THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA IS IN NEED OF URGENT REFORM

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THE CONTEXT: The recent state Assembly Elections have raised a debate on whether the Election Commission of India needs to be further strengthened as an independent institution or whether political actors voluntarily need to be more rule-abiding, which was the basis on which the Model Code of Conduct was adopted in 1962.

ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED DURING RECENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION

THE ISSUE OF MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT: In simple terms, a Model Code of Conduct is a set of minimum standards and codes for political parties, their candidates, and supporters to adhere to, to ensure free and fair elections. Bur in recent it has been alleged that Mode code of conduct is working in favour of central govt. During the Bengal poll West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked for the renaming of the Model Code of Conduct as Modi Code of Conduct.

THE INFLUENCE OF RULING PARTY: The comeback of the single-party majority in Parliament in recent years has once again brought the issue of the heavy influence of the Executive on the Election Commission of India under scrutiny. For instance, the Madras High Court had to direct the ECI to probe allegations against BJP in Puducherry, where it was accused of stealing Aadhaar details of voters for targeted campaigning. It was expected that ECI could have taken suo moto cognizance of this incident. Again in West Bengal, there have been allegations that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are acting under influence of the ruling party at the Centre.

THE WORKING PROCESS OF ECI: ECI conducted the election of West Bengal in eight phases, which raised many questions. At a time when the country is facing the worst situation of the pandemic, the eight phases in a single state election question the credibility of the commission, whether the commission is working under pressure. Moreover, the madras high court is criticize the ECI and said to Election officers should be booked under murder charges.

DECISION-MAKING AUTONOMY OF COMMISSIONER IS UNDER DOUBT: It was seen in the Ashok Lavasa case (member of the ECI from January 2018 to August 2020). On occupying the position, Lavasa apparently chose to take an “independent” view on certain issues. Suddenly, cases against his family members were opened up. Being the senior-most, Lavasa would have been the logical choice for the post of CEC but finally chose not to put up a fight and went on to join the Asian Development Bank.

QUESTION ON THE RATIONALITY OF ECI: In the recent Bengal election, there have been various incidents that merit such kind of reasoning whether it was EVMs VVPATs being found at a TMC leader’s residence in Uluberia or in a BJP candidate’s car in Assam, the alleged distribution of cash coupons by BJP during the West Bengal polls or the most recent controversial remark by Mamata Banerjee on “United Muslim” appeal.

OTHER ISSUES: There are many other issues that were highlighted in contemporary times:

• TRANSPARENCY IN THE FUNDING OF POLITICAL PARTIES: Recent debate on the electoral bond shows that there is a lack of transparency in the funding of political parties, which led to the black money.
• CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICAL:  According to the ADR report, 42% of elected MPs are from a criminal background in the 2019 election.
• VIOLENCE DURING THE ELECTION: Although violence during the election has been declined it is still continuing and recently in Bengal. In the recent election, the clash between BJP and TMC volunteers was a very serious issue.
• USE OF BLACK MONEY IN ELECTION: Although, the election commission has set an upper limit of 70 lakh for election campaigning spending the actual figure is more than this limit. It is well-known fact that black money is frequently used in the election.
• Apart from the above challenges, there are many other challenges against the election commission, such as

• Misuse of caste and religion for electoral gains
• Regulating Political Parties
• Role of media (including social media)
• Regulating the political parties and internal democracy in them.
• Illiteracy of voters
• Awareness among the voters about the candidate’s background.

Such allegations are obstructing the independent and autonomous image of ECI.

HOW ELECTION CAN WORK AS AN CREDIBLE INSTITUTE

• The Election Commission needs to come up with reforms focusing on not only regulating the conduct of the candidates during polls but also putting in place a performance report of the candidates.
• Such a report should not only talk about the political performance of the candidate but in case of a first-time candidate highlight his/her prior conduct before joining politics as it would enable the electorate to assess the credibility of the candidate.
• This would also enable the electoral to go beyond factors like caste, community, religious identity, or the self-proclaimed claims of candidates.
• In order to maintain the integrity and credibility of such a report, it would be best if it is prepared by the Election Commission that not only releases data through internet, television, or other audio-visual means but bestows the responsibility on the booth level officers to disseminate such information into each and every part of the concerned constituency.
• In this respect, the recent Kerala High Court judgement directing the Election Commission to ensure that the voters must be able to see names, photographs, and symbols of candidates on the EVM machines with clarity acts as an example that the Commission can follow.

N. SESHAN REFORMS CAN BE A ROLE MODEL

• Seen in this light, inspiration can be drawn from TN Seshan who as a Chief Election Commissioner between 1990 and 1996 brought about massive changes and made the ECI an independent institution in spirit.
• He had brought about changes in the conduct of elections by employing special electoral officers to ensure compliance with the Representation of People Act, 1951, to check for incendiary campaign speeches, voter intimidation, vote-stealing, and other tactics often associated with electoral violence.

1. Reforms did by Seshan as CEC:

1. Introduction of Voter IDs for all eligible voters.
2. Strict actions for implementation Election Code of Conduct
3. Set expenditure limit for candidates in the elections
4. Prohibition of distribution of liquor/money during elections.
5. Prohibited bribing or intimidating voters.
6. Use of official machinery for campaigning. But unfortunately, this practice is still prevalent.
7. Implementation of the law in the election process.
8. Autonomous status to Election Commission of India.
9. Prohibition of use of loudspeakers and high-volume music without prior written permission.
10. Prohibited candidates from demanding votes on the basis of caste or communal feelings.
11. Prohibition of use of the religious place for election campaigns.

2. Legacy of T. N. Seshan

• This was the time when the Election Commission was known to a few people and the biggest festival of democracy i.e. Election was under the shadow of big politicians but the entry of T. N. Seshan compelled everybody to accept that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and it has some powers too.
• Although, in starting many political parties and everybody stands against him later on this situation became like “Seshan versus Nation”. But later on, the election reforms have taken place in the country and the country experienced many new reforms in the way of the election process.
• He imitated many crucial reforms to clean the Indian politics and reestablished the reputation of the Election commission as a result Mr. T.N. Seshan is known as the father of electoral reforms in India.

WHY DOES INDIA NEED ELECTORAL REFORMS AGAIN LIKE SESHAN DID IN THE PAST?

The constitutional body in India is facing many challenges and criticisms. To the unwillingness of the political parties, Indian politics is still dominated by the rich peoples and now Indian politics became the symbol of 3Ms; Money, Muscles, and Media (including the social kind).

HOW THE IMAGE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA IS DECLINING?

1. N. Seshan brought radical changes in the Indian election process and re-established the image of ECI as a watchdog of the Indian political process but in recent time the body is facing the above issues and continually losing it reputation as a credible body.

• Although ECI is facing several issues like ECs, allegations of partisanship, and new problems such as voter bribery and paid news.
• But 2019 general election and recent assembly elections, the wake of incidents involving a breach of the Model Code of Conduct were at their peak.
• Other important issues highlighted in the letter included transfers of top officials, voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) audits, violations of the MCC by Rajasthan Governor and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, and also corrosion of the political discourse in general.

Apart from the above issues, there are many others which were emerged during the 2019 general election and recent assemble elections

• It faced the wrath of political parties for acting in a biased manner in respect of Model Code of Conduct violations by some powerful leaders. It has been accused of being selective.
• It had no convincing logic for eight phase elections in West Bengal while there was a single phase in Tamil Nadu.

The above incident made the role of ECI doubtful a group of retired bureaucrats and diplomats wrote a recent letter to the President of India in the context of these incidents, expressed concern over the Election Commission of India (EC’s) “weak-kneed conduct” and its institution credibility.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE REFORMS TO MAKE THE ECI CREDIBLE AND INDEPENDENT?

STEPS NEEDED: A SELECTION PANEL FOR APPOINTMENT

EXPLANATIONS: Like CVC, CBI, NHRC, LOK PAL, etc, the ECI should also have a selection panel for greater transparency in an appointment.

STEPS NEEDED: RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE PANEL

EXPLANATIONS: A 2015 Law Commission report on electoral reforms says the Constituent Assembly did debate the process of appointment of the CEC and ECs during which a suggestion to subject such appointments to confirmation by a two-thirds majority in the Parliament was made. However, a joint session of the Parliament rejected it and left the option open for the Parliament to make appropriate legislation. In 1990, the Goswami Committee report suggested that the CEC should be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha; The Second Administrative Reforms Commission of 2007 too backed a similar arrangement: A collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Law Minister and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha should make recommendations to the President for an appointment. In 2015, the Law Commission also proposed a three-member collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and Chief Justice of India for such appointments. It provided a comparative picture: In the US, the federal election commissioners are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate; in Canada, they are recommended by a House of Commons resolution and in South Africa by the National Assembly.

STEPS NEEDED: AN INDEPENDENT SECRETARIAT

EXPLANATIONS: Another key reform would be to provide the ECI with a permanent and independent secretariat to protect its staff from various pulls and pressures from the executive. It does have a separate secretariat, but its senior officials, including Deputy Election Commissioners and DG level officers, are drawn from civil services belonging to different states and are on deputation for a limited period. Only the lower-level officials are permanent staff from their own rank. The Goswami Committee recommended an arrangement similar to that of the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha secretariat provided in Article 98(2), which permits the Parliament to regulate the recruitment and service conditions of persons appointed to the secretarial staff in either House of Parliament.

STEPS NEEDED: PROTECTIONS TO ECS ON PAR WITH CEC

EXPLANATIONS: It has also become necessary to look at the process of removal of the ECS. While Article 324 (5) provides protection to the CEC by saying that his/her removal from office shall be on “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”, no such protections are available to the ECS. They are at the mercy of the government and CEC. Extending the constitutional protections available for the CEC to the ECs become significant in the light of a public spat between the CEC Sunil Arora and EC Ashok Lavasa over clean chits given selectively to some political leaders over poll code violations and non-inclusion of dissent notes in the official orders.

WAY FORWARD

Re-inventing consistently: EC should continuously re-invent its powers given to it under Indian Constitutions as done by many previous CECs like T. N. Seshan. It is a constitutional body, which makes it one of the most powerful bodies in India.

Recognizing the diversification of campaign media: Recognising the diversification of campaign media is the first step towards addressing the rampant flouting of the MCC. The framework for understanding and addressing the various forms of voter manipulation must be fundamentally reimagined by the ECI.

Voter Awareness: Voter Awareness is an ultimate and effective solution, which makes candidates more accountable to their voters and stop flouting the MCC every now and then. EC has launched voter awareness campaigns like SVEEP. It has also made people as participants remain vigilant in the polling process through cVigil App where anyone can upload election malpractices.

Amending the appointment and removal process of ECs: Government should consider the recommendations by ARC-II and Law Commission reports regarding the changes required in the appointment and removal of ECs and make it stronger.