Page 17 - Election Commission

Cong did not flag abnormal voting in Maha polls: EC on Rahul's allegations

Election Commission sources on Tuesday rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations of abnormal voter turnout in the last two hours of the assembly polls in Maharashtra, asserting that the Congress did not flag any such abnormality during or after voting. On Monday, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged in Boston, US, that, in simple terms, more people voted in the Maharashtra assembly election than there were adults in the state. "The Election Commission gave us a voting figure for 5:30 pm, and between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm, 65 lakh voters voted. This is physically impossible. For a voter to vote, it takes approximately three minutes and, if you do the math, it would mean that there were lines of voters till 2 am but this did not happen," he had said. Rejecting the claims, the sources underlined that 6,40,87,588 (6.40 crore) electors who reached the polling stations from 7 am to 6 pm voted in the Maharashtra polls. About 58 lakh votes were polled per hour on an average, they

Election rules row: SC gives EC 3 weeks to reply to Jairam Ramesh plea

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted three more weeks to the Election Commission to respond to the pleas of Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and others against the recent amendments to the 1961 election rules. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had issued a notice to the Centre and the poll panel on January 15 on Ramesh's plea and sought a response. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, sought three more weeks to file the reply. The bench allowed Singh's prayer and set the July 21 week for hearing. Aside from Ramesh, two similar PILs filed by Shyam Lal Pal and activist Anjali Bhardwaj are pending. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi represented Ramesh. The petitioners have said the amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules were made "very cleverly" and barred any access to CCTV footage claiming it would reveal the identity of the voter. Singhvi previously said voting choices were never rev

SC to hear pleas on CEC, ECs' appointment under 2023 law on May 14

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed May 14 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan fixed the date after advocate Prashant Bhushan urged the bench to accord urgent hearing in the matter. Bhushan, appearing for a petitioner NGO challenging the appointment process, said the issue was covered by the Constitution bench verdict of 2023. Justice Kant told Bhushan that the court will take up the matter on May 14 by cancelling a special bench matter on the said date. Bhushan said though the matter is listed in the business of the day of the bench, they are urging the court to take it on top of the board. Justice Kant said the bench will be taking several part-heard matters involving land acquisition on Wednesday. On March 19, the top court had fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of

Election Commission 'dysfunctional', 'failed institution', says Kapil Sibal

Terming the Election Commission "dysfunctional" and a "failed" institution, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has claimed that a large section of the people do not have faith in the poll body as it has not discharged its functions in accordance with its constitutional responsibilities. In an interview with PTI, Sibal said the quicker the issue of lack of faith in the Election Commission is dealt with, the greater is the chance of saving democracy. "The Election Commission is a dysfunctional body. The Election Commission has not discharged its functions in accordance with its responsibilities which are expected of it under the Constitution," he said when asked about the Congress' and TMC's allegations about voters list irregularities. The Election Commission as it stands today is a "failed institution" and there is no confidence in the Election Commission among a large section of the people of this country, the Independent Rajya Sabha MP said. "Therefore, the quicker we deal with this issu

ECI holds all-party meetings to resolve booth-level polling issues

ECI said that this grassroots-level engagement has been welcomed by political parties, with their active and enthusiastic participation in meetings

Voter list updates to be strengthened with birth, death records: EC

Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission said on Thursday that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities. Technical consultations between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and experts of the EC will begin soon on voter list-Aadhaar linkage, it said, adding that though an elector can only vote in the assigned polling booth and nowhere else, the poll body has resolved to remove duplicates countrywide and end a decades-long issue within three months. "Regular updation of the voter list shall be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities," the EC said in a statement. In the EC's interactions with political parties, it was clarified that any inclusion or deletion in the draft elector list is governed by the process of appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections available t

EC, UIDAI experts to soon begin consultations on Aadhaar-voter card seeding

While voting rights can only be granted to a citizen of India, according to Article 326 of the Constitution, Aadhaar only establishes a person's identity

Willing to talk about putting online booth-wise voter data: EC tells SC

The PILs sought a direction to the poll panel to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections

Open to talk about putting online polling booth-wise voter data: EC to SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday noted the Election Commission of India's (ECI) submission that it was willing to deliberate over the demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website and asked the petitioners to make representations before the poll panel in 10 days. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan was hearing two PILs filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms in 2019, respectively. The PILs sought a direction to the poll panel to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar wanted to meet and discuss the grievance. "Here is a new chief election commissioner now. The petitioners can meet him and it may be addressed, he said. The CJI then said, "In the meanwhile, the .

EC to introduce new option in its software to detect 'ghost' voters

Amid the Trinamool Congress raising the issue of 'fake voters', the Election Commission has decided to introduce a new option in its software for the detection of 'ghost' electors, an official said. The new option would help the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) find out if multiple names are attached to a particular EPIC number, he said. "The chief electoral officers in all states have been informed about this decision," he said. On Monday, a letter was sent to the chief electoral officers of the states informing them about a new module for correcting 'duplicate EPIC numbers', the official said. West Bengal's Acting Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Das had on Monday held a virtual meeting with senior officials in the districts and briefed them about the decision, he said. Corrections on the voter list of West Bengal have been ordered to be completed by March 21, he added.

TMC, BJP, BJD delegations meet EC over 'irregularities' in electoral rolls

Amid allegations of fudging of electoral rolls, the Election Commission on Tuesday invited political parties for an interaction to strengthen the electoral process

Matter related to duplicate voter card numbers a 'legacy issue': EC sources

The poll body had recently clarified that irrespective of the EPIC number, an elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station

EC to use digital platforms to enhance capacity building of stakeholders

The Election Commission on Wednesday said it will use digital mediums, including audio books, to enhance capacity building of its functionaries and various stakeholders at all levels. At the end of a two-day conference of its poll officials from all states here, the EC said the outcome of the brainstorming will take the shape of key deliverables such as animated videos, audio book, e-book and an integrated dashboard for each of the identified 28 stakeholders involved in the poll process right from enrollment of voters to actual voting. Adopting a modern approach to capacity building, a capsule of animated videos will be produced for each stakeholder, comprehensively covering all aspects of elections related to them. These animated videos will be a handy way for each stakeholder for self-paced continuous learning, it said. It was decided that a unified IT architecture with a customised dashboard would be devised to facilitate different stakeholders. The single window platform would

EC's clarification on duplicate voter ID numbers a cover-up: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday dismissed the Election Commission's clarifications on duplicate voter ID numbers as a "cover-up" and cited the poll panel's own guidelines to assert that two cards cannot have the same number. The TMC on Monday alleged a "scam" in issuing duplicate voter ID card numbers and gave the poll panel a 24-hour deadline to "accept its mistake". On Tuesday, party Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale shared on X excerpts from the 'Handbook For Electoral Registration Officers' to counter the poll panel's clarifications on the issue, which was first raised by party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "Yesterday, All India Trinamool Congress had given Election Commission of India 24 hours to admit and accept their blunder on the duplicate voter ID fraud issue. Clearly, the ECI, which has been exposed, wants to brazen it out," Gokhale said. "The 'clarification' given by ECI (on Sunday) in response to CM Mamata Banerjee is actually a cover-up. They have

ECI clarifies same Electors Photo ID number does not indicate fake voters

The ECI's clarification comes after concerns were raised on social media and in media reports about electors in different states having identical EPIC numbers

Duplication of voter card numbers does not indicate fake voters: EC

Amid reports flagging issuance of identical voter card numbers to electors in two different states, the Election Commission on Sunday said duplicate numbers do not necessarily imply fake voters. It also said that while elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers of some of the voters "may be identical", the other details including demographic details, assembly constituency and polling booth are different. "Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective constituency in their state or union territory where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else," the poll panel said. It explained that identical EPIC numbers or series were allotted to some electors from different states and union territories due to a "decentralised and manual mechanism" being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all states to the ERONET platform. This resulted in certain state chief electoral officers us

TMC accuses EC, BJP of conspiring to include outsiders names in voter list

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday accused a section of Election Commission (EC) officials of conspiring with the BJP to add names of outsiders to the voter list in various assembly segments of West Bengal to benefit the saffron party. TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh told reporters that a section of EC officials are incorporating names without proper physical verification, particularly in the border areas of the state. He said stopping infiltration is the responsibility of the Border Security Force (BSF), and any reports of unauthorised outsiders being added to the voter list should be handled by the Centre, as it controls the BSF and "remote controls" the EC, which has apparently relaxed the verification process. Ghosh, who was referring to reports about alleged rise in the number of electors in the voter list in Champahati area under Baruipur assembly of South 24 Parganas district, said, "If that is the situation, the credit goes to the local administration and police for

New CEC Gyanesh Kumar to oversee 22 state polls before 2029 retirement

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) said it would take up the pleas against the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 19 as a "priority"

Jharkhand lone outlier as youth voter share declines, shows ECI data

Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh witnessed some of the sharpest declines of young electors

SC to hear pleas challenging new law for CEC, EC appointments on Feb 19

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed February 19 to hear pleas against the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law saying if anything happens in the interregnum, the consequences are bound to follow. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was told by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO, that earlier the pleas were scheduled to be heard on Wednesday but now they have been listed for hearing on February 19. Bhushan said the urgency in the matter is that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is scheduled to superannuate on February 18 and the government may appoint the new CEC under the 2023 law, which is under challenge. The bench said, "We are fixing the matter for hearing on February 19. If anything happens in the interregnum, then the consequences are bound to follow." Bhushan, appearing for NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms', said the apex court registry has informed them that as Justice Kant wa