Election Commission of India’s Transparency and Credibility Challenges

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has amended the Conduct of Election Rules to restrict public access to poll documents, except for those specifically mentioned in them.

• The ECI has also stated it does not want to share CCTV footage of the booth, citing privacy and security reasons.

• The change came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the ECI to share all documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections, including CCTV footage, to a private citizen.

• The amended rule now only allows public inspection of specified “papers” that are specified in it.

• The ECI’s explanation that candidates have access to all documents, papers, and records remains unclear.

• The change in rules does not solve any problem the ECI claims it does, other than time and effort. It has raised more questions about the ECI’s intentions.