Electoral transparency

The protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission have sent a clear message. And the writing is on the wall. The reported massive deployment of security forces and the use of force against peaceful protestors at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere will only deepen the crisis of legitimacy surrounding an Election Commission already facing scrutiny over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the arbitrary mass deletion of millions of eligible voters. By appearing act at the behest of political handlers indstead of acting as a neutral umpire, the CEC has further eroded the Commission’s credibility and the legitimacy of the regime it is expected to hold to account.

The government has demonstrated that Emergency-like rule can be practised without formally proclaiming an Emergency. But coercion can not command public confidence. People , particularly minorities and marginalised group facing disenfranchisement will not indefinitely accept authoritarianism compounded by electoral irregularities and the weakening of independent institutions. If a ‘centralised computer system’ can remove millions of voters - as if by a sleight of hand - on the basis of algorithmic discrepancies,can millions of aggrieved citizens not collectively demand accountability from a CEC whose functioning raises serious questions ?

Power can not remain concentrated in one Commissioner with opaque control over electoral data and arbitrary changes , without inviting public scrutiny. Nor immunity become a license for impunity( Immunity is protection; impunity is freedom from accountability). Section 16 of the 2023 Act is already under challenge before the top court. If immunity is invoked to shield actions alleged to be unlawful or mala fide, its constitutional validity must be tested. Immunity can not mean accountability denied.

Before the crisis deepens, the CEC should step down and the SIR exercise should be scrapped retroactively. The ballot can not be protected by machinery that risks eroding public faith in it.

M. Jameel Ahmed,

Mysuru

It is imperative that all citizens who value democracy, particularly the youth, come together to defend constitutional freedoms through peaceful and non-violent means. Their movement should draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and civil resistance. As an octogenarian, I cannot help but feel anxious about the kind of India we will leave behind for future generations. We owe our young people a country in which democratic institutions remain independent, dissent is respected, elections inspire public confidence, and the government is accountable to the people. The time has come for all democratic-minded citizens to reflect seriously on these concerns.

Tharcius S. Fernando,

Chennai