By Anirudh Prakash
The government has ordered an audit of election funds received by newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In response, the founder of the AAP Arvind Kejariwal has demanded audit of fund sources of two national parties — Congress and BJP.
As regards accountability related to reporting on the regular functioning, expenditure and income of registered political parties, there are certain provisions already present that empower the Election Commission of India (ECI). All registered political parties must submit an annual report to the ECI on all contributions in excess of Rs. 20,000, without which no political party is eligible for any tax relief provided to political parties under the RPA.
The efficacy of powers granted to the ECI with regard to accountability and reporting on regular functioning, expenditure and income is seriously compromised in the absence of any provision for penalising defaulters. This routine practice, where repeated defaulters go unnoticed and unpunished, gives rise to a culture of blatant disobedience among registered political parties. The ECI, while exercising its powers to register a political party under Section 29A of the Act, acts quasi-judicially, but once a political party is registered, the ECI has no powers to review the order registering a political party for having violated provisions of the Constitution or for having breached the undertaking given to the ECI at the time of registration.
If governments have no laws stating what parties can and cannot do, nations risk engaging in ruthless politics with little or no public accountability. One does not have to invent a new wheel. There is a draft bill called the Political Parties (Registration and Regulation of Affairs) Act, 2011, prepared by the Centre for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) under the guidance of former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah. This draft bill attempts to address a wide spectrum of issues ranging from the formation of political parties to registration, governance, accountability, regulation of political parties, functions of parties and their discipline. It compulsorily lays down the condition for maintenance and reporting on accounts and all contributions above Rs. 20,000 by political parties, clearly noting that compliance with provisions of the Act and the declaration submitted by political parties at the time of registration would be legally binding on them, on a continual basis.
Strict norms have been laid down for the observance of internal democracy like no nominations and periodic free and fair elections for selecting various office bearers within a political party. Addressing the existing discrepancy where even unregistered parties can contest elections, the draft bill calls for registration with the ECI as a necessary criterion for contesting elections. Moreover the registrar, through this draft bill, is empowered to direct a special audit of the accounts of any year of a party or of any local unit.
The draft bill strongly talks about penalties to be meted out to political parties in case of deviance from the provisions laid down by the bill, by way of a fine of Rs. 10,000 per day of non-compliance, imprisonment of up to three years, as well as withdrawal of registration.
Other significant grounds for de-registration of a political party by the registrar, according to this draft bill, is the non-contesting of more than one general election, or not securing a prescribed minimum percentage of votes polled, or not taking part in mainstream political activities.
Amongst high level government reports on this issue, there is the Law Commission’s 170th Report on Electoral Reforms (1999), the National Commission for the Review of the Working of the Constitution report on electoral reforms (2002) and the ECI’s recommendation on electoral reforms (2004). Though these reports strongly advocate the regulation of all political parties through law, they recommend the inclusion of this law as part of the already existing RPA, rather than enacting an exclusive Act for the regulation of political parties in India.
In its 170th Report on Electoral Reforms, the Law Commission suggested the inclusion of a completely new Part-IIA, titled “Organisation of Political Parties and Matters Incidental Thereto”, to be introduced in the Representation of the People Act of 1951. This new Part-IIA, comprising Section 11A to 11I, provides for internal democracy in political parties; complete adherence of the aims and objectives or goals and ideals of political parties with that of the Constitution of India; registration with the ECI without which no political party will be permitted to contest elections; general organisation of political parties; maintenance of regular accounts of political parties — of amounts received by the party, its income and expenditure — properly audited and submitted to the ECI. Part-IIA also details the punishment to be meted out to political parties in case of non-compliance of these sections, in the form of a penalty of Rs. 10,000 for each day of continued non-compliance after notice, as well as withdrawal of registration of the said political party.
Additionally, the report by the Law Commission emphasises the insertion of another new Section 78A to the RPA whereby it provides for stringent punishment of political parties in case of non-compliance with the maintenance and disclosure norms regarding clear and full annual accounts of receipt and expenditure incurred by the political party.
The minimum that citizens can be promised is the provision that seeks to regulate the regular functioning of political parties in terms of maintenance of accounts and contributions, along with a clause for legal punitive action in case of non-compliance.
Moreover, there should be the mandatory requirement for an appropriate authority to generate public information regarding defaults by political parties on binding disclosures so that a true public image of the political party may be constructed in the minds of the common citizenry. Can the ECI deliver this gift to the nation without waiting for major legislative changes in electoral laws? INAV