Election Commission of India URL www eci

Election Commission of India URL : www. eci. gov. in 1

Electoral Administration - Framework Election Commission of India – The Indian Constitution provides for its creation. n Appointment of CEC and ECs n Right to vote to all above 18 years of age n Bicameral Composition of Parliament n Composition of State Legislatures n Delimitation of constituencies after each census n Duration of each House n 2

Election Commission of India – Constitutional Provision Article 324 (1) - The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the Legislature of every State and of elections to the offices of President and Vice-President held under this Constitution shall be vested in the Election Commission. 3

A Multi-Member Commission – Constitutional Position Article 324 (2) – 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 and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the President. Article 324 (3) – When any other Election Commissioner is so appointed the Chief Election Commissioner shall act as the Chairman of the Election Commission. 4

A Multi-Member Commission n n From Jan 1950 to mid Oct 1989 – A single Member Commission headed by a Chief Election Commissioner. (Argument put forward was that decisions need to be taken expeditiously when election process is on. And, a single member Commission would be more suited for it) From Oct 16, 1989 till Dec 1989 – It was a Three Member Commission. From Jan 1990 to Sep 1993 – A Single Member Commission. From Oct 1993 till today – A Three Member Commission. (The Chief Election Commissioner and Two Election Commissioners) 5

Conditions of Service n n n n The CEC and the ECs placed at par in matters of salary and allowances and it is the same as that of a judge of Supreme Court. Tenure of CEC and ECs fixed as 6 years subject to the maximum age limit of 65 years. The CEC and ECs all have equal powers in matters of decision making. In case of difference, decisions are taken by opinion of majority. The Commission takes all the elections by consensus. The CEC shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. Service conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. The ECs cannot be removed except on the CEC’s recommendation. 6

Transaction of Business Regular meetings n Circulation of papers n Consultation and informal discussions n All Election Commissioners have equal say n Delegation of some executive functions to officers n 7

When Elections take place? n n n Term of Parliament & Assembly - 5 years (except J & K Assembly where it is 6 years) House can be dissolved before its term ends Dates decided by the Commission. No consultation done with any Government Commission call for elections six months prior to the date on which normal tenure of Assembly or Parliament expires. 14 General elections since 1952. Bye-elections when a seat falls vacant. Normally held within 6 months of vacancy. No Bye-elections if vacancy for less than one year 8

Limits on Poll Expenses-II Expenses that are exempted n No expenses except the travel expenses on upto 40 national leaders of a recognised party and 20 of registered/unrecognised parties are exempted n Expenses made by well wishers, friends and relatives of the candidates are now added to the candidate’s expenditure n Expenses incurred by the parties to publicise its policies and programmes are not included in the candidate’s expenditure 9

Preparation for Elections - Mobilisation of the Staff Drawn from various Central and State Government departments - no private individual associated n Staff on deputation with the Commission n Staff subject to Commission’ disciplinary control n Staff mobilized & deployed by the CEO under Commission’s instruction n 10

Preparation for Elections - Deployment and Training of Staff n n n Staff of various districts and states can be mixed to ensure fairness Staff given nominal honorarium Deployment of Government employees keeps expenditure under check, enhances control Training – of ROs, EROs & Observers by the EC, of DEOs, Dy DEOs, ROs & EROs by the CEOs and of the Polling staff by the DEOs Tainted and known to be aligned not associated Commission takes prompt action on complaints against staff deployed 11

Ingradients of a Credible Election n n n Correct electoral rolls - fair opportunity is given to all for addition and deletion of names Freedom for filing nominations to all eligible persons No coercion – for abstention or casting votes Proper enforcement of Model Code of Conduct to create a level playing field Expenses by the candidates within the prescribed limits Conditions – in which an average elector feels secure for casting his vote freely without any fear Complete transparency in all electoral operations 12

Grievance Redressal Mechanism Registration of electors n Complete transparency maintained during preparation and revision of voter list n Provision of appeals and redressal of grievances at every level Mechanism during the Campaign, the Poll and the counting of votes n Setting up Control Rooms, Helplines and a credible communication network to facilitate filing of complaints and their timely redressal n n n Election Petitions after the results are declared Can be filed by any elector or candidate Heard by High Court of the State Can lead to re-staging of the election Filed within 45 days of declaration of results Appeals lie with Supreme Court 13

Electoral Reforms n n n n n Criminalisation of politics Number of seats a person can contest Ext Polls and Opinion Polls Surrogate Advertisements on Print Media Political Ads on TV and Cable network Party Accounts and its Audit Government sponsored Advertisements Negative/Neutral Voting Decisions on Anti-defection cases 14

Other New Initiatives n n n n Use of Electronic Voting Machines Free time on state owned Electronic media for political parties - a step towards state funding of elections Check on criminalization of politics Computer networking and use of Information Technology Computerization of Electoral rolls Photo I-Cards Electoral rolls with photograph E-registration of electors Publishing national voter register on the EC website with a credible search mechanism Use of the GIS in electoral management Simplifying maintenance of accounts by candidates Simplifying filing of accounts Streamlining procedure for registration Model Code of Conduct 15

Thanks 16