Election Commission of India

Election Commission of India

Agency overview
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Election
Commission
of
Election Commission of India - Wikipedia, the fr... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Commissi...
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Formed 25 January 1950 (Later celebrated as
National Voters Day)
Jurisdiction India
Headquarters New Delhi
283650N 771232E
Agency
executives
V. S. Sampath, Chief Election
Commissioner
Harishankar Brahma, Election
Commissioner
Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi, Election
Commissioner
[1]
Website eci.nic.in (http://eci.nic.in)
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India(Hindi: ) 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. The
Election Commission has the power of superintendence, direction and
control of all elections to the Parliament of India and the state
legislatures and of elections to the office of the President of India and
the Vice-President of India.
[2]
The power of superintendence, direction and control of all elections to
the Local Government/Municiple Corporation by the State Election
Commission.
The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by
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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.
[3]
The
current CEC is V.Sundaram Sampath.
Contents
1 History
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1.1 T.N. Seshan
1.2 Use of Scientific and Technological Advancements
1.3 Multi Member Commission
2 Functions and powers
2.1 Guardian of Free and Fair Elections
2.2 Model Code of Conduct
2.3 Registration of Political Parties
2.4 Limits on Poll Expenses
2.5 Prohibition on Publication
2.6 Quasi judicial powers
2.7 Booth Level Officer
3 Secretariat
4 Budget and Expenditure
5 Tenure
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6 Judicial Review
7 National Voters' Day
7.1 4th National Voters' Day
8 New Initiatives
9 Criticism
10 References
11 External links
History
T.N. Seshan
Over the years , the Election Commission's enforcement of India's
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remarkably strict election laws grew increasingly lax. As a
consequence, candidates flagrantly violated laws limiting campaign
expenditures. Elections became increasingly violent (350 persons were
killed during the 1991 campaign, including five Lok Sabha and
twenty-one state assembly candidates), and voter intimidation and fraud
proliferated.
[4]
The appointment of T.N. Seshan as chief election commissioner in 1991
reinvigorated the Election Commission and curbed the illegal
manipulation of India's electoral system. By cancelling or repolling
elections where improprieties had occurred, disciplining errant poll
officers, and fighting for the right to deploy paramilitary forces in
sensitive areas, Seshan forced candidates to take the Election
Commission's code of conduct seriously and strengthened its
supervisory machinery. In Uttar Pradesh, where more than 100 persons
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were killed in the 1991 elections, Seshan succeeded in reducing the
number killed to two in the November 1993 assembly elections by
enforcing compulsory deposit of all licensed firearms, banning
unauthorised vehicular traffic, and supplementing local police with
paramilitary units. In state assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Goa,
Karnataka, and Sikkim, after raising ceilings for campaign expenditures
to realistic levels, Seshan succeeded in getting candidates to comply
with these limits by deploying 337 audit officers to keep daily accounts
of the candidates' election expenditures. Although Seshan has received
enthusiastic support from the public, he has stirred great controversy
among the country's politicians. In October 1993, the Supreme Court
issued a ruling that confirmed the supremacy of the chief election
commissioner, thereby deflecting an effort to rein in Seshan by
appointing an additional two election commissioners. Congress (I)'s
attempt to curb Seshan's powers through a constitutional amendment
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was foiled after a public outcry weakened its support in Parliament.
Use of Scientific and Technological Advancements
The Election Commission had tried to bring improvements in election
procedures by introduction of EVM Electronic Voting Machines. It
was thought that EVMs would reduce malpractices and improve
efficiency.It was first tried out on an experimental basis in the state of
Kerala for the 1982 Legislative Assembly Elections. After successful
testing and legal inquires, the Commission took the decision to begin
the use of EVMs.
[5]
The Election Commission launched a web site of its own on 28
February 1998. It helps to provide accurate information, management,
administration and also instant results of the elections. In 1998, Election
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Commission decided on a programme for the 'computerisation' of the
electoral rolls.
In an effort to prevent electoral fraud, in 1993 EPICs Electorals Photo
Identity Cards were issued. In the 2004 elections, it was mandatory to
possess the card.
Multi Member Commission
Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner.
But, 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. The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1993
made Election Commission to be multi member body. Later, on 1
October 1993, two additional Election Commissioners were appointed.
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The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation since
then, with decision making power by majority vote.
[5]
Functions and powers
Guardian of Free and Fair Elections
One of the most important features of the democratic polity is elections
at regular intervals.
Democracy is the
Government of the people, By the people, And for the people".
Holding periodic free & fair elections are essentials of democratic
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system. It is part of basic structure of the Constitution which has been
held in T. N. Sheshan V/s Union of India.
[6]
The Commission has taken
many efforts for the success of elections and thereby democracy.
Model Code of Conduct
The Election Commission is regarded as guardian of free and fair
elections. In every election, it issues a Model code of Conduct for
political parties and candidates to conduct elections in free and fair
manner. The Commission issued the code for the first time in 1971 (5th
Election) and revised it from time to time. It lay down guidelines for
conduct of political parties & candidates during elections. However,
there are instances of violation of code by the political parties and
complaints are received for misuse of official machinery by the
candidates.
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In I.D. Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. v/s. Chief Election Commissioner,
[7]
the Kerala High Court held that the object of model code of conduct is
not to stop all governmental activities but only those actions which may
directly influence a section of electors need to be prevented.
The need for such code is in the interest of free and fair elections.
However, the code does not have any specific statutory basis. It has
only a persuasive effect. It contains what, known as "rules of electoral
morality". But this lack of statutory backing does not prevent the
Commission from enforcing it.
Registration of Political Parties
A law regarding to this registration process was enacted in 1989 and
number of parties got registered with Commission.
[8]
It helps to avoid
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confusion and headache of the administrative machinery as well as
confusion of the electorate. It ensures that political parties can practice
democracy only by their registration.
Limits on Poll Expenses
To get rid of the growing influences and vulgar show of money during
elections the Election Commission has made many suggestions in this
regard. The Election Commission has fixed the legal limits on the
amount of money which a candidate can spend during election
campaigns. These limits have been revised from time to time. The
Election Commission by appointing observers keeps an eye on the
individual account of election expenditure. The contestants are also
required to give details of expenditure with 30 days of declaration of
results. However, political parties do not adhere to the financial
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Lakshman Rekha as huge amount are spent by parties under the garb
of their supporters.
The campaign period was reduced by the Election Commission from 21
to 14 days for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections; it is for to trim down
election expenditure. The Election Commissions this attempt to impose
these measures has been a move in the right direction. Moreover,
Election Commission takes details of the candidate's asset on affidavit
at the time of submitting nomination paper.
In Common Cause v/s. Union of India, it was pointed out that, in India
elections are fought on the basis of money. The Court ruled that, purity
of election is fundamental to the democracy and Commission can ask
the candidates about the expenditure incurred by them and political
party for this purpose.
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Prohibition on Publication
The Commission can issue an order for prohibition of publication and
disseminating of results of opinion polls (Exit Polls).
[4]
Quasi judicial powers
Under the Constitution, the Commission also has advisory jurisdiction
in the matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of
Parliament found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come
before the Supreme Court and High Courts.The Courts refer 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
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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.
Booth Level Officer
Booth Level Officer (BLO) is a local Government/Semi-Government
official, familiar with the local electors and generally a voter in the
same polling area who assists in updating the roll using his local
knowledge. BLO is a representative of Election Commission of India
(ECI) at the grass-root level who plays a pivotal role in the process of
roll revision and collecting actual field information with regard to the
roll corresponding to the polling area assigned to him.Under Section
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13B (2) of Representation of People Act, 1950, BLOs are appointed
from amongst the officers of the Govt. /Semi Govt. /Local Bodies.
Generally, one BLO is responsible for one part of the electoral roll.
From August 2006 the Commission has decided to introduce the
concept of appointing BLOs who would be accountable for ensuring the
fidelity of electoral roll.
[9]
Secretariat
The Commission has a separate Secretariat at New Delhi, consisting of
about 300 officials, in a hierarchical set up.
[8]
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
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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
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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
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and is subject to its control, superintendence and discipline during the
election period, extending over a period of one and a half to two
months.
Budget and Expenditure
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
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are 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.
[10]
Tenure
Main article: Chief Election Commissioner of India
The Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners
have a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is
earlier. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office
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only through impeachment by Parliament.
[5]
Judicial Review
Further information: Election petition
The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court
and the Supreme Court by appropriate petitions called as "Election
petition". 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
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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.
[5]
National Voters' Day
25 January is the foundation day of the Commission, which came into
being on this day in 1950. It is also celebrated as National Voters' Day
by ECI . The Commission's objective through National Voters' Day is to
increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones, to
make universal adult suffrage a complete reality. The National Voters'
Day is also utilised to spread awareness among voters regarding
effective participation in the electoral process.
[11]
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4th National Voters' Day
The Election Commission of India celebrated the 4th National Voters'
Day across the country on 25 January 2014 . The theme for the 4th
NVD was 'Ethical Voting'. NVD functions were held at more than
656,000 locations across the country covering nearly all 900,000
Polling Stations. 39.1 million new electors were added in the run up to
the fourth National Voters' Day, among which 12.7 million are the
newly eligible 18-19yrs old.
[11]
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
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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.
[5]
Criticism
The Election Commission of India came into severe criticism when a
RTI by disability activist Dr Satendra Singh revealed it's
ill-preparedness to safeguard electors with disabilities in General
Elections 2014.
[12]
There were many violations of Supreme Court order
from 2014 to enfranchise persons with disabilities.
[13]
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References
^ Balaji, J (4 August 2012). "Zaidi is new Election Commissioner"
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3723367.ece). The Hindu
(Chennai, India).
1.
^ "A Constitutional Body" (http://www.eci.gov.in/about-
eci/the_setup.aspx). Election Commission of India.
2.
^ "Q 7. What is the status Chief Election Commissioner and the Election
Commissioners in terms of salaries and allowances etc.?"
(http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/election-machinery.aspx). Election
Commission of India.
3.
^
a

b
India Election Commission (http://www.photius.com/countries
/india/government/india_government_election_commission.html)
Sources: The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook
4.
^
a

b

c

d

e
"A Constitutional Body" (http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1 5.
27 of 31 4/26/2014 9:28 PM
/the_setup.aspx). Election Commission of India.
^ AIR 1995 SC 852 6.
^ AIR 2006 Ker 229 7.
^
a

b
http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/the_setup.aspx 8.
^ "Booth Level Officer; A Representative of Election Commission at the
Grass-Root Level" (http://pib.nic.in/newsite
/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104541). PIB. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 12
March 2014.
9.
^ "About ECI" (http://www.eci.gov.in/about-
eci/the_setup.asp#introduction). Election Commission of India.
10.
^
a

b
"4th National Voters' Day celebrated across the country"
(http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=102737). Press
Information Bureau Government of India Election Commission. 25
January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
11.
^ "Polls near, but no data of voters with disabilities"
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Polls-near-but-no-data-
12.
28 of 31 4/26/2014 9:28 PM
of-voters-with-disabilities/articleshow/29432418.cms). Times of India.
27 January 2014.
^ " " (http://www.punjabkesari.in
/news/article-210889). Punjab Kesari. 26 January 2014.
13.
External links
Official website (http://eci.nic.in)
Links to Official Web Sites of Chief Electoral Officers of 28
States and 7 UTs (http://www.eci.nic.in/Links/Links.asp)
ECI's Online Voters List (http://search.eci.gov.in/) Options: 'Voter
Name' search Parliamentary, Assembly constituency wise. Also
one can get full Electoral Rolls 'Voting Booth' wise.
Election Commission of India Gets Political Infection,
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Democracy at Receiving End (http://abclive.in
/abclive_investigative_news
/navin_chawla_congress_n_gopalaswami_election_commission_i
ndia.html)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org
/w/index.php?title=Election_Commission_of_India&oldid=605411908"
Categories: Indian commissions 1950 establishments in India
Government agencies established in 1950
Executive branch of the Indian government Election commissions
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