Electoral Transparency in India – Significance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

Recently, several questions have been raised by various members of the civil society about the functioning of Election Commission of India – especially with regards to the commencement of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar – which lacks transparency. The Leader of Opposition has also raised questions about the conduct of ECI in Karnataka Lok Sabha election, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election & made allegations of ‘vote chori’ against the ECI. These questions have raised the issue of lack of transparency in the electoral process in our country in general & in the ECI in particular.

What is electoral transparency?

Electoral transparency refers to the openness, clarity, and accessibility of all processes, information, and funding related to elections, ensuring that citizens, stakeholders, and oversight bodies can scrutinize and trust the integrity of the electoral system. It is a cornerstone of democratic governance, as it enables public oversight, reduces opportunities for corruption, and upholds the legitimacy of electoral outcomes.

What is the significance of electoral transparency?

1. Builds Public Trust and Legitimacy: When the electoral process is open to scrutiny, it instills confidence in voters, candidates, and political parties. This trust is fundamental for the legitimacy of the elected government and the stability of the democratic system.

2. Ensures Accountability: Transparency holds the Election Commission of India, political parties, and candidates accountable for their actions. It makes it harder for malpractices to occur unnoticed. For example: Public disclosure of election expenditure by candidates and parties allows citizens and watchdog organizations to monitor spending and identify potential violations of cap on election expenditure.

3. Reduces Fraud and Malpractice: Open procedures and clear guidelines minimize opportunities for electoral fraud, rigging, and manipulation. When processes are transparent, fraudulent activities are more likely to be detected and deterred. For example: The presence of polling agents from various political parties at polling stations and during vote counting, along with videography, serves as a deterrent to booth capturing, bogus voting, and tampering.

4. Promotes Informed Decision-Making by Voters: Transparency ensures that voters have access to crucial information, such as candidate backgrounds (including criminal antecedents), sources of political funding, and party manifestos. This allows them to make informed choices. For example: The mandatory disclosure of assets and liabilities of candidates, enforced by the ECI, helps voters assess the financial standing and potential conflicts of interest of those seeking office.

5. Enhances Participation: When voters perceive the electoral process as fair and transparent, they are more likely to participate actively, whether by registering to vote, casting their ballot, or engaging in political discourse. A sense of fairness encourages civic engagement. For example: Easily accessible and regularly updated voter rolls, available for public inspection, allow citizens to verify their inclusion and encourage new voter registration.

6. Safeguards Fundamental Rights: Electoral transparency aligns with fundamental rights such as the right to information (Article 19(1)(a)) and the right to vote. Without transparency, these rights can be undermined. For example: The Supreme Court’s verdict striking down the Electoral Bond Scheme underscored the public’s right to know the sources of political funding, reinforcing the importance of transparency for informed voting.

What are various issues related to electoral transparency in India?

1. Political Funding Transparency (Lack of transparency in the sources of political funding): Anonymous donations make it difficult for citizens to know who is funding the political parties, raising concerns about quid pro quo arrangements and corporate influence. The government introduced Electoral Bond scheme, in 2017, to enhance the transparency in political funding. While the government argued it would curb black money by routing donations through formal banking channels, critics (including the Election Commission itself) argued it enhanced opacity. Opaque funding erodes public trust, fosters crony capitalism, and can distort policy-making in favor of anonymous donors rather than public interest.

2. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs): Opposition leaders have frequently described EVMs as “black boxes” because voters cannot independently verify if their vote was accurately recorded and counted as intended by the machine itself. They argue that the internal workings are not sufficiently transparent. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system was introduced to address this by allowing voters to see a paper slip of their vote. However, the ECI currently mandates counting VVPAT slips from only five randomly selected EVMs per assembly constituency/segment. The opposition political parties are demanding 100% VVPAT verification with EVM count.

3. Accuracy & Transparency of Electoral Rolls: 

• Duplicate Entries: Reports of individuals having multiple entries in the voter list, sometimes across different constituencies or even states, raise concerns about potential fraudulent voting.
• Deletion of Genuine Voters: Conversely, many genuine voters, especially migrant workers or those from marginalized communities, find their names missing from the rolls, leading to disenfranchisement.
• Aadhaar Linkage Controversy: While the Election Commission sought to link Aadhaar with voter IDs to de-duplicate the rolls, concerns were raised about the voluntary nature of the linkage potentially becoming implicitly mandatory, leading to exclusion due to authentication failures or privacy risks.
• Abnormal increase in number of voters listed in electoral rolls between the elections: The LoP raised the issue of abnormal increase in the number of voters between general election & Assembly elections in Maharashtra. The independent investigation has revealed that nearly 4 million new voters were added in just 6 months.
• Special Intensive Revision: The ECI deleted nearly 65 lakh voters from the electoral rolls in Bihar – but without providing the full list of deleted names & the reasons for their deletion. This resistance to disclosure makes it impossible for the political parties & people to verify whether the deletion is justified or if eligible voters have been disenfranchised. Also, such deletion of names disproportionately affect the marginalized communities – which can impact the electoral outcomes & erode trust in the system.

4. Transparency in the Appointment of Election Commissioners: The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, changed the selection committee for the appointment of Election commissioners. Previously, a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 had suggested a collegium including the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of Opposition. The new Act replaced the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister. This has raised concerns that the government will have a majority in the selection committee, potentially impacting the perceived independence of the ECI.

5. Restrictive access to CCTV footage of the polling process: The LoP has raised the objection that the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 were recently amended to restrict the access to CCTV footage of the polling process. Providing access to the CCTV footage to the nominees of the political parties is important to scrutinize the complaints.

6. Lack of Transparency in ECI: 

• Lack of transparency in Special Intensive Revision: In a democracy, citizens have the right to know not just the decisions taken by the public authorities, bust also why a decision impacting them was made. By not sharing the methodology & findings of independent appraisal on the basis of which the ECI is set to ask every voter in the country to prove their eligibility to vote, the ECI is violating people’s fundamental right to information. Moreover, the 2003 records, which the ECI claims that the current exercise mirrors, are missing from the public domain.
• Allegation by LoP: There have been criticism with regards to the response by the ECI to the allegations made against it by the LoP. Instead of providing a substantive response to put an end on the claims, the ECI is either letting the govt speak for it or sounding like a spokesperson for the ruling party.

What have been the various initiatives to enhance electoral transparency?

1. Disclosure of Candidate’s Assets and Liabilities: Following the Supreme Court’s judgment (e.g., Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms, 2002), the ECI mandated that all contesting candidates file an affidavit disclosing their criminal antecedents, financial assets, liabilities, and educational qualifications.

2. Supreme Court’s Ruling on Electoral Bonds: Supreme Court, in its judgment in February 2024, struck down the Electoral Bond scheme as unconstitutional. It directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose all details of electoral bonds purchased and redeemed to the ECI, which then published this data.

3. First Level Checking (FLC) of EVMs/VVPATs: Before every election, EVMs and VVPATs undergo a thorough “First Level Checking” by engineers of the manufacturing PSUs (BEL and ECIL) in the presence of representatives of political parties. This process allows political parties to inspect the machines and verify their integrity before deployment, ensuring transparency at a critical stage.

4. Electoral Roll Management through ERO Net: The ECI launched ERO Net, an online platform that automates the process of electoral roll management, including registration, field verification, and decision support for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). It aims to minimize errors, prevent duplicate entries, and make the process of voter registration and modification more transparent and efficient.

5. Four Qualifying Dates for Electoral Roll Enrolment: Recent amendments allow citizens turning 18 years on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July, or 1st October to file claims for enrolment, rather than just 1st January. This ensures continuous and more inclusive enrolment, making the electoral roll more representative and transparent.

6. cVIGIL App: The cVIGIL mobile application allows citizens to report Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations and expenditure-related infractions directly to the ECI with geo-tagged photos/videos. The ECI promises action within 100 minutes. It empowers citizens to be vigilant, provides real-time reporting of violations, and ensures quick response from election authorities, making the enforcement of MCC more transparent and effective.

What can be the way forward?

1. Bring Political Parties under RTI: A long-standing demand is to bring all political parties, especially those receiving public funding or significant public interest, under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This would allow citizens to seek information about their finances, including donations and expenditures.

2. Lower Anonymous Donation Threshold: Reduce the threshold for anonymous cash donations significantly, ideally to zero, or at least below the current ₹20,000. All donations, regardless of amount, should be made through traceable digital means (cheque, bank transfer, digital payment).

3. Increased VVPAT Verification: A scientifically determined, statistically robust sample size for VVPAT counting should be adopted to ensure a higher degree of confidence in the EVM results. In case of any discrepancy, a full manual counting of VVPAT slips in the affected constituency should be immediately triggered.

4. Real-time Online Updates with Transparency: Make the electoral roll update process more dynamic, allowing for real-time online updates. Ensure that all additions, deletions, and modifications to the electoral roll are published transparently and immediately, allowing for public scrutiny and objections.

5. Publish Voter Rolls and Turnout Data Promptly: The Election Commission should release consolidated, digital, and machine-readable electoral rolls and real-time voter turnout data for all elections. This includes making Form 17C data and CCTV footage from polling booths publicly available to address concerns about discrepancies and build confidence in the process.

6. Access for Observers: Ensure that domestic and international observers, as well as party agents, have unhindered access to polling and counting centers to monitor the process.

Conclusion:
The onus lies on ECI to enhance transparency in the electoral process & strengthen the trust of the voters on the process of electing their representatives through a free & fair elections. ECI must recover its institutional voice to deal with the challenge & should respond by bringing more transparency in exercises like SIR that will strengthen the faith in the institutions that are meant to safeguard the democratic process.