DRIVE ON TO IDENTIFY PERSONS WITH MULTIPLE VOTER IDS: CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER

One of the key objectives of the drive is to identify ‘many persons’ who have retained multiple voter cards of different constituencies, says Gyanesh Kumar during a meeting with booth-level EC officials.

MULTIPLE VOTER CARDS

ØAddressing a group of booth-level officers here, the CEC said one of the key objectives of the drive is to identify “many persons” who have, knowingly or unknowingly, managed to retain multiple voter cards of different constituencies.

Ø“As per the Representation of the People Act, you are entitled to vote only in the Assembly constituency where you are ordinarily a resident.

ØFor example, if you ordinarily reside in Delhi but own a house in Patna, your vote should be registered in Delhi, not in Patna,”

ØSenior Election Commission (EC) officials pointed out that many persons are generally residents of one place and have got their voter card from that location while retaining their earlier card before migrating from there, which is a criminal offence.

Election commission of India

ØECI is a permanent Constitutional Body established in on 25th January 1950.

ØSince 2011, National Voters' Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year to mark the foundation day of the ECI.

ØConstitutional Provision:

Part XV of the Constitution entailing Articles 324 to 329.

ØStatutory provisions:

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 regulates their appointment, service conditions, tenure, etc.

Key-Initiatives of ECI

ØElectronic Voting Machine (EVM).

ØSystematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)

ØIntroduction of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)

ØNational Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP)

ØInternational Co-Operation: ECI is a founding member of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), Stockholm and Commonwealth Electoral Network (CEN).

Chief election commisioner of India

ØChief Election Commissioner of India(CEC) heads theElection Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections.

ØAn election commissioner is appointed by thePresident of Indiaon the recommendation of a three-member selection committee headed by thePrime Minister of Indiaand consisting of the leader of the opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister.

ØThe term of a CEC can be a maximum of six years or till he/she attains sixty five years of age. The Chief Election Commissioner is usually a member of theIndian Civil Serviceand mostly from theIndian Administrative Service.

Who Can Vote?

Voting rights in India

ØAs per the Indian Constitution, all Indian citizens above the age of 18 years who have registered themselves as voters are eligible to vote.

ØThese individuals can vote in national, state, district as well as local government body elections.

ØNo individual can be detained or prevented from voting, unless they fulfil the criteria for disqualification.

ØEvery voter is allowed one vote only. A voter can vote at the constituency where he has registered himself only.

ØEligible voters have to register themselves in the constituency where they live, upon which they will be issued photo election identity cards (also known as EPIC cards).

ØIndividuals are not permitted to participate in the electoral process if they have not registered or do not possess a voter ID card.

ØAny citizen may cast a vote in any of the upcoming elections as long as they have a valid voter ID:National-level elections

State-level elections

District-level elections

Local government body elections