Election Commission’s Failings: A Threat to India’s Democracy

India’s democracy is facing a severe threat due to the numerous failings of the Election Commission, as highlighted by Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

Rajan emphasizes the critical importance of free and fair elections in a democracy, outlining essential prerequisites such as accuracy, awareness, non-partisan environment, reliability, and equality of access.

He points out that despite the massive scale of India’s electoral process, including nearly 1.2 million polling booths and over 960 million eligible voters, the Election Commission operates with a skeleton staff of less than 500 full-time employees.

The lack of training and support for the millions of temporary workers involved in the election process, coupled with errors and discrepancies in the voter lists, further undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

Rajan also raises concerns about the EVMs’ integrity, transparency in the counting process, and the potential for manipulation of postal votes in closely contested elections.

He criticizes the Election Commission for its perceived bias, citing instances of inaction against hate speech and communal rhetoric by political leaders during the election campaign.

Rajan concludes by calling the current functioning of the Election Commission the lowest point in India’s history as a democratic republic, posing a grave threat to the nation’s democratic principles.