ECI shoots down postal ballot for Bihar voters aged over 65 years

After political parties spoke up against it, the  Election Commission of India (ECI) has shelved its plan to allow postal ballot for Bihar voters aged 65 years and above, in the Assembly, and bye-elections due in a few months.

In its official announcement made on Thursday night, through the official Press Information Bureau (PIB), the ECI has cited Covid-19 guidelines issued by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, stating, “Protection of vulnerable persons: Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.” 

According to the ECI it had “recommended extension of optional postal ballot facilities to voters above 65 years in order to minimize their vulnerability and exposure at the Polling stations and to Covid positive voters and voters under quarantine so that they are not deprived of their voting rights.” The Commission had sent the recommendation to the Ministry of Law & Justice which notified the amended rules on June 19.

The ECI decision comes in the wake of the demand for a roll back of postal ballots that was spearheaded by CPI(M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury. “The  EC had to retreat! My letter sent in motion a chain reaction,” he told SabrangIndia.

Yechury had always maintained that the “use of postal ballots will further aggravate the situation in potential favour of  the ruling party,” and had said that this would benefit the party in power in the state which gains “leverage” because it is the incumbent administration that will organise the postal ballots. Yechury had written to the Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora, putting on record strong objections to the “unilateral measures” taken by the ECI in “altering electoral procedures,” without consulting political parties.

According to Yechury physical voting is still the best option even in the wake of Covid-19, “Organise the voting in such a manner that there is no crowding. Physical distancing is maintained, masks have to be compulsorily worn. Sanitizers provided at every point so that people maintain hygiene. It is perfectly possible if you have multiple polling stations within a booth, it is perfectly possible to have voting done in a manner adhering to all the necessary precautions.”

“The best [voting] method which has evolved in India during the last seven decades and has been efficiently implemented is the physical verification of the voting and that is something that sanctifies the democratic process and the electoral system. So that should be maintained at all costs,” he had asserted.

The ECI also cited a technicality under which before any such provisions are set in motion at the time of election, a notification is issued by the Commission, under section 60(c) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The Commission states that it has been monitoring the electoral preparedness for the coming by-elections and General elections of the Assembly in Bihar. It stated that the “Commission has already limited the number of electors to one thousand for each polling station for ease of voting, especially for elderly and vulnerable sections of electors, in COVID-19 situations. In view of this, the State is creating additional 34,000 (approximately) polling stations (45% more), which will increase the total number of polling stations to around 1,06,000. This would entail formidable logistical challenges of mobilizing 1.8 lakh more polling personnel and other additional resources including requirement of much larger number of vehicles in the State of Bihar.”

Faced with these “challenges and constraints and in view of the decision to limit the number of electors at each polling station to 1000,” the ECI has decided “not to issue the notification to extend the facility of postal ballot to the electors above 65 years of age in the coming General Elections in Bihar and by- elections due in the near future.” However, the option of postal ballot is still available to “voters above 80 years of age, PwD Voters, the electors engaged in essential services and voters who are COVID-19 positive/suspect in quarantine (home/institutional) will be extended in these elections.”

Related:

Postal ballots will potentially favour the ruling party: Sitaram Yechury

Constitutional order collapses if Parliament is paralysed: Sitaram Yechury

ECI Silent on Serious Irregularities in May 2019 Gen Election: Constitutional Conduct 

Over 300 million Indians couldn’t vote in this election, they won’t be able to in 2024 either