Election 2019: Are Electoral Reforms The Answer To Empower Election Commission?
Has the Election Commission succumbed to political pressure?
The poll panel is “too small an organisation with very limited powers” to deal with numerous complaints of violations of model code of conduct, according to two former chief election commissioners.
The Election Commission has come under intense scrutiny during the ongoing general elections as it tries to ensure that political parties adhere to the code of conduct. While the panel has come down hard on violations by political leaders like Azam Khan, Mayawati, Pragya Thakur and Maneka Gandhi among others, the perception is that the commission has gone soft on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The timeliness and transparency are two crucial factors that the Election Commission must work on to shed the image of being cowed down by political pressures, former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat told BloombergQuint.
In case the complaints were disposed of in two to three days then the impact would have been very different. When it took about 25-26 days, it created a different impression.OP Rawat, Former Chief Election Commissioner
TS Krishnamurthy, who was the 13th chief election commissioner, said electoral reforms are the only way to empower the poll panel. But unfortunately, political will is lacking.
Unless and until there is seriousness among political parties, this kind of situation will increase.TS Krishnamurthy, Former Chief Election Commissioner
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