Election Commission implements major changes in working methods to enhance transparency

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced significant changes to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the institution. Under these new changes, the agendas of the Election Commission's meetings will now be shared in advance, and the details of the proceedings during the meetings, i.e., the minutes, will also be made public. Previously, such a process was not followed. The primary objective of this decision is to make information available regarding which issues were discussed and what decisions were taken during the Commission's meetings.

Along with this, rules for foreign travel for officials working in the Election Commission have been tightened. Now, officials of the Commission will have to obtain prior approval from the Election Commission to travel abroad. Previously, no such approval process was in place. Additionally, decisions regarding new IT modules will no longer be placed directly before the Commission. The new IT module will first be sent to a committee of officials, and only after receiving approval from that committee will it be presented to the Election Commission. Previously, there had been a dispute between the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners over the issue of this IT module.

The Election Commission has also made important changes in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The option for the declaration has now been removed from the online form. This change has been implemented in all states and union territories where the SIR process is currently underway. This declaration will no longer be part of the online form, but a separate declaration has been issued for it. According to an update released on November 4, the Commission has separated the mandatory requirement of the additional declaration (Annexure-D) from the online Form-6 for new voters in 17 states and union territories.

This change in SIR rules has been made with the aim of simplifying the registration process for new voters and reducing additional difficulties encountered while filling out online forms. Now, this declaration will not be included in the online voter registration form, but a separate declaration will have to be provided. All these important decisions were taken on September 26. A high-level meeting of the Commission was held in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. In this meeting, all decisions related to making internal functioning transparent and systematic were approved unanimously. Official information regarding these changes has been provided in the documents of the Election Commission and the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The primary objective of these steps taken by the Election Commission is to increase accountability in the internal working system of the institution. Making the meeting agendas and minutes public will make the Commission's processes more open. The decision to make prior approval mandatory for the foreign travel of officials is also a step taken in the same direction.