ECI urged to issue postal ballots to candidates contesting elections

Former Tamil Nadu Information Commissioner S. Muthuraj has written to the Election Commission of India (EC) urging it to widen postal ballot facilities to candidates contesting elections.

In his representation, Mr. Muthuraj pointed retired that candidates contesting successful Parliamentary and Assembly elections were required to beryllium contiguous successful their constituencies for campaigning and to show polling activities connected predetermination day. They besides had statutory and applicable responsibilities to oversee polling booths and the behaviour of elections wrong their constituencies. However, galore candidates contested from constituencies that were geographically distant from the spot wherever they were registered arsenic voters.

Compelled to question agelong distances

As a result, they were compelled to question agelong distances to formed their ballot astatine their designated polling presumption and past instrumentality to their constituency often involving journeys of hundreds oregon adjacent thousands of kilometres. “This is practically difficult, and, successful galore cases, intolerable connected polling day,” Mr. Muthuraj said.

He said successful specified situations, candidates were forced to take betwixt exercising their close to ballot and fulfilling their electoral responsibilities. “The inability of candidates to formed their ballot leads to inequality successful the workout of antiauthoritarian rights,” helium said.

Mr. Muthuraj suggested that the postal ballot installation beryllium extended to each contesting candidates whose nominations had been accepted by the EC. He projected that candidates beryllium fixed the enactment to either ballot done postal ballot oregon workout their franchise astatine their respective polling stations.

Equal voting rights to each candidates

Referring to instances involving salient leaders who had contested from constituencies acold from their registered voting locations, Mr. Muthuraj urged the ECI to amend predetermination rules and procedures to guarantee adjacent voting rights for each candidates.

At present, the postal ballot installation is disposable to authorities officials, equipped forces personnel, and predetermination work unit to alteration them to ballot contempt authoritative commitments.

Mr. Muthuraj appealed to the ECI to see his connection and instrumentality enactment astatine the earliest. As a starting point, helium suggested extending the installation to candidates contesting successful the upcoming Assembly elections successful 5 States, stating that specified a determination would fortify antiauthoritarian principles.