The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a
constitutional body. It was established by the
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the president of India, and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission. Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to both the Central government and the state governments.
The body administers elections to the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
,
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
,
State Legislative Assemblies,
State Legislative Councils and the offices of the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
of the country.
The Election Commission operates under the authority of
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
per ''Article 324'', and subsequently enacted
Representation of the People Act
Representation of the People Act is a stock short title used in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Mauritius, Pakistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, ...
. The commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election. Being a constitutional authority, Election Commission is amongst the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the country's
higher judiciary, the
Union Public Service Commission
The Union Public Service Commission ( ISO: ), commonly abbreviated as UPSC, is India's premier central recruitment agency for recruitment of all the Group 'A' officers under Government of India. It is responsible for appointments to and exam ...
and the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the ...
. It is a permanent constitutional body.
Structure
The commission was established in 1950 and originally only had one
Chief Election Commissioner. Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989 (on the eve of the 1989 General Election), but they had a very short tenure, ending on 1 January 1990. "The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989" was adopted on 1 January 1990 which turned the commission into a multi-member body: a 3-member Commission has been in operation since then and the decisions by the commission are made by a majority vote.
The commission is served by its secretariat located in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
The Election Commissioners are assisted by Deputy Election Commissioners, who are generally
IAS officers. They are further assisted by Directors General, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries and Under Secretaries.
At the state level, Election Commission is assisted by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, who is an
IAS officer
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...
of
Principal Secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries.
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...
rank. At the district and constituency levels, the
District Magistrates (in their capacity as District Election Officers), Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers perform election work.
Tenure
The tenure of election commissioners is not prescribed by Indian Constitution. However, according to THE ELECTION COMMISSION (CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS AND TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS) ACT, 1991 Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner shall hold office
for a term of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, from the date on which he/she assumes his/her office.
Removal from office
The
Chief Election Commissioner of India
The Chief Election Commissioner of India heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures and of President and Vice-President. This power of t ...
can be represented
removed from their office in a manner similar to the removal of a judge of the
Supreme Court of India which requires a resolution passed by the
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
a two-thirds majority in both the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
and the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Other
Election Commissioners can be removed by the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
on the recommendation of the
Chief Election Commissioner. A
Chief Election Commissioner has never been impeached in India.
In 2009, just before the
2009 Lok Sabha Elections
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
,
Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to President
Prathibha Patil
Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...
to remove
Election Commissioner Navin Chawla
Navin Chawla (born 30 July 1945) is a retired Indian civil servant and writer, who served as 16th Chief Election Commissioner of India. Four phases (out of five) of the Indian general election to Loksabha were executed under his supervision in ...
, who was soon to take office as the
chief election commissioner and to subsequently supervise the
Lok Sabha general election, a potential conflict of interest considering his partisan political party behavior. The President opined that such a recommendation is not binding on the president, and hence rejected it. Subsequently, after Gopalswami's retirement the next month, Chawla became the
chief election commissioner and supervised the 2009 Lok Sabha general elections.
Functions
One of the most important features of the democratic policy in India is elections at regular intervals. Holding periodic, free and fair elections are essentials of a democratic system and a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. The Election Commission is regarded as the guardian of elections in the country. In every election, it issues a Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to conduct elections in a free and fair manner. The commission issued the Code of Conduct for the first time in 1971 for the
5th Lok Sabha elections and has revised it from time to time. It lays down guidelines for the conduct of political parties and candidates during an election period. However, there have been instances of violation of the code by various political parties with complaints being received for misuse of official machinery by the candidates.
The code does not have any specific statutory basis but only a persuasive effect.
It contains the rules of electoral morality.
However, this lack of statutory backing does not prevent the commission from enforcing it.
A law for the registration process for political parties was enacted in 1989 and a number of parties got registered with the commission. The registration helps avoid confusion and ensures that the political parties are brought under the purview of the commission.
The election commission has the right to allow symbols to the political parties. It gives recognition to the national parties, state parties and regional parties. It sets limits on poll expenses. The commission prepare electoral rolls and update the voter's list from time to time. Notifications of dates and schedules of election for filing nominations are issued by the commission. It is noteworthy that Election commission cannot allot same symbol to two regional political parties even if they are not in the same state.
The commission is empowered with prohibiting dissemination or publication of voting trends that seek to influence voters by
opinion polls
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
or
exit polls
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for ...
.
To curb the growing influence of money during elections, the Election Commission has made many suggestions and changes in this regard. The commission has appointed IRS officers of the Income Tax Department as Election Observers (Expenditure) of all elections and has fixed the legal limits on the amount of money which a candidate can spend during election campaigns. These limits have been revised over time. The Election Commission, by appointing expenditure observers from the
Indian Revenue Service
The Indian Revenue Service (IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is an Indian government agency that is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes. As a central civil service under Group A of the executiv ...
, keeps an eye on the individual account of election expenditure. The commission takes details of the candidate's assets on affidavit at the time of submitting nomination paper, who are also required to give details of their expenditure within 30 days of the declaration of results. The campaign period has also been reduced by the commission from 21 to 14 days for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to cut down election expenditure.
In an attempt to decriminalise politics, the Election Commission has approached the
Supreme Court to put a lifetime ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections.
Voter Id
In an effort to prevent electoral fraud, in 1993, EPICs or Electors Photo Identity Cards were issued, which became mandatory by the
2004 elections. However
ration cards
A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in for ...
have been allowed for election purposes in certain situations.
RONET
Software mobile application, developed for Election Commission of India, by 01 Synergy, which makes the voting process less cumbersome and ensure that the general public is aware of the candidates in an election. The RONet suite of web and mobile applications is for all stakeholders involved in the election process. This would help them monitor the assigned tasks at all levels for the smooth conduct of elections.
ECI360
ECI 360 mobile application was developed for the general public — which comprises signed and sworn affidavits of the contesting candidates, a list of rejected candidates, the final list of candidates, pickup requests for voters with disability, queue status (people waiting in line to cast votes), real-time poll booth-wise polling percentage, grievance redressal, and the results. The candidate app of ECI360 allows them to request permissions for rallies and is also mapped with redressal systems, which ensures that all the issues are sorted at the earliest.”
Voting Procedure
Voting in India is done using
Electronic voting machines
An electronic voting machine is a voting machine based on electronics.
Two main technologies exist: '' optical scanning'' and '' direct recording'' (DRE).
Optical scanning
In an optical scan voting system, or marksense, each voter's choices ...
or EVMs,
there is also a provision for the
Postal voting in India,
[ as well as the special arrangements for the disabled voters.][
]
Electronic voting machines (EVM)
India has been the first country to adopt Electronic Voting at such a large scale. Electronic voting machines
An electronic voting machine is a voting machine based on electronics.
Two main technologies exist: '' optical scanning'' and '' direct recording'' (DRE).
Optical scanning
In an optical scan voting system, or marksense, each voter's choices ...
(EVM) were introduced by Election Commission in order to reduce malpractices and improve efficiency. They were tried for the first time on an experimental basis for the 1982 Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
State Legislative Assembly Elections. After a successful testing and the legal inquiries, the commission took the decision to begin the use of these voting machines.
The introduction of Voter-verified paper audit trail
Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow ...
(VVPAT) in eight Lok Sabha constituencies in 2014 Indian General Elections was a big achievement for the Election Commission. This Voter-verified paper audit trail
Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow ...
(VVPAT) system was first used with EVMs in a by-poll in September 2013 in Noksen (Assembly Constituency) in Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
. and eventually in all elections from September 2013 onwards in various Legislative elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
in the country.
Photo electoral rolls with photographs of the candidates on the EVMs were first introduced in the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election.
In 2014, none of the above
"None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system. ...
or NOTA was also added as an option on the voting machines which is now a mandatory option to be provided in any election. The specific symbol for NOTA, a ballot paper with a black cross across it, was introduced on 18 September 2015. The symbol has been designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
The National Institute of Design (NID) is a public design university in Paldi, Ahmedabad, with extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru. Regarded as one of the foremost design schools in Asia as surveyed by ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' in ...
.
Election Commission organised an open hackathon on 3 June 2017, to attempt hacking of Electronic Voting Machine used by the commission in various Indian elections. The NCP
NCP may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (a temporary name for COVID-19), an outbreak that was officially identified in late 2019.
* HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a target of zinc finger inhibitors
* Nucleosome ...
and CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
were the only two parties that registered for the event but none of them participated.
The EVM hacking claims remained as allegations only and were usually used by the parties which lost elections. Functioning of EVMs and VVPAT
Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allo ...
machines were demonstrated to the teams.
Postal voting
Postal voting in India is done only through the ''"Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot Papers (ETPB)"'' system of Election Commission of India, ballot papers are distributed to the registered eligible voters who return the votes by post. Postal votes are counted first before the counting of votes from the EVM. Only certain categories of people are eligible to register as postal voters. Employees working in the union armed forces and state police as well as their spouses, and those working for the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
who are officially posted abroad can register for the postal vote, these are also called the ''"Service voters"''. People in preventive detention
Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts.
Types of preventive detention
There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and m ...
can use postal vote. Prisoners can not vote at all.[Postal ballots: Who can vote through ETPB, how to get registered and how the voting is done; an explainer]
, First Post, 2 April 2019.[Maharashtra, Haryana Elections 2019: Can You Vote By Postal Ballot If You Aren't Living At Home?]
, HUffington Post, 26 September 2019.
Electors with disabilities
The Election Commission of India came under severe criticism when an RTI application filed by activist Dr Satendra Singh revealed the commission's ill-preparedness to safeguard electors with disabilities in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. There were many violations of the Supreme Court order from 2014 to enfranchise persons with disabilities. In Karnataka, Election commission has offered sign language support to assist voters with speech and hearing impairment
See also
* History of democracy#Indian subcontinent, History of democracy in the Indian-subcontinent
* States Election Commission (India)
References
External links
*Election Commission of Indi
Official Portal
ECI : Voter Information
National Voters Service Portal
This service is provided by the ECI. Users can search their name by providing their details such as State Name, First Name, Last Name, Assembly Constituency Name, Gender, etc. to perform the search. District-wise search option is also available.
Election Commission of India
profile by Elections Canada.
29 States of India
*Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Arunachal Pradeshbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Assambr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Chhattisgarhbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Goabr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Gujarat
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal Pradeshbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmirbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Jharkhandbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Karnatakabr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Madhya Pradesh
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtrabr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Manipurbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalayabr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Mizorambr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Nagalandbr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Punjabbr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Rajasthan
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Sikkimbr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Telangana
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Tripurabr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh
The Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh ( a.k.a. CEO, Uttar Pradesh) is the Government official responsible for supervising the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral roll and for supervising the conduct of all elections in the I ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Uttarakhandbr>Official Portal
*Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
7 union territories of India
*Chief Electoral Officer, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
br>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Chandigarhbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Dadra and Nagar Havelibr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Daman and Diubr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Delhibr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Lakshadweepbr>Official Portal
* Chief Electoral Officer, Puducherrybr>Official Portal
{{Authority control
Indian commissions and inquiries
1950 establishments in India
Government agencies established in 1950
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...