Introduction :- 

The Election Commission of India, abbreviated as ECI is a constitutional body responsible for administering elections in India according to the rules and regulations mentioned in the Constitution of India.

It was established on January 25, 1950. The major aim of election commission of India is to define and control the process for elections conducted at various levels, Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice President of India. It can be said that the Election Commission of India ensures smooth and successful operation of the democracy.

According to Article 324 of Indian Constitution, the Election Commission of India has superintendence, direction, and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature (state legislative assembly & state legislative council) of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India.

Initially, the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. Presently, it consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. For the first time, two additional Commissioners were appointed on 16th October 1989 but they had a very short term till 1st January 1990. Afterwards, on 1st October 1993 two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation since then, with decision-making power by majority vote.

Composition :-

It is a multi member body of chief election commissioner [C.E.C] and as many commissioners as the president determines. Both are equal in powers and duties and removal procedures similar to judge of SC.

President can also appoint regional election commissioners after recommendation of C.E.C. The matters / decisions of election commission are determined by majority. Term of office is 6 years or till age of 65. The term is decided by the president.

Appointment & Tenure of Commissioners :- 

• The President has the power to select Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• They have the same status and receive pay and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through accusation by Parliament.
• Election commissioner or a regional commissioner shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

Chief Electoral Officer– ECI in consultation with State Government/Union Territory Administration nominates or designates an Officer of the said State/UT as the Chief Electoral Officer to supervise the election work in the State/UT

District Election Officer– ECI in consultation with the State Government/ Union Territory Administration designates an officer of the said State/UT as the District Election Officer to supervise the election work of a district

Returning Officer– ECI in consultation with State Government/Union Territory Administration nominates or designates an officer of the Government or a local authority as the Returning Officer for each assembly and parliamentary constituency. Returning Officer is responsible for the conduct of elections in the parliamentary or assembly constituency and may be assisted by one or more Assistant Returning Officers (again appointed by ECI) in the performance of his functions

Electoral Registration Officer– ECI appoints the officer of State or local government as Electoral Registration Officer for the preparation of Electoral rolls for a parliamentary/ assembly constituency
 

Advisory Jurisdiction & Quasi-Judicial Functions :- 

• Under the Constitution, the Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post-election ineligibility of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
• Additionally, the cases of persons found guilty of dishonest practices at elections which come before the Supreme Court and High Courts are also referred to the Commission for its opinion on the question as to whether such person shall be disqualified and, if so, for what period. The judgment of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the President or, as the case may be, the Governor to whom such opinion is tendered.
• The Commission has the power to prohibit a candidate who has failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time and in the manner set by law.
• The Commission has also the power to remove or reduce the period of such disqualification as also other disqualification under the law.

Administrative Powers :- 

• To decide the territorial areas of the electoral constituencies throughout the country on the basis of the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.
• To organize and periodically amend electoral rolls and to register all qualified voters.
• To inform the dates & schedules of election and to scrutinize the nomination papers.
• To grant recognition to political parties & allot election symbols to them.
• To act as a court for settling disputes related to granting of recognition to political parties and allotment of election symbol to them.

Role of Election Commission of India :-

Election commission plays a vital role in organizing elections .The most critical challenge before the Election Commission of India is to implement norms and the Model Code of Conduct to ensure free and fair elections in the country. Its existence and independence are necessitated by history, which has revealed that self-governing elections are not free from disruption. Towards this end, it has been empowered to supervise political parties and candidates and take appropriate action in case of violations.Key functions of the Election Commission of India are as under:

• The Election Commission of India is considered the guardian of free and reasonable elections.
• It issues the Model Code of Conduct in every election for political parties and candidates so that the decorum of democracy is maintained.
• It regulates political parties and registers them for being eligible to contest elections.
• It publishes the allowed limits of campaign expenditure per candidate to all the political parties, and also monitors the same.
• The political parties must submit their annual reports to the ECI for getting tax benefit on contributions.
• It guarantees that all the political parties regularly submit their audited financial reports.
• The Commission can repress the results of opinion polls if it deems such an action fit for the cause of democracy.
• The Commission can recommend for disqualification of members after the elections if it thinks they have violated certain guidelines.
• In case, a candidate is found guilty of dishonest practices during the elections, the Supreme Court and High Courts consult the Commission.
• The Commission can postpone candidates who fail to submit their election expense accounts timely.

Constitutional Provisions :- 

• Art. 324: broadly speaks of the functions of EC and its composition.
• Art. 325: there shall be one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for election to either Houses of Parliament and State legislature. It establishes equality among citizens by affirming that no person shall be ineligible for inclusion in the electoral roll on the grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.
• Art. 326: lays down adult suffrage as the basis of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States.
• Art. 327: confers on Parliament the power to make provisions with respect to elections to federal and State Legislatures
• Art. 328: confers on State Legislature the power to make laws with respect to elections to such legislature
• Art. 329: bars interference by courts in electoral matters. Notwithstanding anything said in the constitution i.e. validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies shall not be called in question in any court

No election to either House of Parliament or either House of the Legislature of a State shall be called in question except by an election petition. Any elector or candidate can file an election petition on grounds of malpractice during the election. In respect of elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures, they can only be filed before the High Court and in respect of elections for the offices of President and Vice President, such petitions can only be filed before the Supreme Court.

Electoral Reforms : - 

Model Code of Conduct :- EC first issued a Model Code of Conduct for political parties at the time of the fifth general elections, held in 1971. Since then, the Code has been revised from time to time and lays down guidelines as to how political parties and candidates should conduct themselves during elections.

A provision was made under the Code that from the time the elections are announced by the Commission, Ministers and other authorities cannot announce any financial grant, make promises of construction of roads, carry out any appointments in government and public undertakings which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the ruling party.

Despite the acceptance of the Code of Conduct by political parties, cases of its violation have been on the rise. It is a general complaint that the party in power at the time of elections misuses the official machinery to further the electoral prospects of its candidates.

The misuse of official machinery takes different forms, such as issue of advertisements at the cost of public exchequer, misuse of official mass media during election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding their achievements, misuse of government transport including aircraft/helicopter, vehicles.

Disclosure of Antecedents by Candidates :- In June 2002, the EC on the direction of the Supreme Court, issued an order under Article 324 that each candidate must submit an affidavit regarding the information of his/her criminal antecedents; assets (both movable and immovable) of self and those of spouses and dependents as well; and qualifications at the time of filing his/her nomination papers for election to the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.

But political parties believed that the EC and the judiciary were overstepping their powers. At the all-party meeting, held on July 8, 2002, representatives of 21 political parties decided that the EC’s order should not be allowed to be implemented. The Supreme Court again came out as a guardian of the citizen’s right to information.

The Supreme Court made it clear that failing to furnish the relevant affidavit shall be considered as a violation of the Supreme Court’s order and as such the nomination papers shall be liable to be rejected by the Returning Officer. Furnishing of wrong or incomplete information shall result in the rejection of nomination papers, apart from inviting penal consequences under the Indian Penal Code. The 2004 General Elections were conducted under these rules. The above order is an effective step to make democracy healthy and unpolluted. Citizens have every right to know about the persons whom they prefer as their representatives.

The EC has directed all Returning Officers to display the copies of nomination papers and affidavits filed by candidates to the general public and representatives of print and electronic media, free of cost.

Registration of Political Parties:-  The party system is an essential feature of parliamentary democracy. However, there is no direct reference to political parties in the Constitution of India. The statutory law relating to registration of political parties was enacted in 1989 which was quite liberal.

As a result, a large number of non-serious parties mushroomed and got registered with the Commission. Many of them did not contest elections at all after their registration. It led to confusion among electors as to whom to vote. To eliminate the mushrooming of parties, the EC had to take some rigorous steps:

The Commission now registers a party which has at least 100 registered electors as its members and is also charging a nominal processing fee of Rs 10,000 to cover the administrative expenses which it will have to incur on correspondence with the parties after their registration. In order to ensure that the registered political parties practice democracy in their internal functioning, the Commission requires them to hold their organizational elections regularly in accordance with their constitutions. The measures taken by the EC to streamline the registration of political parties have shown effective results.

Checking Criminalisation of Politics :- The EC has expressed its serious concern over the entry of anti-social and criminal persons into the electoral arena. It has set down norms and made recommendations to the government to curb the menace of criminalization of politics.

The Commission has urged all political parties to reach a consensus that no person with a criminal background will be given the party ticket. The candidates to an election are also obliged to submit an affidavit in a prescribed form declaring their criminal records, including convictions, charges pending and cases initiated against them. The information so furnished by the candidates is disseminated to the public, and to the print and electronic media.

Limits on Poll Expenses :-To get rid of the growing influence and vulgar show of money during elections, the EC has fixed legal limits on the amount of money which a candidate can spend during the election campaign. These limits are revised from time to time. The EC, by appointing expenditure observers keeps an eye on the individual accounts of election expenditure made by a candidate during election campaign. The contestants are also required to give details of expenditure within 30 days of the declaration of the election results.

Apart from this, the EC is also in favor of holding the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections simultaneously, and to reduce the campaign period from 21 to 14 days. This, they feel, will lead to trim down the election expenditure.