Page 2 - Elections

SC refuses plea for SIT probe into voter list manipulation in Bengaluru

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking an SIT probe headed by a former judge to inquire into allegations of electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner to pursue his plea with the Election Commission of India. The bench ordered, "We have heard the petitioner's counsel and we are not inclined to entertain the petition, which is purportedly filed in public interest. The petitioner may pursue his plea before the ECI, if so advised." Counsel for the petitioner, Rohit Pandey, who is a practising advocate, said that they have already filed the representation with the poll panel but it has not been accepted. The petitioner sought some time limit to be fixed for the poll panel to decide the plea, which the bench refused. The plea refers to a press conference held by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in which he made explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in polls

Bihar polls: NDA announces seat sharing, BJP and JD(U) get 101 each

In the last elections, the JD(U) had the lion's share of 115 seats, followed by the BJP at 110 and Manjhi's HAM at seven

Telangana HC upholds 50% OBC quota cap in local body polls, cites SC rules

The Telangana High Court has affirmed that the 50 per cent reservation ceiling set by the Supreme Court applies to local body polls, and any quota increase for OBCs should be within the framework of the "triple test". The Supreme Court's triple test is a framework for providing reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local body elections, requiring states to form a commission to collect data, specify the reservation proportion based on the commission's findings, and ensure the total reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs does not exceed 50 per cent of the total seats. A detailed order copy was uploaded on the Telangana High Court website on Friday night. While issuing an interim stay against a Government Order providing 42 per cent BC reservation in local body polls on October 8, the High Court said the State Election Commission would notify the proportionate seats as open category seats and proceed with the elections. "We are, therefore, of the prima facie view that the ...

ECI allows 12 alternative IDs for voting, special measure for veiled women

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said Aanganwadi workers will assist in verifying the identity of 'burqa-clad' or voters in 'ghunghat' at all Bihar polling booths

New initiatives for Bihar Assembly polls to be replicated nationwide: CEC

Claiming that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) "purified" Bihar's voters' list after 22 years, CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said many new initiatives were being undertaken for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, and these would be replicated across the country in due course. Addressing a press conference in Patna before winding up his tour of the state, Kumar said these initiatives include a new SOP (standard operating procedure) to ensure that EPIC cards are delivered to voters within 15 days of registration and a mobile deposit facility at polling booths. He said the elections to the 243-member assembly will be completed before the expiry of its term on November 22. "We have an ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) in each of the 243 constituencies. They were assisted by 90,207 BLOs in completing the SIR exercise, which has purified the voters' list after 22 years," he said. The last time an intensive revision of electoral rolls had taken place in the state was in ...

Takaichi and Koizumi advance to run-off to choose Japan's next PM

Takaichi won the most number of votes with 183 out of the total 589 valid votes, while Koizumi came in second place with 164 votes in a field of five candidates

Bihar electoral roll adds 1.787 million voters after SIR exercise

The Election Commission's special intensive revision in Bihar ended with 1.787 million new voters added, taking the final roll to 74.2 million ahead of Assembly polls

Moldova's pro-EU party wins pivotal election in setback for Russia

"This is not just a party's victory" it is Moldova's victory. The European path is our way forward," Sandu said on X

Japan's ruling party opens leadership race to choose Ishiba's successor

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's ruling party opened official campaigning Monday to find his replacement who can restore political stability and voter support for the beleaguered Liberal Democrats. Five candidates are vying for the Liberal Democratic Party's top job ahead of a highly unpredictable vote in early October. The race has a slogan: Change, LDP. The winner must act quickly to address rising prices if the party is to have any chance of winning back support following devastating losses to both the LDP and its junior partner Komeito in the past year that deprived their coalition of a majority in either house of parliament. Its new leader is still likely to be prime minister because the LDP remains the No. 1 party, while opposition groups are too splintered to form a coalition. Whoever becomes the LDP leader must also gain cooperation from main opposition parties or risk facing constant no-confidence motions and a cycle of short-lived leadership. Vote for L

EC asks state poll officers to get ready for SIR rollout by Sept 30

The Election Commission has asked its state election officers to be ready for the SIR by September 30, in an indication that the poll authority could launch the voter list cleanup exercise as early as October-November. According to officials, at a conference of state chief electoral officers (CEOs) here earlier this month, the EC top brass asked them to be ready for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rollout in the next 10 to 15 days. But for the sake of greater clarity, the deadline of September 30 was set. The CEOs have been told to keep voter lists of their states, published after the last SIR, ready. Several state CEOs have already put up the voter lists published after their last SIR on their websites. The website of the Delhi CEO has the voter list from 2008, when the last intensive revision took place in the national capital. In Uttarakhand, the last SIR took place in 2006 and the electoral roll from that year is now on the state CEO's website. The last SIR in states wil

Explained: What is the process of voter deletion in India and how it works

Rahul Gandhi alleged that elections are being rigged through software-driven fraud. Here's a look at India's voter deletion rules and safeguards to prevent arbitrary removal of names from the rolls

Nepal dissolves Parl, sets elections for March 2026 under interim PM Karki

Announcing the decision, the President's Office said the dissolution was approved in the first cabinet meeting convened by Karki at 11 pm, marking the start of a six-month transitional government

EC top brass reviews pan-India SIR preparedness with state poll machinery

A crucial meeting of the Election Commission with its state officials is underway to discuss preparations for a pan-India roll out of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While senior EC officials are expected to make a presentation on the SIR policy of the Commission, the chief electoral officer of Bihar would share the state's experience in implementing SIR. This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said. The Commission has said that after Bihar, SIR will be carried out in the entire country. There are indications that the exercise would commence later this year ahead of assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2026. The primary aim of the intensive revision is to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of ..

Argentina's President Milei faces setback in Buenos Aires provincial polls

The party of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei suffered a sweeping setback Sunday in Buenos Aires provincial elections that are viewed as a barometer for how the party will perform in congressional midterms and a key test for the embattled president. Milei's recently formed libertarian party lagged with nearly 34 per cent of the vote, with the majority of votes counted. Peronism, the ideologically flexible populist movement that has held sway in Argentina for decades, lead polls with nearly 47 per cent of the vote. The results were a significant blow to Milei, who has made radical changes in Argentina perpetually crisis-stricken economy. While the peso has stabilised from previously soaring inflation, harsh scarcity measures have been felt by much of the South American nation's working class. Eyes were on the local election because the province is polarised between the political currents and seen as an indication of how the balance is tipping before congressional ...

Japan's PM Shigeru Ishiba resigns following party's election loss

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Sunday he will step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July's parliamentary election. Ishiba, who took office in October, had resisted demands from mostly right-wing opponents within his own party for more than a month. The resignation comes one day before his Liberal Democratic Party will decide whether to hold an early leadership election a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved. Ishiba said he would start a process to hold a party leadership vote to choose his replacement and that there was no need for Monday's decision.

Serbia police clash with thousands of protesters demanding free elections

Baton-wielding riot police in a northern Serbia town on Friday fired tear gas and charged at thousands of peaceful protesters who were demanding free elections and justice after months of demonstrations against the autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vucic. The protest led by university students came more than 10 months after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the town of Novi Sad, killing 16 people. The disaster ignited a wave of public outrage over alleged state corruption and negligence, which demonstrators cite as causes of the collapse. There were no immediate reports of injuries in Friday's chaos triggered by the police action. Ambulances could be seen driving through Novi Sad's streets. Vucic, who has said he wants to take Serbia to the European Union, has branded the protesters as terrorists who want to unseat him with the help of the West. He attended a gathering earlier this week in China that included Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders o

Thailand elects Anutin Charnvirakul as PM amid easing political turmoil

The former construction magnate secured the top spot only with the support of the pro-democracy People's Party, which demanded he commit to hold elections within months

Bihar SIR: After SC directive, EC allows excluded voters to submit Aadhaar

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday said people who have been left out of Bihar's draft voter list can submit a copy of their Aadhaar to include their name in the electoral roll, after the Supreme Court directed the poll authority to accept the card as proof of identity. In a statement, the EC said according to rules, the claims and objections are to be disposed of by the concerned electoral registration officer not before the expiry of seven days after the verification of eligibility documents. It also underlined that according to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders, no name can be deleted from the draft list published on August 1 without passing a speaking order by the electoral registration officer (ERO) after conducting an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity. The list of 65 lakh people excluded from the draft list is available on the websites of the district magistrates of Bihar. "Aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their

AI, deepfakes real challenges before election commission: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose a real challenge for the poll panel, which will try its best to tackle them within the framework of law. He also indicated that machine-readable electoral rolls could result in breach of voters' privacy. Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are indeed real challenges for us. Just yesterday, an X handle had shared an AI-generated video that was far from truth." "The Election Commission will try its best to tackle such challenges, but it can only operate within the framework of the law," the chief election commissioner said. On the opposition demand for machine-readable electoral rolls, Kumar said the Supreme Court has already given a judgment in this regard in 2019. "The Supreme Court has already said in 2019 that it can result in a breach of voters' privacy," he said. Kumar added that a few days ago, photos of several voters we

Rajiv Pratap Rudy wins BJP clash: What is Constitution Club, why it matters

Rajiv Pratap Rudy beat BJP rival Sanjeev Balyan in the Constitution Club polls; here is what the club is, why it matters and how this polls turned into a BJP vs BJP fight