EC urged to conduct press conference on election day

Media associations have written to the Chief Election Commissioner demanding that press conferences be held after each phase of voting and that the entire poll data, including “absolute number” of votes polled in each phase and percentage of voting, be released by next day.

In a joint letter, the Press Club of India, the Indian Women Press Corp, the Press Association, the Foreign Correspondent Club, and the Delhi Union of Journalists expressed dismay at the Election Commission (EC) not holding a single press conference even after the completion of three phases of voting. “Till 2019, holding a press conference after voting in each phase was the normal practice. India, being one of the largest democracies in the world..., the citizens have every right to know what has happened on the voting day,” the letter said.

Expressing surprise that the EC had not been releasing the “absolute number of votes polled”, the letter said this was not the case in the past elections. The developments had led to apprehension in the minds of people about the fairness of the election, it said.

Responding to the Election Commission’s (EC) rebuttal, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said in a letter to the EC that the Congress was on its side and it was for the o©cials of the EC to decide where they stood.

The EC on Friday issued a public rebuttal to a letter written by Mr. Kharge to his colleagues in the INDIA bloc on the alleged “discrepancies in the voting data” released by the election panel, calling it an “attempt to push a biased narrative under the guise of seeking clari…cations”.

Mr. Kharge said it was “surprising” that the EC chose to respond to a letter addressed to “alliance partners” and not to the commission while ignoring several other complaints given directly to it. He also stated that while he had “misgivings” about the language of the EC’s letter, he would not press on with the issue.

“The letter on one hand says the EC respects citizen’s rights to ask questions and on the other hand threatens citizens in the form of an advise to exercise caution,” he said.

‘Puzzling’ response

Mr. Kharge said he was happy that the EC understood that it had the mandate to conduct smooth, free, and fair elections under the Constitution, yet he found the “lack of urgency” in taking action against “blatantly communal and casteist statements” made by the the ruling party leaders “puzzling”.

Equally surprising, even though factually correct, Mr. Kharge said, was the EC’s comment that it was not “legally bound to publish any voter turnout data at aggregate level of a constituency or State”.

“Many voters who are deeply interested in the election would also like to see the absolute number of votes polled to be put out in the public domain by the EC directly,” Mr. Kharge noted.

Expressing disappointment that in the rebuttal, the EC failed to make any assurance that it would work to “safeguard democracy” and “protect” their own independent functioning, he said, “To make it more clear, the Congress party is on the side of the commission and stands for the strength and independence of the commission. The o©cials of the commission should now decide where they stand.”