AIR Spotlight: Role of Election Commission of India and Voter Awareness

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. This article is about the discussion on Role of Election Commission of India and Voter Awareness.

Participants: 

1. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner
2. Dr. Atul Kumar Tiwari, Editor, AIR

Context: Creating voter awareness for upcoming elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Introduction:

• India, the world’s largest democracy, has a distinct identity as the most vibrant and thriving democracy of all time. The Constitution has also established a fiercely independent Election Commission of India to carry out the mandate of free, fair, and transparent elections across the country.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) caters to approximately 95 crore voters.
• Since the first election in 1951-52, the election process has seen the evolution of a well-organized system in place, which is truly reflective of participatory democracy.
• Democracy is a way of life for Indian citizens.
• The voter diversity in India is very huge beginning with 18 years to voters of age 100 plus. These voters in the age group of 100 plus act as a motivating force for young voters. 
• Holding elections on such a large scale is a gigantic task. It is important to protect the interest of all the stakeholders namely voters, political parties, and candidates in letter and spirit, and strengthen democracy. 

Humane Face of the Election Commission of India:

• Voters having the age more than 80 years, Persons with Disability, or those suffering from COVID-19 can vote from the comfort of their homes. ECI has made several provisions in this regard.
  • A person falling in the above categories can contact the Booth Level Officer and fill the form 12D. The concerned officer/employee will get the voting right exercised in the home of the intended beneficiaries.
• The entire process will be video-graphed so that secrecy and fairness are fully protected.
• There are provisions for Braille-enabled scripts on Ballot Unit for people suffering from vision disability.
• Similarly, in the case of transgenders, ECI is focussing on the registration of all the members of the community and providing equal opportunity to everyone.
• Various tech-enabled solutions are also provided to ease the process of voting and registration. For instance, there is a provision of an app, where a person can apply for facilitation at the booth centres for services like wheelchairs, vehicles for commuting, etc.

Challenges faced by the Election Commission of India:

• Conducting elections is a daunting challenge because of:
  • The large voter base of nearly 95 crores.
  • More than one lakh employees are involved in the entire process.
  • Around ten lakh booths are set up across the country.
  • The elections are conducted in multiple phases.
• The challenges can be broadly categorized as
  • LOGISTIC CHALLENGE: The challenge of mobilizing the resources both physical as well as human resources in the entire country.
  • ISSUES DURING CAMPAIGN: Any news that is not empirically correct affects the voter.
  • USE/MISUSE/OVERUSE OF MEDIA: Social media is a very serious challenge in the digital world.
  • MONEY POWER: Possible misuse of money also hampers the conduct of free and fair elections.
  • CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICS: The presence of criminal elements in the election process hampers democracy.

For more on the Criminalization of politics, read here: Criminalization of Politics in India – Causes, Reasons & Consequence

Efforts taken by ECI to strengthen democracy:

• The young citizens and citizens who are left out of the electoral roll can register four times during a year as per the recent amendment. Further, the commission has allowed those of seventeen years to apply for a voter identification card in advance, which they will receive as a birthday present on attaining eighteen years of age.
• ECI is also starting a programme with all organizations having a strength of 500 plus employees to ensure that the leave provided under the Negotiable Instruments Act on the day of the election is not taken for granted. These employees would be motivated and made aware through SVEEP.
• The ECI along with the guidance of the Supreme Court has taken various measures to remove the impact of criminalization in politics. For instance, a person having a criminal record will have to publish three times in the media (both electronic and print media) about the nature of his/her criminal background. Along similar lines, political parties will also have to furnish the reason for choosing a candidate with criminal background in the media.
• The commission instructs all the enforcement agencies of the country to check the misuse of money during the election process.
• There is a special provision for the voters also through the c-VIGIL app, where vigilant and conscious citizens can make complaints about violations of election conduct. Once the complaint is made the location is automatically captured and the response is generated within hundred minutes.
• There are other apps also like Know your Candidate.
• There is also a provision for a dedicated portal for candidates called SUVIDHA for filing nominations, applying for entitlements, etc.
• Ways and means of communication to leverage the strength of ECI:
  • Two-way communication is very important between the commission and the voters to conduct free, fair, and inclusive elections.
  • The means and channels of communication are judiciously and meticulously selected.
  • ECI is thus initiating a 52-episode programme on All India Radio to connect the voters. The episodes will be broadcasted in regional languages. 
  • The interactive session will also have a feedback mechanism for improvement. 
• Election Commission is also trying to create awareness through college and university-level electoral literacy clubs, social media, etc.
• Efforts are also taken to identify booths having low voting percentages and contextualize outreach programmes in those areas.

Read previous AIR Spotlight articles in the link.

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