Page 47 - Election Commission

Bill proposes cabinet minister, not CJI in selection panel to appoint CEC

Future chief election commissioners and election commissioners will be selected by a three-member panel headed by the prime minister and comprising the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet minister, according to a bill listed for introduction in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. This is in contrast to a Supreme Court judgment of March which said the panel should comprise of the prime minister, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. Opposition leaders, including from the Congress, immediately seized the opportunity and accused the government of diluting a Constitution bench order. A vacancy will arise in the Election Commission (EC) early next year when Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey demits office on February 14 on attaining the age of 65 years. His retirement will come just days before the likely announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls' schedule by the EC. On the past two occasions, the commission had announced parliamentary

Hackers may have access to information on millions of British voters: EC

Hackers may have information on tens of millions of British voters after they got access to electoral registers, the UK's election watchdog said on Tuesday nearly a year after the breach was discovered. The Electoral Commission apologized for the breach but said much of the information was already in the public domain and that the names and addresses of people who registered to vote between 2014 and 2022 was unlikely to be used by hostile actors to sway election results. The UK's democratic process is significantly dispersed and key aspects of it remain based on paper documentation and counting," said Shaun McNally, the commission's chief executive. This means it would be very hard to use a cyber-attack to influence the process." The commission reported the breach to the Information Commissioner's Office within three days of discovering it last October. The Guardian quoted the commission as saying that it did not report the attack immediately to the public because it needed to bre

Bypolls to seven assembly seats on September 5: Election Commission

Bypolls to seven assembly seats including the one vacated following the death of Congress veteran Oommen Chandy will be held on September 5, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. Counting of votes will take place on September 8. The bypolls will be held for two seats in Tripura, and one seat each in Kerala, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The by-election to the Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA Jagarnath Mahto. Boxanagar and Dhanpur seats in Tripura will go for bypoll due to the demise of sitting MLA Samsul Haque and resignation of Pratima Bhoumik, the EC said. Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal was vacated following the death of sitting assembly member Bishnu Pada Ray, while the Ghosi seat in Uttar Pradesh fell vacant after SP's Dara Singh Chauhan resigned to join the BJP. The Bageshwar seat in Uttarakhand fell vacant after the demise of sitting MLA Chandan Ram Das. Chandy was the MLA from the Puthup

Election Commission begins preparation for Mizoram Assembly elections 2023

The state is currently governed by the Mizo National Front, with Zoramthanga as the chief minister. In 2018, MNF won 26 in the 40-seat Assembly

Election of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Kargil on Sept 10

The election to 26 seats of the 30-member Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, is scheduled for September 10 and counting of votes will be held four days later, a senior official said on Saturday. While polls are held for 26 seats of the council, four members with voting rights are nominated by the administration. Deputy Commissioner Shrikant Suse said EMVs will be used for the voting, assuring people of free and fair polls to constitute the fifth Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil. The official said filing of nominations will start on August 16 and will go on till August 23. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on August 24 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is August 26, he said. The National Conference and the Congress have already announced an alliance for polls. "Two notifications were issued by the election department, Ladakh, to constitute the fifth LAHDC, Kargil. With the issuance of the notification, the model code o

SC seeks EC reply in 3 weeks on NGO's plea for cross verification of EVMs

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Election Commission of India to a plea by an NGO seeking cross verification by the voters of votes cast by them as "counted as recorded" in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi said it is not issuing notice to the Election Commission but only asking for a copy of the petition filed by NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms' (ADR) to be served upon the standing counsel of the poll panel. The bench asked the EC to file its reply within three weeks. "We think that it appears to be a case of over suspicion. We sometimes tend to be overly suspicious on certain matters. We are sure that they (EC) might have taken steps to rectify any such problems, if they existed. Therefore, we are not issuing notice and only asking for the copy to be served," the bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the NGO. Bhushan said he too

SC to hear Uddhav's plea against EC order on party name, symbol on Jul 31

The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear on July 31 Uddhav Thackeray's plea against the Election Commission's order allotting the name 'Shiv Sena' and the undivided party's bow and arrow election symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said the matter was listed for hearing after advocate Amit Anand Tiwari sought its urgent listing. "It is listed on July 31, we will hear it on that day," the bench said and allowed Tiwari to file a rejoinder to the reply submitted by the Shinde faction. The top court had on February 22 sought the response of the Shinde faction and the Election Commission on Thackeray's plea. In his application, Thackeray said the matter required urgent hearing as the impugned order is completely illegal in view of the recent Constitution bench judgment of the top court pronounced on May 11. The apex court, in a unanimous judgment, had held the then Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari's direction to Thackera

CBIC issues SoP to check use of freebies to lure voters during elections

The CBIC has come out with detailed instructions for tax officers to implement the directions of the Election Commission with regard to the use of freebies, illicit cash, liquor and drugs to lure voters, and asked them to share information with other enforcement agencies. The GST and Customs officials will also be required to monitor the distribution of coupon-based or free fuel or cash for alluring prospective voters under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP). The officials would also monitor fuel consumption by candidates and parties and keep a tab on expenditure on food, hotels, parties, tent house etc. The GST officers would keep an extensive check on restaurant/eateries, marriage hall/ farm houses/ slaughter house/ meat house in the poll-bound area, said a detailed SoP issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The GST and Customs officials would also set up "flying squads and static surveillance teams" for the effective conduct of road and transit

Election Commission doesn't have powers to change party's name: Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said the Election Commission (EC) can allot an electoral symbol to a party, but it does not have powers to change the name of a party. Speaking to reporters in Amaravati district during a tour of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, the former state chief minister also said the name 'Shiv Sena' was given by his grandfather (Keshav Thackeray) and he will not let anyone "steal" it. In February this year, the Election Commission allotted the name Shiv Sena' and its poll symbol bow and arrow' to the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The EC allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to retain the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the flaming torch' poll symbol, given to it in an interim order last year. After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, Uddhav Thackeray broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the help of the NCP and Congress. In June last year, Shinde

Bengal SEC orders repolling on July 10 in booths where voting declared void

The West Bengal State Election Commission announced that repolling will be held on Monday in all booths where voting for the rural elections has been declared void. The SEC, which held a meeting on Sunday evening, went through reports of vote-tampering and violence which affected polling in many places, and passed the order, an official said. Among districts where repolling was announced, Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 112. Violence-hit Nadia will see repolling in 89 booths, while North and South 24 Parganas districts will witness repolling in 46 and 36 booths respectively.

BJP holds protest outside SEC office against Bengal rural poll violence

BJP supporters on Sunday staged a demonstration in front of the office of West Bengal State Election Commission here, protesting against the panchayat poll violence that left 15 people dead. Security was beefed up around the SEC office in the city as BJP workers shouted slogans against the alleged "inability" of the commission to conduct the elections peacefully. A delegation of the BJP's state unit went inside the office to meet State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, a party leader said. A total of 73,887 seats in the state's three-tier panchayat system went to the polls on Saturday, with 2.06 lakh candidates in the fray. A voter turnout of 66.28 per cent was recorded provisionally, officials said. The toll in the violence during the rural polls rose to 15 after a person was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries, they said. The BJP, which blamed the state election commissioner for the poll-related deaths, shot off a letter to Union Home ..

Ajit Pawar elected NCP president on June 30: Group to Election Commission

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP has informed the Election Commission that he has been elected national president of the party. A statement issued on Wednesday on behalf of the Ajit Pawar-led faction said the Election Commission has been informed through an affidavit that he was elected NCP chief through a resolution dated June 30, 2023 signed by an "overwhelming majority" of members of NCP, both from the legislative and organisational wing. Praful Patel continues to be NCP working president, the release said. The NCP has also decided to appoint Ajit Pawar as the leader of NCP Legislative Party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and this decision was also ratified by the resolution passed by an overwhelming majority of NCP MLAs, the statement said. An attempt is being made by certain elements within the NCP to spread a sense of fear and confusion amongst the elected representatives of the NCP and also the party cadre working in different organisational ...

NCP factional war reaches EC, Ajit Pawar files over 40 affidavits

The factional fight of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission with the group led by Ajit Pawar filing over 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in his support. The Sharad Pawar camp has filed a caveat with the poll authority urging it to hear them first before passing any directive in connection with the factional fight, Election Commission sources said. The Election Commission is likely to process applications in the coming days and ask both the sides to exchange the respective documents submitted before it. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, witnessed a split on Sunday with Ajit Pawar, claiming support of over 40 MLAs and joining the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra. Nine NCP MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, were sworn-in as ministers in the Maharashtra government at a surprise cabinet expansion on Sunday. Ajit Pawar, with senior party leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil by his side, asserted to b

485 more companies of central force sanctioned for WB rural polls: SEC

The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday informed the Calcutta High Court that the Union Home Ministry has sanctioned the balance 485 companies of central force for the panchayat elections, taking the total to 822 companies. The SEC counsel submitted that 4,834 booths for the rural polls have been identified as sensitive, which is 7.8 per cent of the total 61,636 booths. The commission informed a division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam that it received intimation on Monday that the ministry has sanctioned 485 companies, in addition to the 337 approved earlier. The 822 companies of central force are higher than what was deployed during the 2013 panchayat elections, which was considered as the benchmark by the court for deciding their requisition for the July 8 polls. The high court had on June 21 directed the SEC to requisition more than 82,000 central forces' personnel for deployment in panchayat elections. During the hearing of contempt petitions agains

EC launches portal for parties to file financial statements, contributions

The Election Commission on Monday came up with an online portal to allow registered political parties file their financial statements, including contribution reports and poll expenditure accounts, a move seen as an effort to bring in more transparency in disclosures made by political entities. The move is part of the poll panel's "3C strategy" comprising clean up, crackdown and compliance to strengthen transparency and accountability in the political funding and expenditure on which it had been working for a year now under Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, sources said. Political parties not intending to file the financial report through online mode will have to convey the reasons for not doing so in writing and may continue to file reports in hard copy format along with CDs or pen drive in the prescribed formats. "The Commission will, in turn, publish all such reports online, along with a letter of justification sent by the party for not filing financial statements online,"

Suitable action to be taken on Ajit Pawar's disqualification plea: Speaker

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday said he will take appropriate action on the NCP's plea seeking disqualification of Ajit Pawar and other eight party MLAs, who have taken oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government. State NCP president Jayant Patil on Sunday said his party has moved the disqualification petition against Ajit Pawar and eight others. He said an e-mail has also been sent to the Election Commission of India informing that the rank and file of the NCP is with party chief Sharad Pawar. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Narwekar said, I have received the petition filed by Jayant Patil seeking disqualification of the nine NCP MLAs. I will read it carefully. I will study the points mentioned and take appropriate action on the petition. Asked how many NCP MLAs have supported Ajit Pawar, Narvekar said, I have no information about it. The Speaker also said it is his prerogative to decide on the appointment of a new opposition leader in the ...

Poll preparedness: Deputy election commissioner team to visit MP next week

A team of deputy election commissioners will visit Madhya Pradesh next week to take stock of the preparedness for the assembly polls slated for October-November, sources said on Friday. They said the team is likely to be in Bhopal for two days beginning Monday. Election Commission officials had earlier visited four other states going to polls later this year -- Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan -- to review the preparations. Polls in the five states are likely to be held together in October-November this year. While the term of the Mizoram legislative assembly ends in December this year, the terms of the legislative assemblies of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh end on different dates in January 2024. Before the "full Commission" comprising the chief election commissioner and election commissioners visit a poll-bound state to interact with stakeholders, including representatives of political parties, deputy ECs tour the state to take stock of the

EC discusses Telangana Assembly poll preparations, assures logistic support

An Election Commission (EC) team held meeting with Telangana Chief Secretary here on Saturday as part of the preparations for the Legislative Assembly polls to be held later this year. Telangana Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari met with the EC officials and assured them of all logistical support required to conduct the elections smoothly, a release from the office of state Chief Electoral Officer said today. The three-day visit of the senior EC officials, led by Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Kumar Vyas, senior Deputy Election Commissioners (DECs) concluded today. During the visit, the EC team met with state bureaucrats, senior officials of enforcement agencies, including Income Tax (CBDT), excise department, State GST, CGST, Enforcement Directorate, State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), DRI, CISF, and the state Commercial Tax department with a view to curtail use of money power in the elections, the release said. Further, the EC team convened a crucial meeting with district Collector

MHA offers to deploy 337 companies of central forces for WB panchayat polls

The State Election Commission (SEC) made a requisition for 822 companies for the upcoming WB panchayat polls to be held on July 8

Calcutta HC directs EC to deploy more Central forces than in 2013

The court observed that there are more districts now compared to 2013, and it is going to be a single-phased election while in 2013 there were five phases of elections