NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has proposed requiring the political parties to mandate that voters be given accurate information to assess the financial viability of their election promises due to the fact that declarations provided by the political parties about the financial ramifications of poll promises are quite routine and ambiguous.
Election Commission has noted that the declarations are quite routine, ambiguous, and do not provide sufficient information to the voters to allow them to make an informed choice in an election, despite the fact that the current rules under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) require the political parties and candidates to explain the rationale for promises made therein as well as the possible ways and means to finance such promises.
The Commission, under the direction of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, sought to add to the current MCC standards and require political parties to notify voters about the financial repercussions of their manifesto commitments in comparison to clearly established quantifiable metrics.
According to a senior member of the poll panel, the action was taken to determine whether such pledges could actually be carried out given the available resources.
According to the proposal, political parties will be required to provide information about the financial viability of their promises in a specific format, including details such as the breadth and depth of coverage, a quantification of the coverage's physical reach, and a quantification of the promises' financial ramifications.
The information will also contain the financial resources that are available as well as strategies for obtaining funds to cover the additional costs that will be spent in keeping the commitments.
In a meeting presided over by CEC Rajiv Kumar and attended by Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, the EC came to the conclusion that it could not watch in silence as certain promises and offers had an unfavourable effect on the conduct of free and fair elections and the maintenance of an even playing field for all political parties and candidates.
CEC Rajiv Kumar has started yet another significant electoral reform in order to not only bring about a standardised disclosure proforma for guidance of political parties and candidates, but also to ensure authentic information to the voters in order to assess the financial viability of election promises made by political parties. Rajiv Kumar has drawn on his experience dealing with the Finance Commission, RBI, and Budget process as the Union Finance Secretary. The proforma requests information on ways to generate income (via higher taxes, if any), rationalise spending (by eliminating some programmes, as necessary), the impact on committed liabilities and/or the raising of additional debt, and the impact on FRBM restrictions.
The Commission observed that the frequency of elections mitigates the effects of incomplete disclosures by political parties by giving them the chance to engage in competitive electoral promises, particularly in multi-phase elections, without having to explain their financial ramifications, particularly with regard to committed expenditure. In any case, the majority of political parties also fail to file their declarations on time.
In order to strengthen the guidance provided by the Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates as well as to provide voters with accurate information to evaluate the financial viability of election promises made by political parties, the Election Commission has written to all recognised national and state political parties seeking their opinions on moving forward with the proposed amendment to create a standardised disclosure proforma. By October 18, all nationally recognised political parties are expected to submit their opinions.
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