How many of us agree with this?
Election Commission is an independent august body created for overseeing conduct of elections in a systematic manner and to ensure that the processes of electing peoples representatives to the supreme body of Parliament and Legislatures are properly followed. If anybody is indulging in malpractices, cohersive methods etc., the commission can initiate actions to book such people under the relevant acts and rules.
In the present Elections during 2009, Election Commission is issuing media reports that the poll observers and other responsible officers concerned have reported thousands of cases of poll code violations etc., by candidates or parties and action is being taken to issue them notices.
All these are OK but what foxes the citizens is, with all the backing of laws, codes, etc., how many cases have successfully been followed through in the past elections, in how many cases punishments have been awarded and what are the outcomes of pending cases, needs to be explained to the people by the commission.
Otherwise, it will be a meek acceptance of "EC is a snake without fangs", as quoted above.
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Got to disagree
You only have to remember how election days used to be in 80s and early 90s (I was born in 70s, so can't go that back in time). Loudspeakers all night, posters dirtying all corners of wherever you lived. And look now.
Why go back that many days? Just go look for political hoarding menace in our City today. Just 4-5 months ago, every light pole, at least in the peripheral areas, would carry those unauthoized hoardings with faces of either Dr Rajkumar, Advani, Sonia or Deve Gowda pasted along with message from local leaders.
Heck, when Mayawati or Rahul Gandhi visited few months ago, our city was filled with flags and banners - I bet 95% of those political advertisements were illegal (didn't have sanction from BBMP, parties did not pay BBMP, though they did help with the clean later).
And now? Does anyone have the guts to paint the city saffron, tricolor, red/yellow or blue, not until April 30th. Why? Because Election Commission has got teeth.
They may not be perfect, they may be screwing up on Voter ID cards. But they have changed some aspects of election, electioneering in particular.
Crux of the matter is...politicians go scot free
Yes Sir, you are right and we are grateful to the election commission for these small mercies. I still remember the Bi-election of Mysore during Nov.2009 the DEO, Mysore had dug up all the rules and regulations concerning the poll code violations and slammed the candidates and their croonies - sample this - nearly Rs.20 crores (E&OE) of hard currency being transported was confiscated, confiscated and distroyed thousands of litres of hooch, etc., ordered the candidates to leave the constituency 48 hours earlier to polling time. All these were done by a DEO of Election Commission.
Cut to present LS elections April 2009 - one example - 465 reported poll code violations in Bellary so far - violations noticed by EC officials, notice issued or not? Has any candidate been barred from contesting? What is the action taken to ensure the law of the land? What about all India figures? We should have a EC that is not a paper tiger.
EC is a skeletal office with skeletal staff, is not 24X7; whereas it depends upon solely on half hearted government servants, local bodies employees, school/college teaching faculty by paying some remuneration for discharging its constitutional duties and responsibilities that affect a billion plus Prajas.
The electoral lists that have been prepared are dubbed by the media as "the mother of all frauds" and during 2004 elections, millions of people had aired their ire over the faulty electoral lists because they were denied their voting right. Who was responsible for this mess? Your guess is as good as mine. All of us know this.
It is time to bring in electoral reforms, strengthen the EC with powers to pass judgements on those who violate poll conducts in a time bound manner but before the elections are held and the man in jail also gets elected, because politicians have this knack of "managing to wriggle under rangoli". We have allowed this decay to eat at the root of democracy.
But this AIDS (Alarmingly Infected Democratic System) is curable with proper follow up of rules, regulations, codes, provisions under various laws to ensure transparency and accountability.
This AIDS is curable by injecting the vaccine of participatory democracy and majority voters rule.
- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath