ECI Invites Political Leaders for Dialogue on Strengthening Electoral Process and Addressing Unresolved Issues
The decision of the Election Commission of India to call leaders of the political parties for an interaction to “further strengthen the electoral process” and invite suggestions regarding any “unresolved issues” is a welcome move. The political parties must make use of the opportunity and ensure that their grievances and complaints on the shortfalls are presented in a comprehensive manner and forward suggestions that can make the election exercise fool-proof.
The electoral process in India has undergone tremendous changes in the last three decades. The first change was witnessed when the Election Commission of India stopped acting as just another department of the government and instead chose to act in an independent way. Better formulae, including the introduction of the voter photo identity card, almost ended widespread rigging which was a curse at one point in time. A tectonic shift in the process came with the rolling out of the electronic voting machines across the nation which cut down on both the time and spending in one go.
There have been several complaints against the EVMs, the underlying one being the possibility of mass manipulation of the machines, thereby undermining the entire poll process, but no charge has survived scrutiny yet. The EC has fought both legal and technical challenges quite convincingly. Political parties who have lingering doubts about the machines must take this opportunity to seek further clarifications.
The latest in the series of allegations, though, is duplicate electoral photo identity cards and possible manipulation of the electoral rolls.
Prima facie, the EC has found some meat in the allegations and has ordered action to ensure that there is no more duplication of the cards. But it ought to address this issue in a comprehensive manner.
While the technical problems are identifiable and amenable to correction, the independence of the EC as a constitutional institution has been a big question of late. Doubts have been raised about it returning to its old status as an adjunct of the government. It is for the EC, and EC alone, to settle those.
A productive interaction among the key players of the world’s largest democratic process should culminate in further streamlining it, and the country is looking forward to such a conversation.
