Doubts about the operations of the Election Commission of India (ECI) have emerged after a report by The Indian Express that highlights repeated instances when two Election Commissioners registered their objections to decisions made by the election body.
As per the report published on September 23, two Election Commissioners, namely, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, are alleged to have raised their objection to poll panel’s decisions at least 14 times in a span of 10 months. It has been claimed that these two officials objected to matters regarding voter registration, deletion and restoration of the names in electoral rolls, access to voter list and alterations in the operations of ECI’s IT systems.
The report further reveals that there were instances when two Election Commissioners raised objections whether these decisions had been made without the prior knowledge or consent of these two officials. In one of the instances, Sandhu is reported to have referred to alterations made in the voter registration form 6 as unauthorised and illegal.
These developments have led to reactions from opposition political parties, where leaders questioned the level of transparency and the decision-making process within the constitutional institution. This is amid the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, whereby there have been massive alterations of voter rolls in various states and Union Territories.
The report also covered the legal framework in the running of the Commission. According to Article 324 of the Constitution, the ECI consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. The 2023 law governing their appointment and terms of service requires that “the business of the Commission shall, as far as practicable, be transacted unanimously; but when a difference of opinion arises between the members, the Chairman has a casting vote.”
The Election Commission has not responded to the questionnaire forwarded by The Indian Express concerning the issues raised by the two Commissioners, as per the report.
This has therefore brought about increased scrutiny of the decision-making process, monitoring system and handling of the electoral-roll data by the Election Commission.
