ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the Republic of India. Under the supervision of the commission, free and fair elections have been held in India at regular intervals as per the principles enshrined in the Constitution. Election Commission of India is a permanent body governed by rules specified in the constitution. The Election Commission was established on 25 January 1950. The Election Commission has 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. The commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the president of India. Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989 but they had a very short tenure till 1 January 1990. Later, on 1 October 1993, two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation since then, with decision making power by majority vote. The current CEC is V Sundaram Sampath. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by Parliament with two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity. Other Election Commissioners can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners draw salaries and allowances at par with those of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India as per the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1992. All three commissioners have equal rights of decision making.

FUNCTIONS OF ELECTION COMMISSION

A Constitutional Body
India is a Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic and the largest democracy in the World. The modern Indian nation state came into existence on 15th of August 1947. Since then free and fair elections have been held at regular intervals as per the principles enshrined in the Constitution, Electoral Laws and System. The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and VicePresident of India. Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. It currently consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. For the first time two additional Commissioners were appointed on 16th October 1989 but they had a very short tenure till 1st January 1990. Later, on 1st October 1993 two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of multimember Commission has been in operation since then, with decision making power by majority vote.

Appointment & Tenure of Commissioners

The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the

Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament.

Transaction of Business
The Commission transacts its business by holding regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All Election Commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the Commission. The Commission, from time to time, delegates some of its executive functions to its officers in its Secretariat.

The Setup
The Commission has a separate Secretariat at New Delhi, consisting of about 300 officials, in a hierarchical set up. Two or three Deputy Election Commissioners and Director Generals who are the senior most officers in the Secretariat assist the Commission. They are generally appointed from the national civil service of the country and are selected and appointed by the Commission with tenure. Directors, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries, Under Secretaries and Deputy Directors support the Deputy Election Commissioners and Director Generals in turn. There is functional and territorial distribution of work in the Commission. The work is organised in Divisions, Branches and sections; each of the last mentioned units is in charge of a Section Officer. The main functional divisions are Planning, Judicial, Administration, Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation, SVEEP, Information Systems, Media and Secretariat Co-ordination. The territorial work is distributed among separate units responsible for different Zones into which the 35 constituent States and Union Territories of the country are grouped for convenience of management.

At the state level, the election work is supervised, subject to overall superintendence, direction and control of the Commission, by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, who is appointed by the Commission from amongst senior civil servants proposed by the concerned state government. He is, in most of the States, a full time officer and has a small team of supporting staff. At the district and constituency levels, the District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers, who are assisted by a large number of junior functionaries, perform election work. They all perform their functions relating to elections in addition to their other responsibilities. During election time, however, they are available to the Commission, more or less, on a full time basis. The gigantic task force for conducting a countrywide general election consists of nearly five million polling personnel and civil police forces. This huge election machinery is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission and is subject to its control, superintendence and discipline during the election period, extending over a period of one and half to two months.

Budget & Expenditure

The Secretariat of the Commission has an independent budget, which is finalised directly in consultation between the Commission and the Finance Ministry of the Union Government. The latter generally accepts the recommendations of the Commission for its budgets. The major expenditure on actual conduct of elections is, however, reflected in the budgets of the concerned constituent units of the Union States and Union Territories. If elections are being held only for the Parliament, the expenditure is borne entirely by the Union Government while for the elections being held only for the State Legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the concerned State. In case of simultaneous elections to the Parliament and State Legislature, the expenditure is shared equally between the Union and the State Governments. For

Capital equipment, expenditure related to preparation for electoral rolls and the scheme for Electors' Identity Cards too, the expenditure is shared equally.

Executive Interference Barred

In the performance of its functions, Election Commission is insulated from executive interference. It is the Commission which decides the election schedules for the conduct of elections, whether general elections or bye-elections. Again, it is the Commission which decides on the location polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centres, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and counting centres and all allied matters.

Political Parties & the Commission

Political parties are registered with the Election Commission under the law. The Commission ensures inner party democracy in their functioning by insisting upon them to hold their organizational elections at periodic intervals. Political Parties so registered with it are granted recognition at the State and National levels by the Election Commission on the basis of their poll performance at general elections according to criteria prescribed by it. The Commission, as a part of its quasi-judicial jurisdiction, also settles disputes between the splinter groups of such recognised parties. Election Commission ensures a level playing field for the political parties in election fray, through strict observance by them of a Model Code of Conduct evolved with the consensus of political parties. The Commission holds periodical consultations with the political parties on matters connected with the conduct of elections; compliance of Model Code of Conduct and new measures proposed to be introduced by the Commission on election related matters.

 Advisory Jurisdiction & Quasi-Judicial Functions

Under the Constitution, the Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures. Further, the cases of persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the Supreme Court and High Courts are also referred to the Commission for its opinion on the question as to whether such person shall be disqualified and, if so, for what period. The opinion of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the President or, as the case may be, the Governor to whom such opinion is tendered. The Commission has the power to disqualify a candidate who has failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time and in the manner prescribed by law. The Commission has also the power for removing or reducing the period of such disqualification as also other disqualification under the law.

Judicial Review
The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court and the Supreme Court of the India by appropriate petitions. By long standing convention and several judicial pronouncements, once the actual process of elections has started, the judiciary does not intervene in the actual conduct of the polls. Once the polls are completed and result declared, the Commission cannot review any result on its own. This can only be reviewed through the process of an election petition, which can be filed before the High Court, in respect of elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures. In respect of elections for the offices of the President and Vice President, such petitions can only be filed before the Supreme Court.

 Media Policy
The Commission has a comprehensive policy for the media. It holds regular briefings for the mass media-print and electronic, on a regular basis, at close intervals during the election period and on specific occasions as necessary on other occasions. The representatives of the media are also provided facilities to report on actual conduct of poll and counting. They are allowed entry into polling stations and counting centres on the basis of authority letters issued by the Commission. They include members of both international and national media. The Commission also publishes statistical reports and other documents which are available in the public domain. The library of the Commission is available for research and study to members of the academic fraternity; media representatives and anybody else interested. The Commission has, in co-operation with the state owned media - Doordarshan and All India Radio, taken up a major campaign for awareness of voters. The Prasar Bharti Corporation which manages the national Radio and Television networks, has brought out several innovative and effective short clips for this purpose.

Voter Education
Voters Participation in the democratic and electoral processes is integral to the successful running of any democracy and the very basis of wholesome democratic elections. Recognising this, Election Commission of India, in 2009, formally adopted Voter Education and Electoral participation as an integral part of its election management.

International Co-operation
India is a founding member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Stockholm, Sweden. In the recent past, the Commission has expanded international contacts by way of sharing of experience

and expertise in the areas of Electoral Management and Administration, Electoral Laws and Reforms. Election Officials from the national electoral bodies and other delegates from the several countries - Russia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nigeria, Namibia, Bhutan, Australia, the United States and Afghanistan etc. have visited the Commission for a better understanding of the Indian Electoral Process. The Commission has also provided experts and observers for elections to other countries in co-operation with the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

New Initiatives The Commission has taken several new initiatives in the recent past. Notable among these are, a scheme for use of State owned Electronic Media for broadcast/telecast by Political parties, checking criminalisation of politics, computerisation of electoral rolls, providing electors with Identity Cards, simplifying the procedure for maintenance of accounts and filling of the same by candidates and a variety of measures for strict compliance of Model Code of Conduct, for providing a level playing field to contestants during the elections.

ROLE OF ELECTION COMMISSION

The Preamble to the Constitution declares India to be a Democratic , Republic. All of us who are working fo protection and upholding the civil rights of the citizen of India are deeply concerned with democratic policy of the country. Democracy is regarded as a basic feature of the Constitution. Indian law does not allow those awaiting trial to vote but there is no bar on people fighting elections from jail if not yet convicted. The Election Commission has ordered all candidates to clearly state in an affidavit the number of the cases pending against them.

Close to 40 per cent of Lok Sabha candidates belonging to the leading political parties in face criminal charges that range from assault, extortion, rioting, attempt to murder and defamation. At least 18 people facing serious criminal charges, including the alleged mastermind behind the leak of papers for entrance tests to management institutes, are contesting the parliamentary elections from Bihar. The High Court has said that candidates with criminal records and lodged in jail have no right to contest the elections. The fact that the voting rights of prisoners with a criminal background are suspended under election laws gives additional support to this new ruling.While some of the political parties appreciate and support the High Court's stand, there are a few others who prefer to be silent on this ruling.

The Indian Election Commission has in recent years tried to tackle the problem of criminal politicians by making it harder for candidates with criminal records to stand for election. But the trouble is that the cases against many candidates have not been proved. In fact, it is hard to find a single case of a politician being sent to jail for corruption in Independent India In 1997, the Election Commission issued an order requiring candidates to submit affidavits about their convictions for any of the above criminal offences. However there was no provision in the election law to make this information available to the voter. The Law Commission gave voice to the growing feeling among Voters that it was not enough to disqualify criminals found guilty by a court In the last general elections , it's estimated that around 1,000 candidates who were alleged to have committed a wide range of crimes stood for election. These varied from murder, theft and rape to extortion and banditry.

CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA

The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India. The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election

Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament. The Election Commissioner of India is a member of Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to

the national and state legislatures. He is usually a member of the Indian Civil Service and mostly from the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Revenue Service. Until 16 October 1989, the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner, but later two additional Election Commissioners were added. Thus, the Election Commission currently consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. The decisions of the commission are taken by a majority vote.At Present V. S. Sampath is the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Two Election Commissioners are Harishankar Brahma And Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi.

MEASURES ADOPTED BY ELECTION COMMISSION TO ENSURE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

Taking due cognizance of the role being played by the muscle power in the elections and taking into account of certain prevailing socio economic realities of the electoral politics, the Commission has decided to issue the following instructions to curb the menace of threat and intimidation at elections by identifying the locations within a polling station area vulnerable for such threat and intimidation. 1. An exercise to identify the villages/ hamlets/habitats and segments of electorate vulnerable to any threat, intimidation or interference with the free exercise of electoral right shall be taken up polling station wise. The sector officers for their respective polling stations shall do this exercise by visiting the catchment area of the polling stations. The local Thana officer (SHO) and

local civil authorities such as BDO / Tehsildar shall also be consulted and their inputs taken into account before finalizing the list. They should identify the source of such threat/ intimidation and identify the names of persons who are likely to spearhead such offence of undue influence. While doing this exercise they shall take into account the past incidents, and current apprehensions. 2. They shall identify some point of contact within the habitat/ community vulnerable for such undue influence so that information related to such developments can be tracked constantly. 3. The Returning Officer of the Assembly Constituency should compile all such information and finalize the vulnerability mapping for the entire constituency, polling station wise in a format (enclosed). 4. The DEO and SP shall initiate all preventive measures to ensure that such intimidation/ obstruction do not really happen on the poll day. They shall initiate confidence-building measures to bolster the voters confidence about the arrangements for free and fair poll. They shall undertake tours to such locations and meet the communities and explain the arrangements made for the free and fair poll. 5. The DEO/ RO shall interact with the candidates and representatives of political parties to gather regular feedback. The District Intelligence shall give regular feedback on the subject to the DEO through SP. 6. Upon the arrival of the Observers the DEO/ RO shall hand over the details of the polling station wise vulnerability mapping for the relevant Assembly Constituency. The Observer will also visit such locations and interact with the voters and constantly monitor the developments. 7. The DEO and Superintendent of Police of the District should hold a joint review on the subject and finalize a focused action plan to deal with the potential threats and intimidation points identified. The action plan may include, inter-alia, binding the identified trouble mongers under appropriate sections of the law, preventive detention if required, forcing their appearance in local police stations at reasonable

intervals to ensure their good behavior, placement of police pickets, regular confidence building visits etc. It has to be ensured that all such measures are undertaken in absolutely non-partisan manner without fear or favour towards any particular party. 8. The Zonal/ and sector arrangements to monitor the events on the poll day shall take such pre-identified vulnerable locations into account for effective tracking. If the normal sector route map does not cover the vulnerable locations special arrangements shall be made for this purpose. The Sector officers shall make regular visits to those villages and hamlets in advance and collect information and keep the senior officers informed. 9. Where there is a cluster of such vulnerable pockets, the DEO shall arrange for dedicated police teams/squads and locate them at convenient locations in the vicinity, to be pressed into service for action on the day of poll without any loss of time. It should invariably form part of the district security plan. 10. On the day of poll, the sector officers shall give special attention to verify whether voters from the vulnerable habitats/ communities are turning up for voting or not. In case, they find (it can be gauged from the marked copy of the electoral roll where voters who have voted are ticked) that some section of voters is conspicuously absent, then they should inform the Returning Officer about this immediately. The Returning Officer and DEO shall dispatch the dedicated squad specifically meant for this purpose, to ascertain, by a visit to the area/hamlet, that there is no hindrance overt or covert in movement of that section of voters. They should closely monitor the developments and initiate effective interventions. After the closing hours on the poll day, the sector officers shall submit a special report, polling station wise, in writing to the Returning Officers indicating as to whether voters from the vulnerable habitats were able to vote or not. 11. At the time of Dispatch of the polling parties at the Dispatch Centers the RO should brief the Presiding Officer concerned about the vulnerable locations within the Polling Station area. In the electoral roll the Section within the Part should also

be marked for proper monitoring. The Presiding officers shall submit a report indicating abnormally low percentage of voter turnout if any within any section/sections, particularly, with reference to the vulnerable locations. 12. During the poll the Observers and other senior officers while visiting the polling station shall pay a special attention to this problem and find out whether any undue influence, intimidation/ obstruction is being caused. 13. The police patrolling parties should keep track of the vulnerable locations and keep the control room informed. Wherever necessary police pickets shall be established to ensure free access to all voters to cast their votes without fear. 14. The Commanders/Assistant Commanders of the CPMF shall be given a list of such vulnerable locations. Wherever CPMF arrives in advance for area domination, special attention shall be given for such locations. On the day of poll the Commanders/Assistant Commanders shall make it a point to visit such vulnerable pockets as a confidence building measure. In case they come across any obstruction they shall take note of that and immediately inform any of the electoral officials such as RO/DEO/SP/Observer/Sector Officer and keep a note of the time of their intimation. 15. If any complaint is received or information gathered from any sources about obstruction/threat to any voter/voters the same shall be enquired into by the local administration without any delay. 16. The Returning Officer shall take the inputs on mass scale

intimidation/threat/obstruction if any into consideration while submitting their report after the poll. 17. The Observers shall give their full attention to this issue and verify at every stage (before poll/on poll day) and submit reports to the Commission from time to time. A special mention shall be made about this in their final report. Apart from this they should make an intelligent reading of the Form 17A and the marked copy of the

electoral roll used in the polling stations at the time of Form 17A scrutiny, ordered if any, by the Commission after the poll. 18. The Commission directs that accountability of various police and civil officials for vulnerability mapping and follow up at every stage shall be clearly defined with reference to each polling station/constituency. Severe disciplinary action will be initiated in case of dereliction of duty on the part of any police/civil officials in this matter.

FREE, FAIR, AND REGULAR ELECTIONS

As with defining electoral and representative systems, there are no precise definitions for regular, free, and fair elections. International human rights conventions have established a basic consensus, most importantly Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that elections must be periodic, genuine, organized according to universal suffrage, and by secret ballot. Regular or periodic means holding elections on a set schedule known to the electorate, either on a specified date (the first Tuesday of November every other year, as in the United States) or within a particular time frame (within five years of the previous election, as for Parliament in the United Kingdom), thereby guaranteeing citizens the opportunity to change their leaders and to support new policies. Free and fair, or genuine, means that elections offer equal opportunities for all competing parties and candidates. Such equality requires the ability of political parties and candidates to register for office without unreasonable requirements, balanced access to the media for all candidates, the absence of campaign finance abuse, and an independent electoral process.

Universal suffrage means that there can be no burdensome impediments to registering or voting for any citizen, with only such legitimate requirements as age or

residence. The ideal is to have maximum participation in elections. To achieve this, some countries make voting a legal obligation. It should be noted that the principle of one person, one vote, is distinct from the principle of universal suffrage and applies more to political systems with direct representation. But both principles mean that no person's vote can be counted twice. A secret ballot means that no oneexcept for the voterknows how each person has voted. If a voter's choice is observable to others, voters may be subject to intimidation and reprisals by the party in power or by a party seeking power. Elections would then have no integrity.

For democracy to work, everyone must agree to accept the results of freely held elections. The people and parties who have lost power, or those who failed to gain it, must be willing to accept defeat. If the loser refuses to accept the winner, the election's legitimacy is diminished and the political system may be marked by conflict and instability. A key test for a democracy is the successful and peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Indeed, this is a continuous test for any democracy, even established ones, as the United States witnessed during the 2000 presidential elections.

CONCLUSION

The Indian Election Commission, as further reading shows, leaves no stone unturned in ensuring inner-party democracy in their functioning by insisting upon parties to hold their organisational elections at periodic intervals. Their website reads: Political parties so registered with it are granted recognition at the state and national levels by the Election Commission on the basis of their poll performance at general elections according to criteria prescribed by it. The Commission, as a part of its quasi-judicial jurisdiction, also settles disputes between the splinter groups of such recognised parties. It maintains: The Election Commission ensures a level playing field for the political parties in election fray, through strict observance by them of a Model Code of Conduct evolved with the consensus of political parties. The Commission holds periodical consultations with the political parties on matters connected with the conduct of elections; compliance of Model Code of Conduct and new measures proposed to be introduced by the Commission on election related matters. Operating with an independent budget that is finalised directly in consultation between the Commission and the Finance Ministry of the union government, the Indian Election watchdog supervises nearly five million polling personnel and civil police forces deputed at over 0.8 million polling stations countrywide. As far as the budget allocation is concerned, the Finance Ministry generally accepts the recommendations of the Commission for its budgets. The website reads: If elections are being held only for parliament, the expenditure is borne entirely by the Union Government while for the elections being held only for the State Legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the concerned State. In case of simultaneous elections to the Parliament and State Legislature, the expenditure is shared equally between the Union and the State governments. For capital equipment, expenditure related to preparation for electoral rolls and the scheme for electors identity cards too, the expenditure is shared equally.

The Indian Election Commission states what its Pakistani counterparts would surely envy: This huge election machinery is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission and is subject to its control, superintendence and discipline during the election period, extending over a period of one and half to two months. Here follows what might further serve as knowledge for both the Pakistani Election Commission and the countrys ruling elite: In the performance of its functions, Election Commission is insulated from executive interference. It is the Commission which decides the election schedules for the conduct of elections, whether general elections or bye-elections. Again, it is the Commission which decides on the location polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centres, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and counting centres and all allied matters.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://post.jagran.com/Election-Commission-directs-officials-to-ensure-free-and-fairelections-1326772158 http://post.jagran.com/Election-Commission-directs-officials-to-ensure-free-and-fairelections-1326772158 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-21568-Indian-higher-courts-referdisqualification-cases-to-EC http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/CurrentElections/ECI_Instructions/ins_121007.pdf http://www.democracyweb.org/elections/principles.php http://post.jagran.com/Election-Commission-directs-officials-to-ensure-free-and-fairelections-1326772158