Editor,
The article, “Election observation: the big humbug by Patricia Mukhim (ST Feb 15, 2013), does not give a correct picture of the efforts of Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting free and fair elections in India. The Commission finds large parts of the article bereft of facts, misleading and malicious. While expressing complete disagreement with the tone and tenor of the writing, the Commission wishes to state a few facts.
Indian elections are regarded by the Indian citizens as well as by the whole world as free, fair and credible. Election Commission of India takes several steps to ensure transparency and credibility of election process.
Appointment of elections observers is one of the methods used by the Commission to achieve this. Observers are senior officers from outside the State where elections are being conducted. Their appointment brings an element of externality from within the system. Observers submit their reports directly to the Commission which helps the Commission in taking timely action whenever required. The effectiveness of the observer system is proved from the fact that the Commission gets frequent requests from political parties to increase the deployment of observers in elections. Result of an election is declared by the Returning Officer only after the candidate wise result sheet is signed by the observer. Considering the role played by them in ensuring correctness in conduct of elections, it would be completely wrong in undermining such role.
The article published in your newspaper has lamented about the excessive expenditure by candidates and political parties in elections. It needs to be pointed out that the Election Commission has taken several steps in the recent past to check the use of money power in elections. The Commission has put in place an elaborate mechanism for expenditure monitoring. The Commission sends senior officers of Indian Revenue Service as Expenditure Observers. Flying squads and static surveillance teams are put in place to collect evidence of expenditure by candidates.
As far as helping the electorate in choosing a good candidate is concerned, the Commission makes all efforts to ensure that information about contesting candidates is available to all voters. Affidavits filed by the candidates about their criminal antecedents, educational qualifications and assets and liabilities are put on the website of the CEO for easy dissemination of information. The Commission has sent several proposals to the Government for amendment in the law to disqualify persons against whom charges have been framed for heinous offences. The Commission has also undertaken a campaign of voter awareness for ethical voting through its program of Systematic Voter Education for Electoral Participation (SVEEP). In this campaign, the Commission does exhort people not to be influenced or intimidated and to vote according to their conscience. This campaign has borne fruit as can be seen from increase in voter turnout in recent elections all over the country.
As far as transfer of officers is considered, the Commission takes decisions purely on merits in the interest of free and fair and credible elections. It needs to be underlined that Commission rates media as a valuable partner in election management in dissemination of poll-related information, enforcement of model code of conduct and voters’ education. Even a media report on any violation of election rules is treated by Commission as a complaint and suitably acted upon.
The Commission believes in making continuous efforts for improvement in the system and has been doing so for the last 60 years. While constructive suggestions would help this process, any cynical approach to the matter can only harm the democratic electoral process.
Yours etc.,
Anuj Jaipuri
Secretary,
Election Commission of India
Rejoinder from RR Colony
Editor,
Apropos the news item published in your esteemed newspaper regarding the voting pattern at R R Colony in the ensuing Assembly Election. I being a resident of the locality would like to highlight following points:
The said reporter is unaware of the ground situation at R R Colony and I am sure he has not visited the locality and checked the ground situation before filing this report. If he had visited the locality then he would have seen that there are 3 fully functional offices of political parties namely Congress, UDP and BJP and each have a sizable presence in the locality. Hence to say that 80% of voters of R R Colony will vote for Congress is totally wrong and baseless. Also to say that A L Hek campaigned in the locality in favour of Charles Pyngrope is false. The said reporter did not verify the facts while filing his observation and report. Residents of R R Colony are not commodities whose vote bank can be shifted from one party to other.
R R Colony along with BSNL Quarters has only 3000 votes out of 28,000 votes in the constituency. We are not the deciding factor in this election as there are other localities which have more votes than R R Colony. As a resident of R R Colony I totally refute this report and urge the other residents to ignore such kind of baseless report and vote on 23rd Feb freely without getting swayed by such reports.
I want to ask the reporter, whether he visited R R Colony before filing this report, whether he talked with residents of the Colony before forming his opinion about the voting pattern here or whether this news item is a part of the paid news syndrome?
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Shillong – 6
Editor replies: Our reporters try their best to assess the voting patterns in different constituencies. We may not be accurate but neither can the letter writer discount the above completely. No reporter with The Shillong Times practices armchair reporting and nor is the story a paid news.
A thought for the elderly
Editor,
I wish to draw the kind attention of the Chief Election Officer/Returning Officer of East Khasi Hills District that though there exist some provision to allow infirm voters to cast their votes but there is no provision for senior citizens to exercise their fundamental right out of turn at the polling booths.
Since the Government of India has made provisions in different sectors to give due preference to senior citizens of the country then there should have been a provision for all senior citizens (male/female) to exercise their fundamental rights at the time of polling without seeking permission from the Presiding Officer controlling the Polling Booths but just by showing their identity to the security personnel posted at the booths. In that case, proper guidelines need to be communicated by the Returning Officer/Chief Election Officer to all the Presiding Officers. This will definitely enthuse the elderly voters and increase the overall percentage of voters.
Yours etc.,
PB Das,
Shillong-3
On scientific mining
Editor,
On Feb 19 this year Sonia Gandhi was quoted as saying that “illegal mining” is a threat to the environment of Meghalaya and that the State Congress would take measures to control it, if it is re-elected. I like her choice of words. She knew full well that a large number of her ‘boys’ in the state Congress are coal traders themselves like Pala, Ngaitlang etc, (let us not forget Mukul). The difference between “illegal mining” and “unscientific mining” (MUA govt’s favourite word) is more than simply vocal sound. Many of the coal barons can vouchsafe for having got mines legally. This is again subject to criticism but let us move on. Legally they might be able to mine but scientifically? Even the rich coal barons would have to think twice about the costs incurred if “scientific tools” are involved. Science after all costs money. Even if the larger coal barons do manage to go the way of “science” and invest money, I doubt the coal barons at the lower end, in the INC boat, would be able to afford it. Then again in 2010-11, the Congress Party got 25 lakhs each from something called the Megha Technical Engineers Pvt. Ltd. and the Cement Manufacturing Company Ltd (CMCL). Both are located at Khliehriat; so maybe for a higher price, she’ll start using the words “scientific mining” instead and discard the lower-downs anyway. So yes, “illegal mining” – once again the Congress is all-inclusive. Mawlai Congress candidate, Founder S Cajee has been saying that his fight is for the local people against the rich businessmen. Mr Cajee please look at your Congress party, before you say such things
Finally, not to be partisan, the UDP manifesto lists a stronger Lokayukta as one of its objectives. Supposing the party does come to power, would it simply start anew, forgetting about the crimes of the last few years, or would they seek prosecution in various scams, like the CGI scam, PDS scam, ICDS scam etc., in which their own members have been implicated?
Yours etc.,
Babet Sten,
Via email