The pandemic has thrown up new challenges, and conducting polls will not be easy, says Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. He is, however, confident of holding the Bihar elections, due in October/November, on time. Requisite changes are being made in electoral processes, he says, to ensure that safety guidelines are followed during campaigning and voting. Excerpts from an interview:
In view of Covid-19, how confident are you of holding elections on schedule in Bihar?
Since its inception, the Election Commission has been conducting elections amid varied circumstances. In the recent Rajya Sabha elections, [our ability to] conduct polls amid a pandemic got tested. Though the scale was smaller, our new standard operating procedures (SOPs) are [being] laid down. We are confident that we will be able to fine-tune logistics and requirements for the forthcoming elections.
How will elections be different now?
Electoral processes would be suitably modified to ensure social distancing, sanitisation and the use of masks and gloves. We conducted the Rajya Sabha polls quite successfully, and even made arrangements for Covid-19 positive voters. All guidelines pertaining to electoral machinery, voters, political parties and candidates are being tweaked. Training and capacity-building of electoral machinery is underway.
But campaigning involves rallies and gatherings.
The commission will ensure that SOPs are followed. During campaign, political parties will have to ensure that the safety guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) are adhered to. Any violation would be an offence under the Disaster Management Act.
How will social distancing be ensured at polling booths?
The number of voters per polling station will be restricted to 1,000, as opposed to the current limit of 1,500. The chief electoral officer in Bihar has already identified 33,797 additional polling stations. A requirement of 1.8 lakh additional polling personnel, sector officers, vehicles has been worked out. Additional EVMs and VVPATs have been provided.
Any concerns about voting percentage being affected because of Covid-19?
CEO Bihar has been directed to launch a campaign to enrol citizens left out [of the voters’ list]. This will help migrants who have returned and are not registered as voters. Postal ballots for senior citizens and Covid-19 positive persons will help ensure that the vulnerable sections are not exposed to risk during voting. We shall step up the use of digital technologies in voter awareness.
The Election Commission has proposed expanding the ambit of postal ballot, but it ran into political opposition.
The NDMA guidelines for Covid-19 state that vulnerable persons, including those over 65 years, should stay at home. The commission considered the extraordinary situation and recommended extension of postal ballot to two identifiable categories—voters above 65 years and voters who are either Covid-19 positive or suspected to have the disease—to avoid their presence in polling stations and yet not deprive them of their voting rights. However, the Commission has decided not to extend the facility of postal ballot to voters over 65 years of age in the Assembly elections in Bihar and byelections due in near future in view of constraints of logistics, manpower and safety protocols of Covid-19. But the facility will be available to those who are over 80 years of age, people with disabilities, voters engaged in essential services and voters who are Covid-19 positive or suspected to be infected and in home or institutional quarantine.
Political parties said the changes were unconstitutional.
The statutory framework prescribed under Section 60(c) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, says that any person belonging to a class of persons notified by the Election Commission in consultation with the government can cast his vote by postal ballot. The commission had earlier extended the facility to three categories of voters—80 years and above, those with disability and those employed in essential services. This was notified on October 22, 2019. The commission did not receive any concern on this from any stakeholder, including political parties.
With electioneering moving online, how will it be monitored?
We have elaborate mechanisms of model code of conduct. Candidates have to provide details of their social media accounts while filing nomination. All expenditure on social media shall have to be accounted for, and advertisements pre-certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committees. Regulations applicable to electronic media also apply to social media.The commission, after consultations with social media platforms, has successfully executed a voluntary code of ethics for social media since the 2019 general elections. Necessary advisories will be issued to political parties.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS
Bihar
October/November 2020
243 seats
Assam
April/May 2021
126 seats
Kerala
April/May 2021
140 seats
Puducherry
April/May 2021
30 seats
Tamil Nadu
April/May 2021
234 seats
West Bengal
April/May 2021
294 seats
POLLS IN PANDEMIC
• Electoral processes being tweaked to comply with social distancing norms and safety measures
• No rallies; political parties will have to improvise campaign strategies
• Candidates will have to provide details of social media accounts; expenditure on social media campaigns to be monitored
• Remote voting being examined by experts