Systemic Flaws in Functioning of ECI: Allegations and Issues

Context: The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has levelled serious allegations of “criminal fraud” against the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Allegations by Leader of Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) against ECI

• Fake Voter Registrations in Mahadevapura (Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency)
  • Over 1 lakh fake votes allegedly created to favour the BJP in the 2024 general election.

Five Categories of Alleged Electoral Malpractices

• Multiple registrations of the same voter within the same constituency.
• Identical EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers across different States.
• A large number of voters at a single address (implausible density).
• Multiple votes by the same person in the same booth, based on recovered booth slips.
• Pattern replicated across marginal constituencies as part of a calculated modus operandi.

Underlying Issues with the Election Commission of India

• Electoral Roll Management: Heavy reliance on self-declarations; weak verification mechanisms.
  • Bulky image PDFs for voter lists instead of searchable formats make verification cumbersome.
  • Inadequate door-to-door verification leads to errors in inclusions and deletions.
  • Risk of erroneous deletions (e.g., higher deletion of women voters in Bihar’s SIR exercise despite male-dominated migration patterns).
• Transparency and Data Access: ECI defensive in tone, demanding evidence “under oath” unnecessarily.
  • Reluctance to embrace external scrutiny of processes and systems.
• Electoral Process Safeguards:
  • VVPAT Verification: Limited to small, statistically insignificant samples.
  • EVM Safeguards: Resistance to independent expert audits; inadequate security in symbol loading.
  • CCTV Footage: Unwillingness to retain booth footage for audit purposes.
  • Turnout Figures: Delay in publishing final official data.
• Campaign and Conduct Regulation: Weak enforcement of campaign finance rules and the Model Code of Conduct.
• Institutional Independence: The Current system of appointing Election Commissioners excludes the Chief Justice of India, despite Supreme Court recommendations, raising perception issues about neutrality.

Way Forward

• Electoral Roll Reforms: Comprehensive Voter Roll Auditing using door-to-door verification.
  • Adoption of structured, searchable digital formats for electoral rolls.
  • Periodic cross-state database matching to detect duplicates.
  • Special measures to prevent wrongful deletions of marginalised voters.
• Enhancing Process Transparency: Publish turnout figures within fixed timelines.
  • Retain CCTV booth footage for a reasonable audit period.
  • Make VVPAT verification statistically significant to ensure greater credibility.
• Strengthening Technical Safeguards: Independent third-party EVM and VVPAT audits.
  • Comprehensive audit trail for all EVM commands and secure protocols for symbol loading.
• Strengthening Oversight and Accountability: Implement the Supreme Court recommendation for the inclusion of the CJI in the Election Commissioner appointments.
  • Establish multi-stakeholder consultation platforms for electoral process reforms.
  • Stronger enforcement of campaign finance transparency and MCC compliance.
• Institutional Culture Change: ECI to embrace scrutiny as a democratic necessity, not as an attack.
  • Proactive public communication to build trust in impartiality.

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