Advisory Functions
1. To advise the President and the Governor on matters relating to the disqualifications of the members of parliament and members of the state legislature respectively. The opinion of the Commission as given to the President ot the Governor is binding.
2. Cases of persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which are dealt with by SC and High Courts are also referred to the Commission for its opinion on the question as to whether such a person is to be disqualified and, if so, for what period
3. To advise the president whether elections can be held in a state under President’s rule in order to extend the period of emergency after 1 year
Quasi-Judicial Jurisdiction
1. The commission has the power to disqualify a candidate who has not lodged an account of his election expenses within the time and in the manner prescribed by law. The commission also has the power to remove/reduce the period such disqualifications ad any other disqualification under the law
2. It has quasi-judicial jurisdiction in the case of settlement of disputes between the splinter groups of a recognised party
Electoral Reforms
Model Code of Conduct
EC first issued a Model Code of Conduct for political parties at the time of the fifth general elections, held in 1971.
Since then, the Code has been revised from time to time and lays down guidelines as to how political parties and candidates should conduct themselves during elections.
A provision was made under the Code that from the time the elections are announced by the Commission, Ministers
appointments in government and public undertakings which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of
Despite the acceptance of the Code of Conduct by political parties, cases of its violation have been on the rise. It is a
general complaint that the party in power at the time of elections misuses the official machinery to further the electoral prospects of its candidates.
The misuse of official machinery takes different forms, such as issue of advertisements at the cost of public exchequer, misuse of official mass media during election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding their achievements, misuse of government transport including aircraft/helicopter, vehicles.
Disclosure of Antecedents by Candidates
In June 2002, the EC on the direction of the Supreme Court, issued an order under Article 324 that each candidate must submit an affidavit regarding the information of his/her criminal antecedents; assets (both movable and immovable) of self and those of spouses and dependents as well; and qualifications at the time of filing his/her nomination papers for election to the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.
But political parties believed that the EC and the judiciary were overstepping their powers. At the all-party meeting, held on July 8, 2002, representatives of 21 political parties decided that the EC’s order should not be allowed to be
wrong or incomplete information shall result in the rejection of nomination papers, apart from inviting penal
consequences under the Indian Penal Code. The 2004 General Elections were conducted under these rules.
The above order is an effective step to make democracy healthy and unpolluted. Citizens have every right to know about the persons whom they prefer as their representatives. The EC has directed all Returning Officers to display the copies of nomination papers and affidavits filed by candidates to the general public and representatives of print and electronic media, free of cost.
Registration of Political Parties
The party system is an essential feature of parliamentary democracy. However, there is no direct reference of political parties in the Constitution of India. The statutory law relating to registration of political parties was enacted in 1989 which was quite liberal. As a result, a large number of non-serious parties mushroomed and got registered with the Commission. Many of them did not contest elections at all after their registration. It led to confusion among electors as to whom to vote. To eliminate the mushrooming of parties, the EC had to take some rigorous steps
The Commission now registers a party which has at least 100 registered electors as its members and is also charging a nominal processing fee of Rs 10,000 to cover the administration expenses which it will have to incur on correspondence with the parties after their registration.
In order to ensure that the registered political parties practice democracy in their internal functioning, the Commission requires them to hold their organizational elections regularly in accordance with their constitutions. The measures taken by the EC to streamline the registration of political parties have shown effective results.
The EC has expressed its serious concern over the entry of anti-social and criminal persons into the electoral arena. It has
The Commission has urged all political parties to reach a consensus that no person with a criminal background
will be given the party ticket.
The candidates to an election are also obliged to submit an affidavit in a prescribed form declaring their criminal records, including convictions, charges pending and cases initiated against them. The information so furnished by the candidates is disseminated to the public, and to the print and electronic media.
1.5.5 Limits on Poll Expenses
To get rid of the growing influence and vulgar show of money during elections, the EC has fixed legal limits on the amount of money which a candidate can spend during the election campaign.
These limits are revised from time to time. The EC, by appointing expenditure observers keeps an eye on the individual accounts of election expenditure made by a candidate during election campaign. The contestants are also required to give details of expenditure within 30 days of the declaration of the election results.
reduce the campaign period from 21 to 14 days. This, they feel, will lead to trim down the election expenditure.
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