UPSC EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : A tool to ensure complete voter anonymity

Prelims: Current events of national importance(ECI, CEC, Article 324, Totaliser etc)

Mains GS Paper II: Appointments to various constitutional posts, powers functions and responsibilities of various constitutional bodies etc

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

The Supreme Court: In any election, be it to Parliament or State legislature, the maintenance of secrecy of voting is “a must”.

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context

Election Commission of India(ECI):

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.

The body administers elections to: Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha State Legislative Assemblies in India Offices of the President and Vice President in the country.

Part XV of the constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters.

deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters. Article 324 to 329: deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the members.

deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the members. The commission: It consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.

It consists of The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Tenure: They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Status : They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

: They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge by Parliament.

can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge by Parliament. All three members have equal voting rights and all decisions in the commission are taken by the majority,

Article 324:

The Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission.

Functions of EC:

Functions of EC

The ECI’s proposal for voter secrecy:

● Impartial election: voter is able to cast his vote without the fear of retribution or feeling induced by the promise of a reward.

● Voter secrecy is embedded in Rule 56 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

○ The returning officers can “reject a ballot paper if it bears any mark or writing by which the elector can be identified”.

○ While counting, ballot papers of different ballot boxes were mixed to avoid group targeting of voters based on the voting trends in a particular area.

○ Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), this ‘mixing’ cannot be done.

Totaliser:

● The totaliser is a mechanism which allows votes from 14 booths to be counted together so that voters are saved from pre-poll intimidation and post-poll harassment.

○ The votes cast via EVMs are counted on an individual booth basis.

● It is a technique to mask booth-level voting patterns as a solution to the problem of post-election harassment of voters.

● It was examined and evolved by the authorized EVM manufacturers in consultation with the Technical Experts Committee of the Election Commission of India (ECI)

○ Demonstrated in 2008 before political parties who had “no objection” to the use of totaliser.

● In March 2009, it was used on a trial basis in bye-elections to the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh.

Madras High Court order(2011):

Directed the government to consider the ECI’s recommendation of amending the relevant Rules for introducing the totaliser

Yogesh Gupta v. EC(2014):

It seeks a direction to the EC “ to declare the results of every Parliamentary Constituency as a whole and to not declare results of every voting machine separately To preserve the right of privacy in voting: booth-wise declaration of results provided a “tool in the hands of the political parties to intimidate the voters”.

to declare the results of every Parliamentary Constituency as a whole and to not declare results of every voting machine separately The EC reaffirmed its commitment to the totaliser . Court: Whether the EC could issue instructions for the use of totaliser under existing Rules. The EC: amendment of Rules was necessary.

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Way Forward

The Law Commission of India report 255th: It endorsed the EC’s proposal to introduce totaliser in counting of votes.

endorsed the proposal to introduce totaliser in counting of votes. Yogesh Gupta matter(2016): The government stated that the use of totaliser served no larger public interest.

The government stated that the use of totaliser served no larger public interest. The EC: using totalisers for counting of votes was “absolutely necessary” for protecting the interests of the voters.

using totalisers for counting of votes was “absolutely necessary” for protecting the interests of the voters. In 2016, the government referred the matter to a group of ministers: Booth-wise voting patterns would have a beneficial effect in increasing development activities.

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Discuss the role of the Election Commission of India in the light of the evolution of the Model Code of Conduct.(UPSC 2022)

(200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)

Editorial Analysis – 2 July 2024 [PDF]