Constitutional Consciousness: A Test of the Election Commission’s Credibility

Constitutional Consciousness: A Test of the Election Commission’s Credibility


Refer Report

18th Lok Sabha A survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in April 2024 before the elections revealed that roughly one in four people do not trust the Election Commission. 45 percent of the people feel that the electronic voting machine (EVM) can manipulate the vote. These facts revealed by the survey are alarming. Apart from this, the Congress has taken an official stand that the result of the Haryana Assembly Election (October 2024) is invalid. The official rejection of the referendum decision by the opposition party casts doubt on the transparency of the Election Commission. Overall, serious questions have arisen regarding the autonomy, transparency and fairness of the Election Commission.

Efforts were made after independence to preserve the autonomy of Election Commission. Many provisions were also made in the constitution for this purpose. The composition of the Election Commission and the powers of the Commissioners were determined for this purpose. The value of the sovereignty of the Legislature was given importance even when such provisions were made in Articles 327 to 329 that the power of the Parliament and Legislatures to make laws regarding elections and decisions taken by constituencies, their reorganization etc. Of course, it was expected that the representatives elected by the people would decide the format of the elections and the credibility of the process would remain intact.

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That is why reforms in the election process were tried from time to time. Recommendations were made only in the 1970s. Tarkunde Committee (1974), Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990), V. K. Several committees like the Krishna Iyer Committee (1994) and the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) suggested electoral reforms. Among the recommendations suggested by the various committees so far, the following points were key: 1. Election expenses. 2. Regulation of political parties and intra-party democracy. 3. Forms of representation. 4. Defection Act. 5. Reorganization of Election Commission. 6. Paid news and political ads. 7. None of the above candidates is preferred, this option (None of the Above – NOTA). 8. Right to recall the representative of the people. 9. Right to reject a candidate. 10. Candidates with serious crimes are barred from contesting elections. 11. A plan to contest elections with the help of funds from state bodies. 12. Compulsory voting. 13. Ban on display of reports of polling tendency tests before polling. Many such issues have been discussed for pros and cons.

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In short, the challenge is to create a favorable environment for the common man to enter the election arena. Voters need to be able to have all the options available in the elections and be able to choose them. It is the job of the Election Commission to create a level playing field for all parties. Elections should be held in a fair, free and open environment and voters should feel confident that they are voting for whom they are voting for. To overcome the credibility deficit towards the Election Commission, the Commission needs to strictly adhere to its constitutional responsibilities. Otherwise the elections will be held but the basic content of democracy will continue to be hijacked. To prevent this from happening, there is a need for electoral reforms and their honest implementation.
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Source: Marathi