EC in eye of storm

The neutrality of the Election Commission, the flag-bearer of impartiality and fair play in elections, has recently been called into question once too often. The ECI has already fumbled inelegantly in dispelling the scepticism over the use of electronic voting machines without a confirmatory paper trail which are said to favour a particular party. Gujarat elections were to be the test of ECI’s integrity as a neutral umpire because the stakes are so high for the ruling arrangement. It is also an occasion for the Chief Election Commissioner to clear doubts about his impartiality simply because he had a long innings under Narendra Modi as Gujarat CM. The EC had flunked its first test when the Gujarat assembly poll schedule seemed to have favoured the ruling party. But that may have been a matter of perception. 

What is not a matter of perception are the two different yardsticks for chief campaigners from either side in Gujarat:  Congress president Rahul Gandhi earned a notice for an interview a day before polling but PM Modi’s roadshow after casting his vote slipped under the EC’s radar.  Although it is par for the course for a few losing candidates to castigate the EC, the complaints have multiplied of late; and these are not stray, irresponsible voices. Fairness, codified into rules, is central to ensuring legitimacy and stability within a society. Few voters expect balanced information from partisan political campaigns but they do expect the neutral umpire to be seen as enforcing the rules. 

Perhaps the structure of the Election Commission needs reexamination. After all, the last major reform — converting the EC into a multi-member body — took place a good 25 years back. Since then, distortions have crept in; our polity has become more contested, partisan and amoral. It is time to abrogate the ruling party’s power to appoint Election Commissioners and entrust the task to a collegium. With Caesar’s wife above suspicion, the EC’s superintendence over the election process will not be undermined by disgruntled and motivated criticism. Elections are the signpost of democracy. The guardian of this signpost must not only be truly impartial, but also seen as truly independent as well.