Sansad TV: Election Commission Reforms | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• In a unanimous ruling, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court has determined that a high-power committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, or the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India must select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. However, this is subject to any legislation that Parliament may enact on the matter. The government argued that in the absence of such legislation, the President has the constitutional power to make these appointments.
• The verdict came in response to a PIL filed in 2015 challenging the constitutional validity of the practice of appointing members of the Election Commission. The appointments are made by the President on the advice of the government, and the positions have a tenure of six years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. The 20th Law Commission recommended a three-member collegium to appoint the CEC and the election commissioners in its 255th report on electoral reforms submitted in March 2015.

The Need for Electoral Reforms

• The criminalization of politics, with 40% of LS and 23% of RS MPs having criminal backgrounds, is a major issue that needs to be addressed. Additionally, money and muscle power continue to influence election outcomes, while electoral participation was only 66% in the 16th LS elections, highlighting the need to increase participation. Women constitute just 11.3% of the 16th LS, which is a concern that requires attention.
• The role of the Election Commission needs to be strengthened, and appointments to the EC should be more transparent. Political funding is a highly non-transparent and corruption-prone area that requires reform. Finally, voters can be victimized through booth and constituency profiling, which needs to be addressed.

System of election financing in India:

The current political finance system in India has a two-tiered approach based on parties and candidates. Parties are required to disclose income but not expenditure, while candidates must report their expenditure but not their income. This system has created loopholes that are being exploited by political parties and candidates.

• For example, parties receive most of their income from donations by individuals and corporations, but they use loopholes in the law to avoid disclosing the identities of major individual donors. Corporate donations are mostly done off-the-books to avoid reprisals if the opposing party wins. Meanwhile, candidates grossly underreport their expenditure and spend far more than the legal limits allow, with the assistance of their parties.

What reforms are needed?

• To address these issues, several reforms are needed. Firstly, a ceiling should be prescribed for political parties' expenditure, similar to that for candidates. 
• Secondly, state funding of political parties (not elections) should be considered, with independent audit and a complete ban on private donations. 
• Thirdly, political parties should be brought under the RTI and enforced internal democracy and transparency.
• Fourthly, an independent national election fund should be set up to receive all tax-free donations, which could be operated by the ECI or any other independent body. 
• Fifthly, the ECI's proposal to cancel elections where credible evidence of abuse of money has been found should be legally empowered. 
• Sixthly, persons against whom cases of heinous offences are pending in courts should be debarred from contesting elections. 
• Seventhly, the ECI should be empowered to deregister political parties that have not contested any election for 10 years and yet benefited from tax exemptions. 
• Finally, paid news should be declared a "corrupt practice" (Sec 100 RP Act) and "undue influence" (Sec 123(2)) with two years' imprisonment.

Election commission of India (ECI) suggestions:

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has suggested several reforms to improve the electoral process in India. The first reform proposed by the ECI is to provide election commissioners with security of tenure similar to the chief election commissioner. The ECI has also suggested that it should be given contempt powers similar to the court in India, as frequent contempt affects the dignity of the institution. Additionally, the ECI has recommended greater transparency in the funding of political parties and to be given the power to make rules under the Representation of People Act 1951. The ECI has also suggested that it should have the power to audit the accounts of political parties, elections to legislative assemblies and Parliament should be conducted simultaneously, and candidates should not be allowed to contest elections from more than one constituency.

The law commission of India’s suggestions:

• The Law Commission of India has also recommended several reforms, including bringing political parties under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI), ensuring internal democracy in political parties, greater financial accountability of parties, opening party affairs to the public, and experimenting with State Funding of the election model to check black money in elections, among others.
• Actions taken by the government as per the recommendations of ECI and Law Commission of India include the introduction of NOTA (None Of The Above) to provide an alternative to voters and the introduction of electoral bonds to limit funding to political parties and improve transparency in electoral funding.

Way Forward

• We have had a successful democracy for the past 70 years, but the Vice-President's concerns are valid. Political parties must show self-discipline in this matter. While there have been instances of voters rejecting bribes and freebies, political parties must compete on this issue rather than resorting to such tactics. 
• Legislation alone may not be effective, and people need to be educated not to engage in these practices. It is also necessary to place limits on political parties' expenditures. Additionally, more innovative reforms are needed to ensure internal democracy, financial accountability, and transparency in political funding. Measures like the use of vote-totalizer machines, simultaneous elections, statutory support for the Model Code of Conduct, bringing political parties under the RTI ambit, and increasing political participation are necessary for strengthening our democracy.