Election Commision of India :

Since 1950, the Election Commission of India has had only one member: the Chief Election Commissioner. According to the Election Commissioner Amendment Act of 1989, the Commission became a multi-member body, with two extra election commissioners appointed for the first time on October 16, 1989. The job of election commissioner was abolished again on January 1, 1990. The Election Commission was reconstituted as a three-member body on October 1, 1993. The commission’s headquarters are at the Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. The Election Commission is led by a Chief Election Commissioner and made up of two other Election Commissioners. They are further supported by Directors General, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries.

The chief election commissioner does not have overruling powers, and any decision is made based on the majority view of the three.

The Election Commission is aided by the Chief Electoral Officer of the state or union territory (CEO), who is in charge of the state and union territory’s election apparatus. Election work is done at the district and constituency levels by District Magistrates/District Collectors (who also serve as District Election Officers), Electoral Registration Officers, and Returning Officers.

Appointment and Terms of Office

The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023 governs the election commissioner’s appointment and term. According to Section 7 of the Act, an election commissioner is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a selection committee chaired by the Prime Minister of India and comprised of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a member of the Union Council of Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister. The CEC’s tenure can be up to six years from the moment he or she starts office. However, the CEC departs from office if he or she reaches the age of sixty-five years before the end of the term. While the CEC may only be removed from office through the impeachment procedure, which requires a two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to be present and voting, election commissioners can be removed by the President based on the CEC’s recommendation.

Strengths and duties.

The Election Commission of India is a constitutional organisation tasked with conducting free and fair elections for national, state, and local legislatures, as well as the positions of President and Vice President. The Election Commission exercises the functions conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution and the accompanying Representation of the People Act. State electoral commissioners are in charge of organising local body elections in their respective states. The election commission sets the dates for nominations, voting, counting, and announcing the results.

It produces a Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to guarantee that elections are held in a free and fair environment.

The Code of Conduct was initially established in 1971 for the 5th Lok Sabha elections and has since been updated on several occasions. It establishes norms for the behaviour of political parties and candidates during an election period. Instances of code violations by various political parties, as well as candidates’ misuse of official machinery, are dealt with accordance to the law.

In 1989, a legislation was adopted to govern the registration of political parties. Registration guarantees that political parties are recognised at the national, state, and regional levels. The electoral commission reserves the ability to allocate emblems to political parties based on their standing. The same emblem cannot be assigned to two political parties, even if they don’t contest in the region.

The commission creates electoral rolls and maintains the voter list. Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) were established in 1993 to prevent election fraud. However, certain legal papers, like as ration cards, have been used to vote in specific cases.

The commission has the authority to prohibit the transmission or publication of voting trends designed to influence voters through opinion surveys or exit polls.

The Election Commission is in charge of reviewing and accepting the applications of candidates seeking to run in the elections. A person may be disqualified from contesting elections if incorrect or insufficient information is submitted in the affidavits, and if he or she has been convicted by any court in India and sentenced to two or more years in prison. In an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court in 2017, the Election Commission argued in favor of a lifelong prohibition on convicted felons from running for office.

The Election Commission establishes limitations on poll-related expenditures by candidates during election campaigns. The commission designates Indian Revenue Service officials from the Income Tax Department as Election Observers. The commission collects information of the candidate’s assignment in an affidavit when they submit the nomination paper, and they must also provide details of their expenditure within 30 days of the results being declared.

The election commission uses different electronic media, including websites and mobile applications, to enable activities such as answering concerns, reviewing electoral registers, publishing candidate information, announcing results, and monitoring assigned responsibilities.

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Voting

In India, voters use electronic voting machines (EVMs), and there are facilities for postal voting and special procedures for the disabled.

The Election Commission deployed electronic voting machines (EVMs) to decrease misconduct and increase efficiency. The EVMs were initially used in a by-election for the Paravur assembly constituency in Kerala in 1982, with a small number of voting stations. Following satisfactory testing and legal questions, the commission agreed to implement these voting devices on a broad basis. Two public sector undertakings, Bharat Electronics and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, manufacture EVMs. In a September 2013 by-election in Nagaland’s Noksen (Assembly Constituency), a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) was implemented on a trial basis.

It was later used in several legislative elections, as well as eight Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 Indian general election.

In 2014, none of the above (NOTA) was added as an option on voting machines, and it is currently required in all elections. The NOTA sign, a voting paper with a black cross across it, was introduced on September 18, 2015. The 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election marked the first time picture electoral rolls featuring images of candidates appeared on EVMs.

On June 3, 2017, the Election Commission hosted an open hackathon, urging anyone to attempt to hack the EVMs used by the commission in various Indian elections. While none of them took part, the operation of the EVM and VVPAT machines was shown at the event.

Postal voting in India is only possible using Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot Papers (ETPB). Ballot papers are delivered to registered eligible voters, who submit their ballots via mail. Prior to calculating EVM votes, postal votes are counted first. Only limited groups of people are eligible to register as postal voters. Employees of the union armed forces and state police, as well as their wives, and those working for the Government of India who are formally deployed overseas, can register themselves for postal vote.

People in preventive custody can use postal voting, however inmates are not permitted to vote. The Election Commission of India has granted permission for people above the age of 80 and those with physical disabilities to vote from their homes.

According to an RTI application submitted in 2014, the Election Commission of India does not have data on voters with impairments. The election commission provided sign language assistance to voters with speech and hearing impairments.