Why are activists opposing EC’s election rule amendment? | Explained

Amendment to Conduct of Election Rules sparks controversy over public access to poll documents, raising transparency concerns.

The story so far:

The Centre on December 20 amended the Conduct of Election Rules to restrict access for the public to a section of poll documents. This was done by the Union Law Ministry following a recommendation from the Election Commission (EC). While the EC said the amendment aims to restrict access to electronic data, the Opposition and transparency activists have been up in arms, branding it as an attack on the right to information and electoral freedom.

The Conduct of Election Rules,1961, is a set of rules which provide for provisions on how to conduct the elections as per the Representation of People Act.

This amendment was brought into effect through a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on December 20. Rule 93(2)(a) of the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules had earlier stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection” but after the amendment, it reads, “all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”

The move comes after a recent direction to the EC by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to share all documents related to the Haryana Assembly election, including treating CCTV footage also as permissible under Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules, to petitioner Mahmoud Pracha.

According to a senior official of the EC, “The rule mentioned election papers. The election papers and documents does not specifically refer to electronic records. In order to remove this ambiguity and considering the serious issue of violation of secrecy of vote and potential misuse of CCTV footage of inside the polling station using artificial intelligence by a single person, the rule has been amended. to safeguard misuse of CCTV footage of inside of the polling station. The EC argues that sharing of CCTV footage may have serious repercussions, especially in sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir, naxal-affected regions, etc where secrecy is important. The lives of the voters may also be at risk. All election papers and documents are otherwise available for public inspection.”

“Candidates in any case have access to all documents, papers and records. Even Mr. Pracha was entitled to all the documents and records from his constituency when he contested as a candidate in Lok Sabha elections 2024”, the official said. adding nothing has been amended in the rules in this regard.