Editorial: India’s Election Commission under a cloud

There are genuine concerns that the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision in Bihar could result in mass disenfranchisement, especially among marginalised groups such as migrant labourers, women, and the poor

Objectivity and fairness in the electoral process are the essential ingredients of a successful democratic system. What is happening in Bihar in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has the potential to harm the image of the Election Commission. The timing of the exercise ordered by the poll panel — barely a few months ahead of the Assembly elections —has raised doubts over its intent and scope. The poll panel’s actions have indeed come under the scanner. Instead of inspiring confidence, its hasty drive has created confusion among the people. While updating electoral rolls is essential, undertaking such an exercise, requiring submission of additional documents and paperwork, just four months before the Assembly elections can lead to the exclusion of a large number of voters from the electoral list. It is virtually impossible for 7.8 crore electors to be verified by the end of July. There are genuine concerns that it could lead to mass disenfranchisement, especially among marginalised groups like migrant labourers, women and the poor. This negates the very purpose of democracy which is to facilitate accessibility, not raising barriers. The selective application of door-to-door verification points to a process that lacks both transparency and fairness. Moreover, this revision of electoral rolls at this stage is extremely challenging for the administration. Additional documentation has been asked from those whose names were not recorded in the 2003 electoral rolls — they need to submit at least one document to establish their eligibility. This shifts the burden of proof onto the voter.

This has triggered a scramble for documents that many voters don’t have, and don’t know how to procure, raising fears of a “National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor”. Opposition parties and social activists have warned that this untimely exercise has created conditions under which vulnerable sections, including the poor, migrant labourers, SCs, STs, Muslims, elderly and women face the imminent spectre of disenfranchisement. The EC’s move also faces legal challenges in court, with RJD MP Manoj Jha moving the Supreme Court, questioning the timing of the revision and arguing that it could “disenfranchise Bihar’s mobile workforce”. TMC MP Mahua Moitra and civil society organisations, the Association for Democratic Reforms and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, have also moved similar petitions in the apex court. The legal battle becomes crucial, given the Election Commission’s plans to eventually implement the exercise all over the country. The apprehensions are that the hurried timeline and the additional verification demands could result in those entitled to vote losing their rights. The Congress claims the revision is an explicit admission that all is not well with India’s electoral rolls, a charge that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi levelled regarding the Maharashtra elections. Though the EC has firmly denied the allegations, it needs to allay apprehensions and instil confidence among voters.

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