Page 3 - Electoral Reforms

LS polls: Kerala enrols over 300,000 young voters to electoral roll

As many as 3,11,805 new voters have registered since the release of the draft Electoral Roll on October 23, 2023

Electoral bonds data: Cong flags discrepancy in entries, recipient files

Soon after the Election Commission released electoral bonds data, the Congress on Thursday said there was a discrepancy in the numbers of entries in donor and recipient files -- 18,871 against 20,421. It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017. Amitabh Dubey, in charge of research and monitoring in the Congress' communication department, said the electoral bond scheme began in 2017, but the data presented began in April 2019. "The donors file has 18,871 entries, the recipients file has 20,421 entries. Why the discrepancy @TheOfficialSBI?" he said on X. Tagging Dubey's post, Congress MP and AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Manickam Tagore said, "Ah, yes, the electoral bond scheme, where transparency meets selective amnesia. Donors file: 18,871 entries. Recipients file: 20,421 entries. Coincidence? I think not." "@TheOfficialSBI, you've truly mastered the art of hiding in plain

SC strikes down electoral bond scheme as 'unconstitutional', against rights

Orders EC to disclose donors, amount & recipients by March 13

SC verdict on electoral bond: Everything you need to know about it

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. But what exactly are electoral bonds? An electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties as has been first pronounced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2017-18. According to the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, an electoral bond is a bond issued in the nature of a promissory note, which shall be bearer in character. A bearer instrument is one which does not carry the name of the buyer or payee, no ownership information is recorded and the holder of the instrument (i.e. political party) is presumed to be its owner, explains Association for Democratic Reforms. The scheme allows individuals -- who are citizens of India -- and domestic companies to donate these bonds issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 la

Electoral bonds: CPI(M) hails SC verdict, calls for reforms in funding

Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment striking down electoral bonds, the CPI(M) on Thursday said it was an "unscrupulous scheme designed to help the ruling party" and it was now essential to introduce reforms for political and electoral funding. In a widely anticipated judgement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) hails the historic judgment of the Supreme Court, which has struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional. By this verdict, this unscrupulous scheme designed to finance the ruling party by anonymous corporate donors has been completely scrapped," the CPI(M) said in a statement. The party had declared at the outset itself that it will not accept electoral bonds as this scheme legalizes corruption, the statement read, adding that the CPI(M) ha

Significant for transparency: AAP lauds SC's electoral bonds scheme ruling

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, saying it is an important step in ensuring transparency in election funding. In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. The apex court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme. "We welcome this decision. This is an important step in the transparency of election funding. Otherwise through electoral bonds, it was not known which person was giving funds to which party. It is important for country's democracy that it is known which person is giving how much money to which political party," Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi told reporters outside the Assembly. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chi

SC's electoral bond ruling will reinforce power of votes over notes: Cong

The Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bond scheme, and said it will reinforce the power of votes over notes. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes, he said. The Modi Sarkar has been inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas while privileging the Chandadatas, Ramesh said. We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy? he said. The Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, saying it violates the right to information

Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is 'terrible anyay' on Indian voter: Congress

Calling for greater accountability in using technology in conduct of polls, the Congress Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's "reluctance" to engage with INDIA parties over their demand that the number of VVPATs prescribed be steadily increased towards 100 per cent. The opposition party also said that not allowing for 100 per cent VVPATs is a "terrible injustice" on the Indian voter. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties have been requesting for an appointment to meet the Election Commission since June 2023 on the issue of the greater use of VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in the election process. "Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is a terrible ANYAY on the Indian voter," he said. On April 8, 2019, the Supreme Court had requested the EC to increase the number of election booths that undergo VVPAT slip matching, he noted. "The case is N. Chandrababu Naidu vs Union of India

Independent institutions being vitiated under electoral autocracy: Tharoor

While responding to a question on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor said that the public must not vote solely based on the construction of a temple but should focus on other development factor

PM asks youth to reduce dynastic influence, take part in electoral process

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described India's present-day youth as the most fortunate generation of the 21st century, poised to take the country to greater heights during Amrit Kaal, and urged them to participate in the electoral process to "reduce" the influence of dynastic politics. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 27th National Youth Festival here, Modi said dynastic politics has caused immense harm to the country and urged the youth to get themselves enrolled as voters as soon as possible. India is the mother of democracy. If youth express their political views by casting their votes, the future of the country will be good," he said. First-time voters can bring new energy and power to India's democracy, he said. Invoking Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda, he said the youth have the calibre to create history in Amrit Kaal because of their commitment and intellect. The National Youth Festival is organised every year from January 12 to 16. Swami ...

Mamata junks 'One Nation, One Election', stresses on federal nation

"If there is election at one time, it is beneficial for us because we have to work only once. But if a state does not get a majority government, what will be its outcome?" Mamata said

Number of voters in Sikkim rises 1% to 462K; 3,856 PWDs in electoral rolls

Sikkim recorded a nearly 1 per cent increase in its total voters this year, according to the latest electoral rolls. According to the Final Electoral Roll dated January 1, the total number of voters in Sikkim rose by 4,050 or 0.88 per cent to 4,62,456. Of them, 2,32,117 were men, 2,30,334 were women and five transgenders. During the revision of rolls, 13,716 names were added, and 9,666 names were deleted for various reasons, primarily deaths. Also, 3,856 persons with disabilities were marked in the electoral rolls. The total number of service voters in the state was 1,992.

Digvijaya questions ECI's transparency, calls for release of source code

"Why is ECI stonewalling opposition meeting with them? How do we trust ECI who refuses to meet Principal Opposition Parties?" Singh said in a post on X

The XX factor: Women now make or mar a party's electoral fortunes

The trailblazer's crown sits firmly on the head of J Jayalalithaa, widely recognised in Tamil Nadu as the mother of welfare schemes

Sale of 29th tranche of electoral bonds begins amidst polls in 5 states

The sale of the 29th tranche of electoral bonds started on Monday amidst assembly elections in five states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. This round of electoral bonds comes in a short interval of about a month after the 28th phase, which opened for sale on October 4. The government approved issuance of the latest round of electoral bonds, days after the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties. On October 31, a five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra commenced hearing arguments on the four petitions, including those filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). After the detailed hearing on the matter, the apex court reserved the judgement on November 2. Two days aft

Revision process of electoral rolls in Jharkhand from Oct 27: Official

The process of revision of electoral rolls in Jharkhand for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will commence from October 27, state chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar said on Thursday. A special drive to include members of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), sex workers and homeless in the electoral rolls will be launched from November 28. Kumar said as part of the special drive from November 28 to December 3, names of transgenders, PVTGs, sex workers, voters aged over 80 years, specially abled persons, homeless people and those living in shelter homes will be included in the list. The total number of polling booths in the state now stands at 29,521, up from 29,464 earlier, he said. Apart from 1.28 crore male and 1.22 crore female voters, there are 378 third gender voters, the official said. An advance form that can be filled by 6.59 lakh students, who are completing 18 years of age on January 1, 2024, to get included in the electoral rolls has been made available,

CEC Rajiv Kumar signs MoU with Seychelles to expand 'cooperation'

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Electoral Commission Chairperson of Seychelles Danny Lucas on 'Electoral Cooperation' in the capital of Seychelles. The MoU was signed to boost the exchange of best practices in election management and training officials. Taking to their social media 'X', the Election Commission of India stated, "#ECI Expands Electoral Collaboration. CEC @rajivkumarec & Mr. Danny Lucas, Chairperson, Electoral Commission #Seychelles sign MoU on 'Electoral Cooperation' at Victoria, Seychelles. MoU to strengthen the exchange of best practices in election mgt. & training of officials." Indo-Seychelles relations have been characterised by close friendship, understanding and cooperation. To facilitate cooperation further a number of bilateral agreements/MOUs have already been signed during the last few decades. Earlier this year, Rajiv Kumar held productive discussions with the Chief Election ...

Chhattisgarh's rare feat and the importance of the 'woman vote bank'

This year, the Prime Minister announced specific schemes for women' self-help groups in his Independence Day speech

Comprehensive consultations with stakeholders must for reforms: Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said comprehensive consultations with stakeholders, including political parties, are essential for implementing electoral reforms. Referring to various proposals on electoral reforms moved by the Election Commission, he said consultations and discussions are a "symbol" of a vibrant democracy. He said the changes made in election laws a year ago have resulted in addition of over 1.5 crore new voters in the electoral list. Four cut-off dates instead of the one earlier has helped young eligible citizens to register as voters once they turn 18, he said. The minister also lauded the move to allow those above 17 years of age to register with the EC in advance. Once they turn 18, their names are added in the voters' list. Addressing the 13th National Voters' Day event here in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, companion Election Commissioners and representatives of various political parties, Rijiju ...

Over 2,000 Bru community voters removed from Mizoram's electoral roll

The names of more than 2,000 Bru voters have been deleted from the electoral roll of Mizoram following their enrolment in neighbouring Tripura's voter list, an election official said. Mizoram Joint Chief Electoral Officer David Liansanglura Pachuau said the state election department has received the deletion request of over 3,000 names from its Tripura counterpart so far. Of this, the names of 2,091 Bru voters have been removed from Mizoram's voter list to date and deletion of the remaining voters is underway, he said. The official said the Bru voters, who resettled in Tripura after not returning to Mizoram during repatriations, were electors of nine assembly constituencies in three districts of Mizoram. Among the disenfranchised Bru voters, 1,643 hailed from Mamit, 187 from Kolasib and 262 from Lunglei district, he said. He said the deletion was done as per the requests sent by the Tripura election department through Electoral Roll Officer Net (ERONet). Pachuau said they have ..