India’s Election Commission was established on January 25, 1950, a day before India became a republic. This was a remarkable act of foresight. In a democracy, political parties compete for the support of the electorate to earn the right to govern. The contest must be free, fair and without fear or coercion. An independent Election […]
Reports
When poll seizures lead nowhere
SIR to be rejected: Civilisational tradition of this land to be respected
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is likely to start in several more States anytime soon. Citizens’ movements in these States need to demand a stop to the SIR and ask for measures that will ensure that no genuine voter is excluded. The experience of States where SIR has been conducted have thrown up the […]
Electoral bonds damaging democracy, choking opposition funds: ADR
Noting that electoral bonds pose a grave threat to transparency in political fundings, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Wednesday said that they are ‘extremely damaging to the Indian democracy’. “The Finance Minister had said these bonds will be in the nature of a bearer bond, the identity of the donor will be kept […]
Electoral Trusts Mostly Benefit Ruling Parties, Need to Cap ‘Donations’ for Transparency
With the introduction of electoral bonds, Electoral Trusts are no longer required to reveal the name(s) of the party to which donations are given. If a government makes policy, budget allocations or tax rules that favour donors over the public, we will not even know who the donors were. Behind all the debates on election […]