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Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
URL : www.eci.gov.in 1
Electoral Administration - Framework
5
Conditions of Service
The CEC and the ECs placed at par in matters of salary and allowances
and it is the same as that of a judge of Supreme Court.
Tenure of CEC and ECs fixed as 6 years subject to the maximum age
limit of 65 years.
The CEC and ECs all have equal powers in matters of decision making.
In case of difference, decisions are taken by opinion of majority.
The Commission takes all the elections by consensus.
The CEC shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner
and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Service conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his
appointment.
The ECs cannot be removed except on the CEC’s recommendation.
6
Commission’s Secretariat
Deputy Election Commissioners – 03
Directors(Admn. And IT) – 01
Secretaries (Zonals and Specifics)– 10
Under Secretaries – 12
Jt Director + OSD (IT) – 02
Assistant Director (Stats.) – 02
Section Officers – 33
Assistants & others – 275
7
Election Machinery in States
Chief Electoral Officers – 35
District Election Officers – 601
Returning Officers (Parliament) – 543
Returning Officers (Assembly) – 4120
Asstt. Returning Officers (Parliament) – 4600
Asstt. Returning Officers (Assembly) – 10,000
Electoral Registration Officers – 4120
Asstt. Electoral Registration Officers - 4800
8
Right to Vote
Any citizen over 18 can vote can vote
Voting right denied to certain class of people:
– criminal convicts of certain class
– person convicted of electoral offence
– person of unsound mind
– There is no compulsion to vote
Voting statistics
– 57.94% in 1996
– 61.97% in 1998
– 59.01% in 1999
– 58.07% in 2004
9
Scale of Operation
Recognized National Parties – 06
Recognized State Parties – 45
Registered Unrecognized Parties – 702
Polling Stations – 687,000
Electorate – Nearly 671 million
Turn out – Nearly 389 million
Staff deployed on Poll Day (Presiding Officers, Polling
Officers and helpers) – Nearly 4 million
Security personnel deployed – Nearly 2.5 million
Approximate direct cost – INR 13000 million (USD 280
million)
10
Transaction of Business
Regular meetings
Circulation of papers
Consultation and informal discussions
All Election Commissioners have equal say
Delegation of some executive functions to
officers
11
Division of work
12
Budget and Expenditure
Voted budget
Independent Budget finalised in consultation with
Finance Ministry
Funds for Conduct of elections reflected in the budget
of States/UTs
Only Parliament election - Funded entirely by Centre
Only Assembly election - Funded by the State
Simultaneous election - Expenses shared equally
Expenditure on capital equipment shared equally
Expenditure on electoral rolls, PICs also shared equally
13
When Elections take place?
Term of Parliament & Assembly - 5years (except J & K
Assembly where it is 6 years)
House can be dissolved before its term ends
Dates decided by the Commission. No consultation done with
any Government
Commission can call for elections six months prior to the date
on which normal tenure of Assembly or Parliament expires.
14 General elections since 1952.
Bye-elections when a seat falls vacant. Normally held within 6-
months of vacancy. No Bye-elections if vacancy for less than
one year
14
Scheduling of Elections
No more than 6-month gap between last session of
Parliament/Assembly and recalling of new House
Elections to fall within this period
Number of considerations in scheduling:
– Weather
– Law & order
– Movement of Central police forces
– Agricultural cycles
– Festivals
– Exam schedules
– Public holidays
– Logistical requirements
15
Who can Contest?
Any citizen over 25 years for Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha
Any citizen over 30 years for Rajya sabha & Vidhan Parishad
For Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha candidate- registered voter in any state
For Vidhan Sabha & Vidhan Parishad- registered voter only in that
state
Candidate should not be convicted or disqualified otherwise
Security deposit:
– Rs.10,000/ for Lok Sabha
– Rs. 5000/- for Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabha & Vidhan Parishad
– SC & ST candidates pay half the amount
– Deposit returned if candidate secures more than 1/6th of valid votes
Nominations need to be proposed by electors:
– one for candidate of national/state party
– ten for others
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The Contestants
7 days for filing nominations
Scrutiny a day following the last date for nominations
Thereafter 2 days provided for withdrawal
Final list prepared after withdrawal
4370 candidates for 543 seats in 1999, 5435 in 2004 (2386 independents)
Average number of contestants:
– 1952 -- 3.8
– 1991 -- 16.3
– 1996 -- 25.6
– 1998 -- 8.75
– 1999 -- 8.05
– 2004 -- 10.01
Size of deposit increased in1996
Number of electors nominating a candidate increased
17
Time and mode of election campaigns
18
Model Code of Conduct
Part I Minimum standards of behaviour
Part II Public meetings
Part III Processions by political parties
Part IV Conduct of political parties
Part V Conduct on poll day
Part VI Handling of complaints
Part VII Parties in Power
19
Checks on Party in Power
No official tour with campaigning
Bar on use of official vehicle/aircraft
Equal opportunity for use of public places for
meetings, stay etc
No ads on public expense
No announcement or promise of new schemes
No new financial sanctions
No fresh appointments
20
Voter Education - I
By EC
Fund provided to CEOs to give Newspaper inserts, radio jingles,
television spots, Banners, posters and produce literature
In rural areas – drum beating, chaupal (village assemblies) etc
Electoral Rolls displayed and read in local bodies like Gram
Sabhas and Resident’s Welfare Associations etc.
To enable voters to make an informed choice
- All candidates are required to declare their criminal past,
educational qualifications, assets and liabilities etc.- Affidavits
filed displayed publicly and also put on the EC website.
Efforts on to make information on poll expenses public.
21
Voter Education - II
By NGOs
NGOs are encouraged to educate voters
A number of Election Watch Groups played a positive roll in
2004 elections
One industry gr. also helped in putting up helplines and kiosks
By Media
Media mature - plays a crucial role 22
Women Participation
Women seats
No specific law for reservation of seats as yet
Political parties expected to put up women candidates
in reasonable numbers
24
Limits on Poll Expenses-II
Expenses that are exempted
No expenses except the travel expenses on upto 40
national leaders of a recognised party and 20 of
registered/unrecognised parties are exempted
Expenses made by well wishers, friends and relatives
of the candidates are now added to the candidate’s
expenditure
Expenses incurred by the parties to publicise its
policies and programmes are not included in the
candidate’s expenditure
25
Electronic Media
Arrangement between Prasar Bharti and Election
Commission
Free time on AIR and Doordarshan to National and
State parties
Political parties can reach out to every corner
Ensures level playing field
63 hours given during GE 1999, -- hours during GE
2004
Indirect State funding
Now being extended to the Private Channels
26
Preparation for Elections
- Mobilisation of the Staff
Drawn from various Central and State
Government departments - no private individual
associated
Staff on deputation with the Commission
Staff subject to Commission’ disciplinary
control
Staff mobilized & deployed by the CEO under
Commission’s instruction
27
Preparation for Elections
- Deployment and Training of Staff
Staff of various districts and states can be mixed to ensure
fairness
Staff given nominal honorarium
Deployment of Government employees keeps expenditure under
check, enhances control
Training – of ROs,EROs & Observers by the EC, of DEOs, Dy
DEOs, ROs & EROs by the CEOs and of the Polling staff by
the DEOs
Tainted and known to be aligned not associated
Commission takes prompt action on complaints against staff
deployed
28
Preparation for Elections
- Procurement of Materials
29
Preparation for Elections
- Relationship with stakeholders
Commission hears complaints & concerns of all
political parties
All political parties given similar treatment
CEOs and DEOs call meetings of Political Parties for
electoral rolls, enforcement of code of conduct, for
deciding polling stations & counting centres
Any individual or NGO can offer suggestions or can
file complaints with the EC, CEOs & DEOs
30
Preparation for Elections
- Security Arrangements
Assessment for Central Force’s requirement is made
keeping in mind the Law and Order situation
State police and central paramilitary forces deployed
based on requirements
No police organ having any affiliation to the ruling
party deployed
Confidence building measures taken
Situations watched regularly - special directions given,
if needed
31
Observers
32
Ingradients of a Credible Election
Mechanism during the Campaign, the Poll and the counting of votes
Setting up Control Rooms, Helplines and a credible communication network
to facilitate filing of complaints and their timely redressal
34
Information Technology
and the EC Website
EC makes an extensive use of Information Technology
Dissemination of information amongst it offices through intranet and to the
public through internet
The electoral rolls are computerised in all the state languages and are available
on the internet
EC website is a comprehensive resource center for Indian Elections with:
– all election laws, manuals and handbooks
– Election results
– Electoral rolls (Voter Lists)
EC servers are linked with all 1500 counting centers of the country on the poll
day and results are made available in the real time
URL is www.eci.gov.in
35
Electoral Reforms
Criminalisation of politics
Number of seats a person can contest
Ext Polls and Opinion Polls
Surrogate Advertisements on Print Media
Political Ads on TV and Cable network
Party Accounts and its Audit
Government sponsored Advertisements
Negative/Neutral Voting
Decisions on Anti-defection cases
36
Other New Initiatives
Use of Electronic Voting Machines
Free time on state owned Electronic media for political parties - a step
towards state funding of elections
Check on criminalization of politics
Computer networking and use of Information Technology
Computerization of Electoral rolls
Photo I-Cards
Electoral rolls with photograph
E-registration of electors
Publishing national voter register on the EC website with a credible search
mechanism
Use of the GIS in electoral management
Simplifying maintenance of accounts by candidates
Simplifying filing of accounts
Streamlining procedure for registration
Model Code of Conduct
37
GE 2004 – Interesting Facts
1. The oldest Candidate, as well as winner was 94 years old.
2. The youngest elected MP is 26 years old.
3. The average age of elected MP is 52.6 years.
4. Out of 543 MPs, 45 are women.
5. Maximum number of candidates was 35 in Madras South
Constituency.
6. Due to first-past-the-post system, about 2/3rd elected MPs
have less than 35% Votes polled (against number of Electors).
38
Photo Gallery – Elections 2004
Officials at distribution center Officials checking EVMs and Officials carrying EVMs and
polling materials polling materials
A group of Villagers with EPI Electors going to exercise their An Elector familiarizing himself
cards Officials carrying EVMs Franchise regarding
functioning of EVM 39
and polling materials
Photo Gallery – Elections 2004
An elder on way to cast her Electors waiting in Q Indelible ink being marked
vote on elector’s finger
41