Election Commission of India PTI
The central government on Friday revised the electoral conduct rules. It said election-related documents will not be released to the public. The earlier Rule 93 (2) (a) of the Electoral Conduct Rules, 1961 provides that all other documents relating to the election will be open for public inspection. This was informed by the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice in consultation with the Electoral Commission.
With this change, the Law Ministry has informed that all election-related documents will not be released to the public. Only documents given in the electoral conduct rules will be made available to the public. All documents can only be provided on the order of the court. Banned items include CCTV footage, webcast footage and video recordings of candidates during elections.
Documents such as nomination forms will be available as before
The Center has revised election rules to prevent public scrutiny of certain electronic documents such as CCTV footage and video recordings of candidates. On Friday, based on the recommendations of the Election Commission, the Union Law Ministry amended Rule 93 of the Electoral Conduct Rules, 1961. This can limit the disclosure of documents to the public and public scrutiny.
Following the change, only election-related documents specified in Rule 93(2)(A) of the Conduct of Elections Rules will now be open for public inspection, and these documents are mentioned in the Rules. Documents such as nomination forms and election results will be available to the public as before. However, electronic records such as CCTV footage are not included. An election board official said the request for those electronic records was made under previous rules.
Now we have to request these records from the court
Elections board officials have expressed concern that electronic records could be misused. He warned that CCTV footage from polling stations could compromise voters’ privacy. Or it can be manipulated using artificial intelligence to make false statements. If the public or anyone wants to obtain such electronic records, they may have to take action in court.
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The amendment has clarified that only indicative documents will be available for inspection. This step is believed to have been taken following the recent directive of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Election Commission. The court has directed that all election-related documents be produced during the Haryana Assembly elections.
