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Election commission of India - Indian Polity Notes

The Election commission of India is a permanent, autonomous, quasi-judicial and constitutional body created under Article 324 in part 15
of the constitution. It is the supreme body vested with powers of supervision, control and direction over all aspects of electoral governance in the
country.

The Election Commission was established in 1950 with the primary goal of managing and controlling and responsible for conducting free and
fair elections of parliament, state legislature, the office of president of India and the office of vice-president of India. The UPSC Indian
Polity and Governance Syllabus include the Election commission of India which is described in this article.

Read update on this topic:

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2. Remote EVM Ready To Help Migrants Vote Outside States: EC
3. Shinde-Led Faction Gets ‘bow And Arrow’ Symbol: How Did Election Commission Decide Who Gets Party Symbol
4. Appointment Of An Election Commissioner With Tenure Less Than Six Years Is A Clear Breach Of Law: Supreme Court
5. EC Tells Allahabad HC It Does Not Have Power To Ban Caste Rallies By Parties In Non-Election Period
6. Centre ‘Appropriate’ Party To Respond To Plea On Disqualified Lawmakers, Says EC

Election Commission Of India - Historical Background

General elections were held in India between 25 October 1951 and 21 February 1952. They were the first elections to the Lok Sabha after independence in August
1947. It was conducted under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, which was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Election Commission of India established
under Article 324 of the Indian constitution.
Till 1989, the election commission was a single-member body consisting of only the Chief Election Commissioner when two more election commissioners were
appointed functioning as a multi-member body.
Again between 1990 and 1993 the election commission was a single-member body. Presently the Election Commission has a chief Election commissioner and two
other election commissioners.
The commission is assisted by deputy election commissioners and at the state level assisted by the chief electoral officer appointed by the commission with tenure
system.

Composition of Election Commission Of India

The Election Commission shall consist of:

1. A chief election commissioner and Other election commissioners (the number is to be decided by the President from time to time) Art 324.
2. Regional commissioners to be appointed by the President(after consultation with the election commission) as he may consider necessary to assist the Election
Commission.
3. The conditions of service and tenure of office of the election commissioners and the regional commissioners shall be determined by the President.

Appointment of Members of Election Commission Of India

The Constitution does not provide any educational, legal, administrative or judicial qualification for the appointment of members of the election commission.
It has authorized the Parliament to make laws for the appointment of members of the election commission. The parliament, however, has not enacted any law in
this regard.
Recently in July 2017 the Supreme Court hearing a plea seeking Constitution of a committee composed of the Prime Minister, leader of the opposition and the
chief justice of India for appointment of election commissioner expressed concerns over the absence of a law on the appointment to election commission of India
and chief election commissioner. The apex court asked the government to formalise a law for the appointment of members of the election commission.

Other Relevant Links

Advocate General of State National Commission for SCs

Union Public Service Commission National Commission for STs

State Public Service Commission National Commission for OBC's

Finance Commission Special officer for Linguistic Minorities

Comptroller and Auditor General of India Attorney General of India

Structure and Terms
The commission consists of one chief election commissioner and two election commissioners appointed by the President.
Tenure six years or up to the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.
The Constitution does not prescribe terms of members of the election commission.
The chief election commissioner and two other election commissioners have equal powers and receive equal salaries, allowances and other perks similar to
those of a judge of the supreme court.
The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.

Removal of Chief Election Commissioner

The constitution provides that the Chief election commissioner cannot be removed from his office except in the like manner and grounds as a judge of the
supreme court.(removed by the president based on a resolution to that effect passed by a special majority of both the houses on grounds of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity).
Other election commissioners or regional commissioners can be removed from the office only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

(Note: Removal requires a special majority of 2/3rd members present and voting supported by more than 50% of the total strength of the
house)

Functions Election Commission Of India

Administrative functions
Determine territorial areas of electoral constituencies based on the delimitation commission act.
It prepares and revise electoral rolls and to register all eligible voters.
It grants recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.
Notify the dates and schedules of elections and scrutinize nomination papers.
Supervise machinery of elections throughout the county to ensure free and fair elections.
It determines the Code of Conduct and cancels polls in the event of booth capturing and other irregularities.

Quasi-Judicial function
It has the power to settle disputes related to recognition granted to political parties.
It is entitled to act as a court for matters relating to disputes arising out of the election symbol to political parties.
It also has the power to disqualify a contender who failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within a given time.

Advisory function
It advises the President and the Governor on matters relating to disqualification of members of parliament and the state legislature. The opinion of the commission
in all such matters is binding.
To Advise the president whether the elections can be held in a state under the President's rule to extend the period of emergency after one year.

Significance of Election Commission Of India

It upholds values enshrined in the Constitution viz, equality, impartiality, equity.
It supervises and controls electoral Governance.
VVPAT was introduced with EVM at every polling station to enhance transparency.
It facilitates awareness about the electoral procedure and functioning to voters, political parties, and candidates thereby strengthening the electoral system of the
country.

Challenges
It is unclear whether the ECI can transfer a State government official in the exercise of the general powers under Article 324 or under the model code.
Electoral malpractice and increased violence under the influence of money has resulted in political criminalization, which ECI is unable to punish the political
parties responsible for the violation.
ECI is not a fully independent body and has no measures to regulate the finances of the parties and has no power in enforcing inner-party democracy.
One of the major institutional drawbacks is non-transparency in the election of CEC and the other two commissioners and is based on the choice of presiding
government.

Way Forward
The Tarkunde Committee on Electoral reform (1975) and Goswami committees on Electoral reforms (1990) recommended the selection of a commissioner
rather than an appointment based on the discretion of the President.
The expenditure incurred by the election commission should be charged on the consolidated fund of India rather than the current practice of parliament
approval.
It is necessary to protect the two commissioners from removal except through impeachment as provided by the constitution for the chief election commissioner,
sole member at the time of inception.
The 2nd ARC report recommended for the selection panel headed by the Prime Minister with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha, the Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as members should make recommendations for the consideration of the President
for appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners.
Use of VVPAT and Vote Totaliser machine shall be used to protect voters from harassment by political parties.
Legal backing for the Model Code of Conduct is necessary to prevent its violation and power to be given to EC to punish the violators.
Issues related to malfunctions and tampering of EVM should be settled by creating all party panels and International experts. Introducing M3 type of EVMs which
are more secure.

Conclusion
The Election Commission is the bulwark of the Indian Constitution. It is not only responsible for conducting free and fair elections, but it also
renders a quasi-judicial function between the different political parties as well as the ruling government.

Other Relevant Links

Indian Polity UPSC Notes Constitutional Bodies

Non-Constitutional Bodies Statutory Bodies

Non-Statutory Bodies Regulatory Bodies

Important Commissions Important Articles in Indian Constitution

Question: How many members are there in the Election Commission of India? ➕

Question: What are the functions of the Election Commission? ➕

Question: What is Universal Adult Suffrage? ➕

Question: What are the roles of ECI? ➕

UPSC Mains Practice Questions:

1. To enhance the quality of democracy in India the Election Commission of India has proposed electoral reforms in 2016. What are the suggested reforms and
how far are they significant to make democracy successful? [UPSC 2017]
2. What are the steps that the Election Commission may take if a recalcitrant State Government wants to put off Assembly Elections? [UPSC 2005]
3. What is the stand of the Election Commission on the residential qualification of the members of the Rajya Sabha? [UPSC 1994]
4. Describe the composition and functions of the Election Commission of India. [UPSC 1993]

MCQs
Question: Consider the following statements :

1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.

2. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-election.
3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognized political parties.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? [UPSC 2017]

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 3 only

Answer: (d) See the explanation ➕

Question: Consider the following statements with reference to India. [UPSC 2002]

1. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners enjoy equal powers but receive unequal salaries.
2. The Chief Election Commissioner is entitled to the same salary as is provided to a judge of the Supreme Court.
3. The Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.
4. The term of office of the Election Commissioner is five years from the date he assumes his office or till the day he attains the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.

Which of these statements are correct?

(a 1 and 2

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 4

(d) 2 and 4

Answer: (b) See the explanation ➕

Question: Consider the following tasks. [UPSC 2004]

1. Superintendence, direction and conduct of free and fair elections
2. Preparation of electoral rolls for all elections to the Parliament, State Legislatures and the Office of the President and the Vice-President
3. Giving recognition to political parties and allotting election symbols to political parties and individuals contesting the election.
4. Proclamation of final verdict in case of election disputes

Which of the above are the functions of the Election Commission of India?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 Only

(b) 2, 3 and 4 Only

(c) 1 and 3 Only

(d) 1, 2 and 4 Only

Answer: (a) See the explanation ➕

Other Relevant Links

Indian Polity Notes Indian Economy Notes

Art and Culture Notes Governance Notes

Ancient India History Notes Medieval India History Notes

Modern India History Notes Geography Notes

Science And Technology Notes Environment And Ecology Notes

Post Independence Notes Society Notes

Internal Security Notes Ethics Notes

Disaster Management Notes World History

International Relations Social Justice Notes

CSAT Notes Government Scheme Notes

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