Electoral Integrity and the Crisis of Trust in the ECI
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity & Governance (Election Commission of India - ECI: Appointment, Powers, Functions; Electoral Reforms; EVM, VVPAT; Model Code of Conduct).
Mains: GS Paper 2 (Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies; Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act; Role of civil society in a democracy).
Key Highlights from the News
Main Allegation: Allegation of electoral manipulation by creating over one lakh fake votes in the voter list of the Mahadevapura constituency in Bangalore.
Systemic Flaws: This allegation points to systemic flaws in the Indian election process and a decrease in trust in the Election Commission of India (ECI).
ECI's Defense: The article questions the ECI's stance of defending criticism and its method of releasing voter data in image PDFs, which are difficult to verify.
Voter List Issues: Voter lists are primarily prepared based on voters' self-declarations, which lack robust verification mechanisms.
Other Challenges:
Failure to take strict action against Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations.
Reluctance to clarify doubts regarding EVM/VVPAT.
Delay in publishing turnout figures of voters.
Fundamental Problem: The fundamental problem is the erosion of institutional trust in the ECI.
Appointment Controversy: The new law excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the committee that selects Election Commissioners raises doubts about the ECI's impartiality.
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