EC embarks on electoral reforms

Taking the process of electoral reforms forward, the election commission has devised a multi-pronged strategy to check growing influence of money power as well as paid news and also cut rising expenditures in the coming assembly polls in five states.

After holding talks with top government officials and leaders of various political parties in the run up to the elections, chief election commissioner S Y Qureshi here said “the commission has also convened an all-party meeting at New Delhi shortly to discuss the election reforms and take remedial measures. We are getting positive reforms from the central government and we hope to move forward,” Qureshi emphasised.

He said the commission has taken a series of steps for the better conduct of the elections which include banning the counters of political parties outside election booths and disallowing all the alternative documents except voter identity cards and voter slips during polling. Uttarakhand will become the first state where the voter slips will be issued by the election commission itself, he said.

All the states where Assembly elections will be held will now have a tough monitoring system to check money power where candidates will have to open a separate bank account for the purpose of election spending, Qureshi added. All the candidates will have to show the details of such accounts to the returning officers thrice during the election period, he said. The limit of the election spending has now been raised to Rs 11 lakh from Rs 8 lakh and all this money will be operated through the separate bank account, Qureshi said.

With the help of intelligence gathering, he said flying squads had been set up for conducting surprise raids in various suspected areas like airports, railway stations, bus stands, hotels and farm-houses where money usually flows for the purpose of elections.

Besides, the election commission has also roped in the Income Tax department to monitor expenses during elections by creating a separate wing during elections.

On the Team Anna, Qureshi made it clear that the commission has rejected the suggestions like right to recall and right to reject and instead it has favoured “non of the above” button on the EVMs. On the paid news menace during elections, he said the commission would soon take several new steps in this regard. and decided to set up a watchdog with the help of media persons.