVM sealing
and storage. The Commission also invited more suggestions from political parties on how to further
increase their participation, so that absolute transparency is maintained at all times.

(v)        Commission, further, urged political parties that improving integrity of election process is a
shared responsibility of all the stake holders. We solicited their suggestions to fill up gaps, if any,
during election and non election period. The Commission made it clear that ECI want total
transparency and have nothing to hide from people and other stakeholders. Commission will always
receive suggestions from its stakeholders for improvement of its processes.
(vi)      The Commission also emphasised that Commission is committed and it  maintains
equidistance from all parties and groups. The Commission further emphasised that ECI has no
favourites. Further, this equidistance by ECI has enhanced India’s reputation in the eyes of the global
community.

8.  The Commission has already issued detailed Press releases on Credibility of Electronic Voting
Machines on 16thMarch, 2017, on alleged VVPAT incident during mock EVM demonstration on
31st March 2017 (and not in actual poll as alleged) at Bhind (Madhya Pradesh) on 07 th April, 2017 and
also regarding EVMs in Dholpur (Rajasthan) on 11 th April, 2017. In Bhind, a wrong notion was
created that for any key pressed on the Ballot Unit, only one symbol was printed by VVPAT.
Commission’s thorough enquiry clearly established that during the EVM demo held on 31.03.2017 in
DEOs office the 4 buttons were pressed during the demo and not the actual poll and every time the
correct corresponding symbol was printed. A Status Paper on EVMs has also been circulated to all
stakeholders on 12th May, 2017elaborating various aspects about EVMs and VVPATs for information
and awareness. (All these documents are available on ECI website).

9.  Certain complaints of alleged tampering of EVMs during the recently held Municipal elections in
Maharashtra and elsewhere also generated wrong perception about EVMs of ECI. It was noted that
confusion exists in the minds of many about the jurisdiction of ECI. We would like to clarify once
again on this occasion that ECI is not responsible for the conduct of local body elections by the State
Govts in the country and consequently about various protocols and procedures adopted by the
concerned State Election Commissions. Election to local bodies, both urban and rural, are conducted
by separate constitutional authorities State Election Commissions constituted by the State Govts.
under Article 243 of the Constitution. Moreover, a particular complaint of some candidate receiving
zero vote in Mumbai Municipal elections has been found to be totally false by SEC Maharashtra.

10.   The Commission is confident and has firm conviction about the integrity, non-tamperability and
credibility of the EVMs. The basis of confidence of the Commission flows from a wide range of
technical and administrative protocols and procedural safeguards that protects our EVMs and
VVPATs against any sort of tampering during manufacture, transportation, storage, polling and
counting process. Still, the Commission is open to receiving from all stakeholders’  suggestions on
how to further improve the integrity and credibility of our EVMs and VVPATs. The Commission will
not allow even a shade of doubt about EVM operations.

11.   The Commission would like to address some of the important issues that have been raised from
time to time in past two months:

A.ECI- EVMs are not hackable as these, are stand alone machines and not connected to the internet
and /or any other network at any point of time during polling. Hence, there is no chance of hacking.

The ECI-EVMs do not have any frequency receiver or data decoder for wireless and hence cannot
receive any coded signal by wireless. Hence, no tampering can be carried out through external
hardware Wireless, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device. Moreover, machines are always in the custody of ECI
and its election authorities.

B. Manipulation at manufacturing stage is ruled out as there is very stringent security

protocolregarding the security of software. Further, the Machines have been manufactured in different
years starting from 1989. After manufacturing, EVMs are sent by ECI to State and district within a
State. The manufacturers are in no position to know several years ahead which candidate will be
contesting from a particular constituency and what will be the sequence of the candidates on the BU
and, therefore, cannot manipulate EVMs in a predetermined manner at manufacturing stage.

C.Results cannot be altered by activating a Trojan Horse through a sequence of key presses because
1.  Trojan Horse cannot be inserted into the software code of ECI EVM burnt into the Microcontroller
Chip since the chip is one time Programmable only.

2.  The stringent security measures by ECI make it impossible to access the EVMs which is an
essential prerequisite for attempting to change the Micro-controller for inserting a Trojan Horse.

3.  Control Unit activates Ballot Unit for only one key press at a time. Any additional key pressed on
the Ballot Unit is not sensed by the Control Unit making it impossible to send signals by pressing a
sequence of keys or secret codes.

Once a ballot key is pressed in CU, the CU enables BU for registering the vote and waits for the key
pressing in the BU. During this period, all keys in the CU become inactive till the entire sequence of
casting of that vote is complete. Once any of the keys (candidates vote button) is pressed by a voter in
BU, the BU transmits the key information to CU in dynamically encrypted form.  The CU gets the
data and acknowledges it by glowing the corresponding red LED lamps in BU.  After the enabling of
ballot in CU, only the ‘first key press’ is sensed and accepted by CU.  After this, even if a voter keeps
on pressing the other buttons, that is of no use as there will not be any communication between CU
and BU of those subsequent key presses, nor will BU register any key press.  To put it in other words,
there can be only one valid key press (the first key press) for every ballot enabled using CU.  Once a
valid key press (voting process) is complete, until another ballot enabling key press is made there will
not be any activity between the CU and the BU.  Hence, sending of any malicious signal, by way of
so called ‘sequenced key presses’, is impossible in the Electronic Voting Machines being used in the
country.

D.ECI-EVMs cannot be Physically Tampered with nor their components be changed without anyone
noticing. It is clarified that replacement of micro controller/chip and the motherboard in earlier
generations of machines like M1 and M2 is ruled out due to robust administrative and technical
safeguards. Further, the new M3 EVM produced after 2013 have additional features like Tamper
Detection and Self Diagnostics. The tamper detection feature makes an EVM inoperative the moment
anyone tries to open the machine. The Self diagnostic feature checks the EVM fully every time it is
switched on. Any change in its hardware or software will be detected.  Rs. 1900 Crore have already
been sanctioned to the manufacturers for production of 13.95 Lakh BU and 9.30 Lakh CU of M3
generation. Also, 16.15 Lakh VVPATs are also under production and Rs. 3173 Crore have been
sanctioned for the same.

E. The latest technological features make ECI-EVMs tamper proof. The ECI-EVMs use some of the
most sophisticated technological features like one time programmable (OTP) microcontrollers,
dynamic coding of key codes, date and time stamping of each and every key press, advanced
encryption technology and EVM-tracking software to handle EVM logistics, among others to make
the machine 100% tamper proof. In addition to these, new model M3 EVMs also have tamper
detection and self-diagnostics as added features.OTP software implies that the programme in the
EVM cannot be altered, re-written or re-read by anyone under safe custody of ECI. This makes EVM
tamper proof. If anyone makes an unauthorized attempt, the machine will become in-operative.

F.  Contrary to misinformation spread and alleged by some, ECI does not use any EVMs produced
abroad. EVMs are produced indigenously by two PSU manufacturers viz. Bharat Electronics Ltd.,
Bengaluru and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd., Hyderabad. The Software Program Code is
written in-house by these two companies and not outsourced and approved by TEC of ECI and
subjected to strict security procedures at factory level to maintain the highest levels of integrity.

 
The software programme is converted into machine codeby manufacturers and only then given to the
chip manufacturer abroad. (We don’t have the adequate capability of producing semi-conductor
microchips within the country). Every microchip has an identification number embedded into memory
and the producers have their digital signatures on them. So, the question of their replacement does not
arise at all because microchips brought back to manufacturers are subjected to functional tests with
regard to the software. Any attempt to replace microchip is detectable and can make EVM in-
operative. Thus, both changing existing program and introducing new one are detectable making
EVM in-operative because EVMs are tamper detect. Also the technological advancement now permits
fusing of the software on the chip at BEL and ECIL itself and hence, in M3 the software is fused on
the chip inside BEL and ECIL.

G.          There are no possibilities of manipulation in EVM during transportation or at the place of

storage.At the district headquarters, EVMs are kept in a double-lock system under appropriate
security. Their safety is periodically checked. The election authorities do not open the strong room,
and they only regularly check whether it’s fully protected and whether the lock is in proper condition
or not. No Unauthorized person can get access to the EVMs at any point of time. During the non-
election period, annual physical verification of all EVMs is done by DEOs and report sent to ECI.
Further, strong rooms are always opened in the presence of representative of political parties.

H.          There are different levels of checks and balances ensuring tamper proofing of ECI-EVMs
which are as follows:

•        First Level Checking: Authorized BEL/ECIL engineers certify originality of components after
technical and physical examination of each EVM, which is undertaken in the presence of
representatives of political parties. Defective EVMs are sent back to the factory. The FLC Hall is
sanitized, entry is restricted and no camera, mobile phone or spy pen is allowed inside.   The Mock
Poll is conducted on EACH EVM by election officials in the presence of representatives of political
parties.The Mock poll of at least 1000 votes is conducted on 5% EVMs selected randomly by
representatives of political parties and the result shown to them. The entire process is video graphed.

•       Candidate Setting: Yet another significant safeguard is the process of candidate setting, which is
done after the finalization of contesting candidates. A ballot paper is inserted in the Ballot Unit, which
is then sealed with Pink Paper Seal. BU is sealed at this stage. Where VVPATs are used,
candidates’symbols are loaded in each VVPAT at this stage.  Once again, every EVM is subjected to
mock poll and 5% EVMs are randomly picked up for 1000 mock poll.

•       Randomization: EVMs are randomized twice while being allocated to an Assembly and then to a
polling booth ruling out any fixed allocation. As you can appreciate, till first randomization no-one
knows the sequence of names on the ballot paper till the finalization of list of contesting candidates,
the names of contesting candidates are placed alphabetically on the ballot paper first for National and
State Parties, followed by other Registered Parties, followed by independents and NOTA. Thus the
Serial no. of any political party, candidate on the BU would be variable from constituency to
constituency. It is therefore clear that serial no. of any political party candidate is not fixed or pre-
determined in all the constituencies of the state. Hence, till candidate setting, none, not even RO or
DEO or CEO or the Commission could know which button on which BU will be assigned to which
candidate.

•       Mock Poll of at least 50 votes at the polling station is also conducted in front of polling agents of
candidates on the poll day, before poll begins.
•       After Poll, EVMs are sealed and polling agents put their signature on the seal. Polling agents can
travel up to strong room during transportation of polled EVMs from the polling station to the EVM
Strong room.

•       Strong Rooms: Candidates or their representatives can put their own seals on the strong rooms,
where polled EVMs are stored after the poll and also camp in front of the strong room.  These strong
rooms are guarded 24x7 in multilayers, with CCTV facilities.

•       Counting Centres: The polled EVMs are brought to the Counting Centres under security and in
presence of candidates and Unique IDs of the seals, signature of polling agents on CU are shown to
representatives of candidates before the start of counting.

12.Looking at the above series of fool-proof checks and balances that are undertaken by the ECI to
make EVMs tamper proof, it is evident that neitherthe machines can be tampered-withnor they can
leave the ECI-EVM system. Further, neither defective machines nor Non-ECI-EVM can get re-
inducted/inducted into the polling process at any point of time. Non ECI-EVMs will get detected by
the above process due to mismatch of BU & CU.

13. Some people argue that why have Developed Nations like the US              and the European Union
not adopted EVMs and some have even             discontinued?

ECI EVMs are far superior to any EVMs worldwide. EVM, used in the Netherlands, Ireland and
Germany were privately manufactured and had no independent certification system unlike a very
robust verification and certification system through independent TEC or an ECI approved third party
in case of ECI EVMs. Also, voting data in these NEDAP EVMs in the Netherlands was transferred
using CDs, unlike our EVMs where it is stored internally and never transferred. Also these countries
lacked full end to end administrative and security safeguards as well as legal framework. Finally their
EVMs also lacked auditability.

A point is raised from time to time that several foreign countries have discontinued the use of voting
machines and why India is using EVMs.

With the rapid advances in technology over the years, Election Management Bodies, professionals,
experts, and activists (particularly Green Activists) have mooted the idea of using paperless electronic
voting methods in different parts of the world in order to overcome the disadvantages of manual
marking of paper ballots. The marriage between technology and election management goes back to at
least 1892, when the first ‘lever voting machine’ was used in New York, after using the paper ballot
for a long time. In the 1960s, punch-card machines were introduced in the USA, and the first EVM
was introduced there in 1975. Electronic Voting has moved quite ahead since then.

ISSUES RELATED TO MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT

The model code refers to a set of norms laid down by the Election Commission of
India, with the consensus of political parties. It is not statutory. It spells out the
dos and don’ts for elections. Political parties, candidates and polling agents are
expected to observe the norms, on matters ranging from the content of election
manifestos, speeches and processions, to general conduct, so that free and fair
elections take place. The EC traces its introduction to the 1960 Assembly elections
in Kerala. During simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies in several
States in 1962, the EC circulated the code to all recognised parties, which followed
it “by and large”. In October 1979, the EC came up with a comprehensive code
that saw further changes after consultations with parties. The code comes into
force on the announcement of the poll schedule and remains operational till the
process is concluded, as provided in the notification. It is also applicable to a
“caretaker” government on premature dissolution of a State Assembly, as was the
case in Telangana. The EC ensures that ruling parties at the Centre and in States
adhere to the code, as part of its mandate to conduct free and fair elections under
Article 324 of the Constitution. In case of electoral offences, malpractices and
corrupt practices like inducements to voters, bribery, intimidation or any undue
influence, the EC takes action against violators. Anyone can report the violations
to the EC or approach the court. The EC has devised several mechanisms to take
note of the offences, which include joint task forces of enforcement agencies and
flying squads. The latest is the introduction of the cVIGIL mobile app through
which audio-visual evidence of malpractices can be reported.

n the context of ongoing General Elections, all eyes are on the Election Commission of India
(ECI) to conduct elections in a free and fair manner by implementing its Model Code of
Conduct.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a consensus document consisting of a set of guidelines
intended to help the poll campaign maintain high standards of public morality and provide a
level playing field for all parties and candidates.

The Code has been issued by the ECI under executive powers under Article 324 of the
Constitution of India. The Commission is entitled to issue instructions exercising plenary
powers under Article 324 to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.

The Supreme Court observed in S. Subramaniam Balaji v. Govt. of Tamil Nadu that the
Election Commission, in order to ensure a level playing field for contesting parties and
candidates, and also to see that the purity of election process does not get vitiated, has been
issuing instructions under the MCC, exercising its power under Article 324.

The Commission has issued a plethora of instructions and taken action, wherever necessary,
against political parties or persons violating these directions. The Courts, from time to time,
have upheld such directions/actions of the ECI.

However, recent trends paint a different picture.

The MCC is applicable to political parties, political leaders, electoral candidates, government
machinery, including departments and offices, government officers, and any institution that
runs on public funds.

The MCC has been revised on several occasions since 1974, when just before the mid-term
General Elections, the Commission released a formal Model Code of Conduct for the first
time. The last time this happened was in 2014, when the Commission introduced Part VIII on
manifestos, pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in the S. Subramaniam
Balaji case.

Powers and Limitations of the Commission under MCC

The MCC contains eight parts. Part I deals with general conduct expected from candidates
and political parties. Parts II and III focus on public meetings and processions. Parts IV and V
describe how political parties and candidates should conduct themselves on the day of polling
and at the polling booths. Part VI is about the authority (observer) appointed by the EC to
receive complaints on violations of the MCC. Part VII deals with the party in power.

The Code prohibits political parties or candidates from aggravating existing differences or
creating mutual hatred between different religions, castes and communities. It bars candidates
and parties from criticizing leaders or workers on their personal life. No appeal to caste or
communal feelings for securing votes is allowed under the Code. It forbids ministers from
using official machinery for election work and combining official visits with electioneering.

Advertisements glorifying the work of the incumbent government using public money are to
be avoided. The government cannot announce any financial grants, promise construction of
roads or other facilities, and make any ad hoc appointments during the time the Code is in
force. Ministers cannot enter any polling station or counting centre, except in their capacity as
a voter or a candidate.

Under the Code, even the ongoing schemes of development work or welfare, relief and
rehabilitation cannot be used for election propaganda as observed by the Supreme Court
in ECI v. Rajaji Mathew Thomas.

Period of Applicability

The date of enforcement of the MCC has been a bone of contention between the EC and the
government. However, after the issue got settled in Union of India v. Harbans Singh Jalal,
SLP(C), the Code now kicks in as soon as the election schedule is announced, and stays in
force until the election process is completed.

Legal Enforceability

Although the MCC has been around for almost four decades, its observance is left to parties
and candidates. It is not a legally enforceable document, and the Commission usually uses
moral sanction to get political parties and candidates to fall in line. However, certain
provisions of the MCC may be enforced by invoking corresponding provisions in other
statutes such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and the Representation of the People
(RP) Act, 1951.
 Corresponding Statutory
Malpractices under MCC Nature of Malpractice
Provisions

Indulgence in any activity which may aggravate

existing differences or create mutual hatred or Section 123 (3A) of the RP
Corrupt Practice
cause tension between different castes and Act, 1951
communities, religious or linguistic.

Appeal to caste or communal feeling for Section 123 (3)

Corrupt Practice
securing votes and use of Mosques, Churches,
Temples or other places of worship as forum Section 125 of the RP Act,
Electoral Offence
for election propaganda. 1951

Corrupt Practice
Section 123 (1) of the RP
Act,1951 and
Bribery of voters  

Section 171B of the IPC

Electoral Offence

Section 135A (c) of the RP

Intimidation of voters Electoral Offence
Act, 1951

Impersonation of voters Section 171D of the IPC Electoral Offence

Canvassing within 100 meters of polling Section 130 of the RP Act,

Electoral Offence
stations 1951.

Holding of public meetings during the period

of 48 hours ending Section 126 (1) of the RP Act Electoral Offence
with the hour fixed for the close of the poll

Section 123(5) and

Transport and conveyance of voters to and
Electoral Offence
from polling stations Section 133 of the RP Act

Creating obstruction in or breaking up

meetings and processions
Section 127 RP Act Electoral Offence
of one political party by workers of other
parties, etc.

Serving or distributing liquor on polling day and

during the forty Section 135 (c) RP Act Electoral Offence
eight hours preceding

Source: Manual on Model Code of Conduct, ECI, March, 2019

Governments have in the past attempted to amend the RP Act, 1951, to make some violations
of the MCC illegal and punishable. However, the EC has argued that making the Code legally
enforceable would be self-defeating, because any violation must be responded to quickly and
this will not be possible if the matter goes to court. On the other hand, in 2013, the Standing
Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recommended making the
MCC legally binding by making it a part of the RP Act, 1951.

Advertisement

On the important issue of government-sponsored advertisements, the Law Commission of

India in its report on Electoral Reforms in 2015 recommended that the ECI should impose
restrictions on such advertisements for up to six months prior to the date of expiry of the
House/Assembly. Advertisements highlighting the government’s poverty alleviation
programmes or any health-related schemes were suggested as the exception to the rule.

The EC has certainly not incorporated this particular recommendation in the MCC in the run-
up to the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, which has already seen government-sponsored
advertisements not only in newspapers and on television, but also on social media. The most
recent and innovative way of such advertisement through NaMo TV, which does not even
have a broadcast licence, has attracted the limelight.

Political parties all across the country have been brazenly violating the MCC; we have been
witnessing such cases on a daily basis. Whether it is Prime Minister’s address to the nation on
Mission Shakti, or the release of his biopic just before the polls (although ECI has put a stay
on Modi Biopic), or his use of the word “Hindu” during his public rallies, or the Rajasthan
Governor’s remarks supporting return of PM Modi, or Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister
referring to the Indian Army as “Modi ji ki sena”, the list is getting longer by the day.

These incidents indicate the ineffectiveness of the MCC. Though the ECI has the power to
invalidate the candidature of the person violating the law, it has unfortunately rendered itself
as a toothless body.

Effectiveness of Punitive Measures

The ECI can take a range of actions in case of violation of the Code, including the imposition
of fine, filing of FIR that leads to imprisonment, or even canceling the polls in that
constituency.

There are examples of the ECI taking punitive action against violators. For instance, during
Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh in 2003, the Commission found that the then Chief
Minister of Punjab used a state government aircraft for campaigning, in violation of the
provision of the MCC that forbids ministers from combining official work with
electioneering. The ECI forced him to pay the government the cost of the entire air journey.
However, these instances of punitive measure taken by the EC are not only rare but lack
deterrence.

The recent example in this respect is the “displeasure” shown by the ECI to the NITI Aayog
Vice-Chairman for his criticism of the proposed Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) of the
Congress party. The Commission told him to “exercise caution in future”, and “advised” the
Uttar Pradesh CM to be “more careful” in future references to the Armed Forces in his poll
campaign speeches.
Conclusion

Experts say that following the Model Code of Conduct is purely hinged on morality, not the
fear of law. The word ‘moral’ becomes replaceable with ‘model’, during elections said
former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi.

The story so far in the run-up to the 2019 General Elections seems to be less than ideal for
both the ECI, which seems to be more toothless than ever, as well as the stakeholders. In the
past, the ECI exercised its powers freely, and rules were widely implemented. However, as
far as the 2019 General Elections is concerned, the autonomy of the constitutional body
seems to be under a cloud.

Electoral reforms and suggestive changes in the present electoral

system of India

Following are some accepted and implicated electoral reforms

some major reforms taken –broadly classified as pre-2000 and post- 2000

The reports of various election reform commissions and a number of formal and informal group
discussions at various forums and by individuals, have categorically pointed out the defects in
the electoral system and came out with some useful suggestions. Yet the problems remaining to
be as critical and challenging as ever.

However, government has accepted recommendations of many commission reports only

partially. some of the important committees are-the Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral
reforms1990, committee on criminalization of politics by vohra ,committee on state funding of
elections by Indrajith gupta , subsequent reports by the law commission, election commission,
national commission to review the constitution headed by the M N Venkatachaliaha, second ARC
on ethics in governance headed by Veerapa Moily, law commission report headed by A P Shaw
2015.

Reforms pre 2000

1. Lowering of Voting Age: The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 reduced the
voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Loksabha (house of the people) and state
assembly elections. This has given the youth of the country an opportunity to participate
and express their feeling in political processes.

2. Deputation to Election Commission: officers or staff engaged in preparation, revision and

correction of electoral rolls for elections shall be deemed to be on deputation of Election
Commission for the period of such employment .and these personnel during that period,
would be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission.
3. Increase in Number of proposers: Number of electors required to sign as proposers in
nomination papers for elections to Council of States (Rajyasabha) and State Legislative
Council has been increased to 10% of the electors of the constituency or ten such
electors, whichever is less mainly to prevent frivolous candidates.
 4. Electronic Voting Machine: Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were first used in 1998
during the State elections of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. EVMs have been
widely used in the sixteen Loksabha Elections in 2015.as they are-fool proof, efficient and
eco-friendly (limited use of papers)

5. Booth Capturing: EC May either declare the poll of the particular polling station as void
and may appoint a date for fresh poll or countermand election in that constituency
because of booth capturing. Booth capturing has been defined in Section 135 A of the
RPA 1951.as seizure of a polling station and making polling authorities surrender ballot
papers or voting machines, seizure of the polling place, threatening and preventing
voters, taking possession of polling stations etc Election Commission on such report
may

6. Disqualification on Conviction for Insulting the National Honors Act, 1971: shall lead to
disqualification for contesting elections to Parliament and State Legislatures for a period
of six years from the date of such conviction

7. Increase in Security Deposits and Number of Proposers: The amount of security deposit
which a candidate needs to deposit at an election to the Loksabha or a State Legislative
Assembly has been enhanced to check the multiplicity of non-serious candidates. In the
case of an election to the Loksabha, the security deposit has been increased to Rs.
10,000 for the general candidate and to Rs. 5,000 for a candidate who is a member of a
Scheduled cast/tribe.

In the case of elections to a State Legislative Assembly, the candidates will have to make a
deposit of Rs. 5,000 if they are general candidates and Rs. 2,500 if they belong to a Scheduled
Caste or Scheduled Tribe respectively.

Proposers-The amended law further provides that the nomination of a candidate in a

Parliamentary or Assembly constituency should be subscribed by 10 electors of the constituency
as prospers and if the candidate has not been set up by a recognised National or State Party.

 The number of proposers and seconders for contesting election to the office of the President of
India has been increased to 50 each from 10 and; number of electors as proposers and
seconders for contesting Vice-Presidential election has increased to 20 from 5. The security
deposit has been increased to Rs. 15,000 from Rs. 2,500 for contesting election to the offices of
President and Vice- President to discourage frivolous candidates.

8. Restriction on Contesting Election from More than Two Constituencies: A candidate is

eligible to contest election from not more than two Assembly or parliamentary
constituencies at a general election or at the bye-elections which are held
simultaneously. Similar restrictions will apply for biennial-elections and bye-elections to
the Council of States (Rajyasabha) and State legislative councils.

9. Death of a contesting Candidate: Previously, the election was countermanded on the

death of a contesting candidate. In future, no election will be countermanded on the
death of a contesting candidate and If the deceased candidate, however, was set up by a
recognized national or State party, then the party concerned will be given an option to
nominate another candidate within seven days of the issue of a notice to that effect to
the party concerned by the Election Commission.

10. Prohibition with respect to Going Armed to or Near a Polling Station: is a cognizable
offence punishable with imprisonment up to two years or with fine or with both.
 11. Paid Holiday to Employees on the Poll day: violation of this amounts to a fine up to 500rs

12. Prohibition on Sale of Liquor-: No liquor or other intoxicants shall be sold or given or
distributed at any shop, eating place, or any other place, whether private or public, within
a polling area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion
of poll. The violation of this rule is punished with imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up
to Rs 2000 or both

13. Time Limit for Bye-elections: Bye-elections to any House of Parliament or a State
Legislature will now be held within six months of occurrence of the vacancy in that
House. but, this stipulation will not apply in two cases- where the remainder of the term
of the member whose vacancy is to be filled is less than one year or where the Election
Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, certifies that it is difficult to
hold the bye-election within the said period.

14. The effective campaigning period –has been reduced. The gap between the last date for
with drawl of nomination and the polling date has been reduced from 20days to 14 days

Reforms since 2000

Restriction on exit polls-exit poll is an opinion survey regarding how electors have voted etc
Thus conducting exist polls and publishing results of exit polls during the election to the
Loksabha and state legislative assemblies during the period notified by the election commission
shall be punishable with imprisonment up to 2 years and with fine or both.

Ceiling on election expenditure– ceiling on election expenditure for a Loksabha seat has been
increased to 40 lakhs in bigger states and it varies between16 to40lakhs in other states and
union territories. Similarly, ceiling on election expenditure has been increased in assembly
elections to 16 lakhs in bigger states and it varies between 8 to16 lakhs in other states and union
territories.

Appellate authority- appellate authority within the district is before the district /additional district
magistrate/officer of equivalent rank against the orders of the electoral registration officers
instead of chief electoral officer of the state and appeal against the order of district magistrate
will now lie before the chief electoral officer.

Voting through postal ballot– allows government servants and certain other class of persons to
vote via postal ballot following the Election Commission’s consent.

Voting rights to citizens of India living abroad – for employment , education etc ,who has not
acquired the citizenship of any other country and has his name registered in the electoral roll of a
particular constituency (place of his residence) can vote.

Awareness Creation- to encourage more young voters to take part in the electoral process. The
Government of India has decided to celebrate January 25th of every year as ‘National Voters Day
‘ . It started from January 25, 2011 to mark Commission’s foundation day.

To report contributions- Political parties need to report any contribution in excess of Rupees
20000 to the EC for claiming income tax benefit.

Others–

 Creation of a fully computerized database of electors, comprehensive photo electoral roll;

de-duplication technologies to eliminate bogus and duplicate entries.
 Video recording of the polling and counting procedures, The Commission developed a
system of online communication (COMET) that made it possible to monitor every polling
 booth on the day of election. Real time monitoring of polling booths using GPS and a
web-enabled facility through the Google search engine.
 The Model Code of Conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates (1990)
 Requisition of staff for election duty from other government institutions to compensate
manpower and fair conduct of elections
 Facility to vote through Proxy (armed forces people),
 Reduction of effective campaigning period to check malpractices
 Free supply of electoral rolls to the candidates of the recognized political parties for the
Loksabha and Assembly elections,
 Allocation of time on electronic media to address public, based on past performances of
the recognized political party, exemption of travelling expenditures during elections etc
 Declaring of criminal antecedents ,assets etc by the candidates and declaring false
information in the affidavit is now an electoral offence punishable with imprisonment up
to 6 months or fine or both etc.

Suggestive reforms and changes

The following suggestions should be taken into consideration for making electoral system freeand fair
manner:

At Present, the EC does not have independent staff of its own. Whenever elections take place, the
Election Commission has to depend upon staff of Central and State Governments. The dual
responsibility of the administrative staff, to the government for ordinary administration and to the EC
for electoral administration is not conducive to the impartiality an efficiency of the Commission.
Along with it comes the problem of disciplinary control over the staff deputed to do election work
which generally generates confrontation between the Government and the BC. Now, when the
elections have ceased to be a mere periodical affair, it is desirable .that the BC should have a
permanent electoral administration with adequate disciplinary control over the staff.

Efficient Electoral Commission is a requirement of the day to conduct free and fair elections.
Democracy and fearless elections cannot exist without each other. To stop unfair practices in
elections like rigging by using official machinery and to ensure existence of democracy,
following methods or means should be adopted.
 1. The CEC should not be at the mercy to Executive and Parliament for its requirements. He should
have separate and independent election department to enhance its objectivity and impartiality.

2. Political corruption should be stopped by providing funds to genuine candidates through political
parties whose account should be auditable. Candidate involving in corruption should be disqualified.

3. For having a true democracy the registration and recognition of the political parties should be fair and
without any kind of influence.

4. Mass Media should play a non-partisan role in election and as a safeguard of democracy.

5. Periodic elections are the foundation of a democratic system. For fair electoral system every aspiring
candidate must have fettered freedom to offer himself as a candidate for election and to conduct his
election campaign in his own way so long as he keeps him within the law.

6. Every voter must be perfectly free to vote as Eve likes without any fear of consequences and without
being unduly influenced by anyone by improper means and inducement or pressure of any kind.

7. The secrecy of voters‟ preference to any candidate should be maintained. The election machinery
must function honesty and impartially at every stage.

8. Parliament must pass a law dealing with this serious problem of de-listing of valid electorates from
electoral rolls because illiterate electorate residing in far villages cannot watch over publication of
electorate lists.

9. Preparation of electoral rolls by EC are to be supervised at village level and certificates from officials
who prepare electoral rolls to the effect that the electoral rolls have been thoroughly revised. They do
not include that persons and legally disenfranchised citizens and intentionally no name should be left
in them. Accountability to be fixed for intentional exclusion of name of voters from electoral rolls.

10. The names of the voters may be included in the electoral rolls even at the time of casting of votes by
the polling officer, when he finds a genuine case.

11. Unearth and confiscate black money, which is widely used for buying
votes. Make politicians as well as voters law abiding.

12. Strictly apply the Code of Conduct and punish those who violate it.

13. Revise voters‟ lists in time to avoid bogus polling and correct mistakes in the
lists. Prompt action by the judiciary, if any kind of violation is detected during
elections. Declare elections results in mandatory.

In democracy the public is most powerful entity. If the public do not vote in favour of criminals,
dishonest and corrupt politicians who wish to purchase their votes by money or muscle powers, everything
shall function nicely and the democracy will shine in the dark spectrum of hitherto corrupt and criminalised
political system. So, though the EC is working hard in this direction, but it cannot succeed unless all political
parties and voters realize their responsibility. Finally there should proper mechanism, fully functional and
fully equipped to fight with any triviality.
SOME COMMISSIONS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES SIMILAR TO ELECTION COMMISSION OF
INDIA

1. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) of United States of America is an independent

regulatory agency whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal
elections.[2] Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act,[3] the
commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the
provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the
public funding of Presidential elections."
2. The Electoral Commission of United Kingdom- It is the election commission of the United
Kingdom. It is an independent body, and was set up in 2001 by the British Parliament. It
regulates party and election finance and sets standards for how elections should be run.
3. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for
administering and overseeing all elections in Sri Lanka, including
the Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial and Local Authority elections. Sri Lanka has
had universal adult suffrage since 1931, becoming the first Crown colony to enfranchise all adult
citizens, 3 years after the United Kingdom itself; the country is the oldest democracy in Asia.[2][3]

4. The Election Commission of Bangladesh abbreviated EC, is an independent constitutional

body of the nation of Bangladesh that operates the legal functions of Election law in Bangladesh.
[1]

Article 118 of the Bangladeshi Constitution consisting of a chief election commissioner and such

number of other election commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time direct.
5. The Election Commission of Pakistan , is an independent, autonomous, permanent
and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting of
elections to state parliament, provincial legislatures, local governments, elections to the office
of President of Pakistan, delimitation of constituencies and preparation of Electoral Rolls. As per
the principles enlightened by the Constitution of Pakistan, the Commission makes such
arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly
and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against The Election
Commission was formed on 23 March 1956 and has been restructured and reformed in various
occasions of history of the country.[1][2]
Under the Article 213 & 216, the Chief Election Commissioner and four retired judges of the High
Courts from respective four province of the country, who are appointed by the President in the
manner provided in the clauses (2A) and (2B) of Article 213 of constitution. As of present, Justice (R)
Sardar Muhammad Raza is the current Chief Election Commissioner.[3] Election Commission of
Pakistan has a 5-member panel, out of which 4 members are from each of the four
provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) headed by a Chief Election
Commissioner.
6. The Union Election Commission (UEC) is the national level electoral commission of Myanmar
(Burma), responsible for organising and overseeing elections in Burma, as well
as vetting parliamentary candidates and political parties