ELECTION COMMISSIONWhen Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru declared India as an independent democratic country in his Tryst with Destiny speech in the midnight of 14th August 1947, the whole world looked at India in askance. In spite of Pt. Nehrus strong belief in democratic norms, the road to democracy in India was not smooth. The modern democratic institutions were not allowed to be functioned effectively in British-India. The representative democracy, as envisaged in the Constitution of India, was to be the new experience for majority of Indians. Thus there were lots of apprehensions about the future of democracy in newly independent India, which declared itself as sovereign, democratic and republic. Democratic in the sense that a government is elected through free and competitive elections based on adult suffrage. India today is considered as the worlds largest democratic country. The success of democracy in India has attracted the attention of almost every political scientist around the world. Conventional wisdom has it that India is the world's largest democracy, but few have recognized that it is so against the odds.Elections and Democracy in India Democracy rests on the will of the demos. These wills are manifested more effectively at the time when representatives of the people are selected or elected. In a representative type of democracy, wills of the demos are temporarily transferred to their representatives for a specific period of time, with the consent of the demos. Montesquieu wrote in 1748 that since it was not possible in a large state for the people to meet as a legislative body, they must choose representatives to do what they could not do themselves6. The representatives (to whom power is to be transferred) are selected by holding regular elections. A democratic political system must accept no other authority than the will of the people and their freely given consent as the basis of governance. It is this freely given consent on certain intervals through elections that legitimizes the political system. Modern representative democracy, therefore, would not be possible without periodic elections. In fact, the very idea of representative system cannot be conceived without regular elections. The authors of Democracy in Asia maintain that democracy denotes a system that meets three essential conditions. One of the conditions they cite is a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies, at least through regular and free elections, such that no major (adult) social group is excluded7. Competitive nature of elections is identified as one of the major requirements for functioning democracy by Myron Weiner in his Empirical Democratic Theory8. Elections create a sentiment of popular consent and participation in public affairs and provide for orderly succession in government by peaceful transfer of authority to new rulers9. The constitution of a country, says R.P.Bhalla, has been called the vehicle of a nations life. According to him the election is the process by which the people choose the instrument of government to conduct the nations life. The only way in which you can establish democracy by the will of the people is by the conduct of a free and fair election- T.N. Seshan, Chief Election Commission

Election Commission of IndiaElection Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body, which was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. The Commission conducts elections in accordance with the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by Parliament. The major laws include Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post-election disputes. The founding fathers of the Constitution of India gave the Indians a Constitution that envisages independent, neutral and apolitical institutions whose functioning, they visualized would ensure the preservation of the democratic character of the nation. The Election Commission of India was one of these institutions mandated to conduct free and fair elections in the country.Constitutional Provisions324. Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission(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 a Commission (referred to in this Constitution as the Election Commission)(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(3)When any other Election Commissioner is so appointed the Chief Election Commissioner shall act as the Chairman of the Election Commission(4)Before each general election to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of each State, and before the first general election and thereafter before each biennial election to the Legislative Council of each State having such Council, the President may also appoint after consultation with the Election Commission such Regional Commissioners as he may consider necessary to assist the Election Commission in the performance of the functions conferred on the Commission by clause (5)Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Election Commissioners and the Regional Commissioners shall be such as the President may by rule determine; Provided that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed 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: Provided further that any other Election Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner(6)The President, or the Governor of a State, shall, when so requested by the Election Commission, make available to the Election Commission or to a Regional Commissioner such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions conferred on the Election Commission by clause ( 1 )Flaws in the constitutional provisions1. It has not prescribed the qualification of the members of the election commission. 2. It has not specified the terms for election commissioners.( Tenure of CEC is only provided.)3. It has not debarred the commissioners from any further appointment by the Govt. StructureTill the appointment of two additional members to the Election Commission by an Ordinance of the Government in 1993, the Commission consisted of only the Chief Election Commissioner. Since 1993 the concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation, with decision making power by majority vote. The Rajiv Gandhi Government had also appointed in 1989 a multi-member Election Commission by including two additional members of the Election Commission. It was reverted to one-man Election Commission by the V.P. Singh Government in 1991. At present the Chief Election Commissioner is assisted in his functions by the two Election Commissioners. The election commission is assisted by deputy election commissioners. They are drawn from civil service and appointed by the commission with tenure system. They are assisted in turn by the secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and under-secretaries posted in the secretariat of the commission.At state level, the Election Commission is assisted by the chief electoral officer who is appointed by the CEC in consultation with state Govt. Below this, at district level, the collector acts as the district returning officer. He appoints a returning officer for every constituency in the district and presiding officer for every polling booth in the constituency.POWERS AND FUNCTIONSThe powers and functions can be classified into three categories.1. Administrative2. Advisory3. Quasi-judicialIn details the powers and functions are 1. To determine territorial areas of constituencies throughout the country on the basis of Delimitation Commission Act of the parliament.2. To prepare and revise electoral rolls periodically.3. To notify the dates and schedules of election and to scrutinise election papers.4. To grant recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.5. To determine model code of conduct.6. To prepare a roster for publicity of policies of political parties on TV and radio.7. To advise president or governor regarding disqualifications of MPs and MLAs.8. To cancel polls in the events of rigging, booth capturing, violence and other irregularities.9. To supervise the machinery of election throughout the country to ensure free and fair elections.10. To grant status to political parties as national and regional on the basis of poll performance.

Role of Election commission in conducting free and fair electionsThe Constitution of India provides for periodic elections, which ensure democratic transfer of political power from one set of representative to other. The Election Commission of India, a powerful non-partisan constitutional body, conducts the largest electoral exercise in the world. It is the responsibility of the Election Commission of India to conduct free and fair election in this land of more than 800 million voters with diverse socio-economic and political backgrounds. The Election Commission of India has been successfully conducting national as well as state elections since 1952. In recent years, however, the Commission has started to play more active role to ensure greater participation of people in the political affairs. Late K.R. Narayanan, the former President of India praising the pro-active role of Election Commission said: The Commission very quickly adapted itself to the changed political milieu that came about in the country. From a relatively passive role that it had played in the earlier years following our independence, it quickly responded and centre stage to play a vigorous, proactive role to ensure that the democratic process in the country remains, as was envisaged by all at the time of Independence, free and fair in both character and content. The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, proudly declares that the Election Commission of India has no equals anywhere in the world. To quote him, When the United Nations and the Governments of other democracies reach out to our Election Commission seeking its assistance in conducting elections we feel a sense of pride in our democratic processes and institutions. Our Election Commission has no peers anywhere in the world. It has established an enviable record of efficiency and transparency in the conduct of elections from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.Preparation of Electoral rollsTo maintain an accurate and up-to-date record of all eligible voters is the essential prerequisite of every functioning democracy, without which no free and fair election can be possible. The electoral rolls being the determinate of whose votes shall form the government are the foundation of modern democracy. As mandated by Article 324 of the Constitution and Representation of Peoples Acts, the primary function of the Election Commission is to superintend, direct and control the preparation of Electoral Rolls. Thus, Electoral Rolls of every Constituency, as desired by the Constitution makers, is prepared under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission. The Commission plays an activists role to root out the bogus voters and enlist the genuine ones as it knows that more than two per cent error makes voter lists unacceptable.The Commission has also taken bold initiative to ensure deletion of names of those voters against whom non-bailable warrants have been pending execution for over six months. It considers that if a warrant cannot be executed for more than six months, it should be presumed that the person is no longer residing in that place and so his name should not figure in the voters list. Based on a communication from the Election Commission, controversial RJD MP from Siwan (Bihar) Mohamad Shahabuddins name was deleted from the voters list in 2005. In total 1.5 lakhs names were deleted from the voters list in Bihar alone. The election commission has provided Electoral Photo Identity Card to each and every eligible voters in order to stop bogus voting. Now, the election commission puts up the rolls in its website for more transparency. The electoral rolls are prepared in regional languages for larger reach to the people. The EC has also ensured that all polling stations are easily accessible and not far from the villages. Implementation of Model Code of ConductModel code of Conduct emerged out of a political consensus when in 1968 the Election Commission formulated, in consultation with political parties, the code that was intended to regulate the conduct of political parties and candidates for a healthy and peaceful election campaign. Election Commission of India defines Model code of Conduct as a set of guidelines to govern the conduct of political parties and candidates in the run-up to an election. It is intended to provide a level playing field for all political parties, to keep the campaign fair and healthy, avoid clashes and conflicts between parties, and ensure peace and order. The main aim of the Model Code is to ensure that the ruling party, either at the Centre or in the states, does not misuse its official position to gain an unfair advantage in an election. Unfortunately the code of conduct does not have statutory sanction. It was T.N. Sheshan who strictly enforced the code after taking over as the Chief Election Commissioner. Before that the code remained just on paper as the Commission did not realise that it had the power to enforce the code. T.N Sheshan forced the parties and candidates to take the ECs code of conduct seriously and succeeded to a good extent in containing violence. Rudolph and Rudolph say that the most visible success of the Election Commission has been getting Indias parties and candidates comply with its code of conduct. Violence free elections With time the election commission has ensured violence free elections from Kashmir to severely Maoist affected areas in Chhattisgarh. It has also ensured that there are no rigging or booth capturing during elections. The election commission in many instances had called for repolling in booths where capturing or rigging were reported with better security arrangement. Use of TechnologyThe Election Commission has also been quick to keep itself abreast of technological changes and in introducing improvements in the electoral process. Electoral rolls are computerised. Most voters have voter identity cards, proceedings in sensitive polling booths are video-graphed, polling at several booths is webcast and political parties have free airtime on national television. Ballot papers and ballot boxes have been replaced by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Results now get declared in one day. Each of these changes was, in some sense, a break-through. These improvements have contributed not only to the speedy conduct of elections but also to enhancing the transparency and credibility of the whole electoral process. The EC has also started experimental use of paper trail electronic voting machines to ensure more transparency. Special facilities to ensure higher turnout Postal ballots and proxy voting for service voters Postal ballots or Election Duty Certificate (EDC) for polling personnel, security personnel and other staff on duty on poll day Tendered Votes Ramps at PS for differently-abled voters Use of braille on EVMs for visually challenged voters Separate queues for male and female voters Two female voters to be permitted to vote after every male voter Priority for senior citizens and differently-abled voters Facilities for women with children in armsElection commission as an activistCriminalisation of PoliticsThis is an issue being raised by the Commission from 1998 onwards. Disqualification for criminal offences is provided for in Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. As per that Section, a person is disqualified from contesting election only on conviction by the Court of Law. There have been several instances of persons charged with serious and heinous crimes like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. contesting election, pending their trial, and even getting elected in a large number of cases. This leads to a very undesirable and embarrassing situation of law breakers becoming law makers and moving around under police protection.Use of EVMs Advantages Saves paper, time No invalid votes, in paper based ballots sometimes the number of rejected votes were more than the winning margin. Less chance of booth capturing because only 5 votes can be polled in a minute, so for rigging it will take more time. And each vote will cause a loud beep, so chance of rigging decreases. Results can be obtained from evms even if they are damaged. They can provide who voted for whom, if a court asks.Issues Some doubts about tampering, so the EC is trying to implement paper trail EVMs.Results of use of EVMsAccording to a study by EC, 95% of voters are satisfied with EVMs. The voting turn outs are also increasing after use of EVMs. It is taking less time to declare results. No violence during counting.

The Commission is of the view that keeping a person, who is accused of serious criminal charges and where the Court is prima facie satisfied about his involvement in the crime and consequently framed charges, out of electoral arena would be a reasonable restriction in greater public interests. There cannot be any grievance on this. However, as a precaution against motivated cases by the ruling party, it may be provided that only those cases which were filed prior to six months before an election alone would lead to disqualification as proposed. It is also suggested that persons found guilty by a Commission of Enquiry should also stand disqualified from contesting elections.RESTRICTION ON THE NUMBER OF SEATS FROM WHICH ONE MAY CONTESTAs per the law as it stands at present [Sub-Section (7) of Section 33 of the Representation of thePeople Act, 1951], a person can contest a general election or a group of bye-elections or biennial elections from a maximum of two constituencies. There have been several cases where a person contests election from two constituencies, and wins from both. In such a situation he vacates the seat in one of the two constituencies. The consequence is that a bye-election would be required from one constituency involving avoidable labour and expenditure on the conduct of that bye-election. The Commission is of the view that the law should be amended to provide that a person cannot contest from more than one constituency at a time. The Commission will also add that in case the legislature is of the view that the provision facilitating contesting from two constituencies as existing at present is to be retained, then there should be an express provision in the law requiring a person who contests and wins election from two seats, resulting in a bye-election from one of the two constituencies, to deposit in the government account an appropriate amount of money being the expenditure for holding the bye-election. The amount could be Rs.5,00,000/- for State Assembly and Council election and Rs.10,00,000/- for election to the House of the People.Working against Paid news and polls by mediaPro negative and neutral votingCOMPULSORY MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNTS BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND AUDIT THEREOFBY AGENCIES SPECIFIED BY THE ELECTION COMMISSIONThe Commission considers that the political parties have a responsibility to maintain proper accounts of their income and expenditure and get them audited by agencies specified by the Commission annually. While making this proposal in 1998, the Commission had mentioned that there was strong need for transparency in the matter of collection of funds by the political parties and also about the manner in which those funds are expended by them. Although in an amendment made last year, vide the Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003, a provision has been made regarding preparation of a report of contributions received by political parties in excess of Rs.20,000/-, this is not sufficient for ensuring transparency and accountability in the financial management of political parties. Therefore, the political parties must be required to publish their accounts (at least abridged version) annually for information and scrutiny of the general public and all concerned, for which purpose the maintenance of such accounts and their auditing to ensure their accuracy is a pre-requisite. The Commission reiterates these proposals with the modification that the auditing may be done by any firm of auditors approved by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The audited accounts should be available for information of the public.NO GOVERNMENT SPONSERED ADVERTISEMENTS

Solutions for more powerful and effective EC1. The power to make law under representation of peoples act should be vested on the EC, not on the central Govt. The draft then will be posted for public comments and after that it will be sent to the parliament.2. Making an independent secretariat for the EC, i.e. all recruitments will be done by the EC.3. The amount of funding should be increased.