Full text of Chief Election Commissioner ‘s statement in Ahmedabad on Gujarat assembly elections 2017

Ahmedabad: Following is full text of statement made by Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti today in Ahmedabad during his interaction with media persons regarding upcoming Gujarat elections, dates of which are expected to be announced later this month:

 

Gujarat review 10^th October, 2017

 

1. During this visit, the Commission met various political parties to understand their issues and concerns. Commission noted their suggestions for holding free fair and peaceful elections in the state
2. Commission reviewed work of DMs, SPs, Police Commissioners, DIGs/IGs and discussed issues with Chief secretary, Home secretary, DGP and other senior officers of the State Government.

• Commission also discussed strategy with various Enforcement agencies.

 

Issues raised and suggestions made by the Political Parties:

 

1. Law and Order
2. Para military forces be deployed in all polling stations to maintain law and order and to ensure free and fair election.
3. CCTV camera be installed in all polling booths.

 

2. MCC related

 

1. Political Parties demanded that Model Code of Conduct and instructions issued by Election Commission must be strictly complied by the Election Authorities and any propaganda of election at the Government expenditure should not be allowed.
2. Parties urged the Commission to provide a single window system for granting of permission to the candidates and political parties for holding of election meetings.
3. Requested to ensure the impartiality of election related officials and those officers who are recently transferred by the Government of Gujarat should not again be reappointed at the same place. Some parties have requested that staff of the co-operative societies should not be appointed as polling staff.
4. Some parties demanded that any attempt of polarisation on the basis of Religion and Caste be checked and use of religious places should not be allowed to be used for electioneering.
5. Some parties demanded preventive action against hate speeches.
6. Parties urged the Commission to instruct to streamline Grievance Redressal System.

 

3. Abuse of Money:

 

1. Political parties demanded to check the use of money power in pre-election and election period.
2. Some Political parties urged that officers should take proactive action to curb the misuse of money power. During implementation of the guidelines to curb the misuse of money power, fundamental rights of citizens be protected. Proper procedure for release of confiscated items be prescribed and implemented by the Competent Authorities at District Level.
3. Dinner/lunch arranged during the time of election by political parties should be totally banned to avoid discrimination and communal clashes after and before election.
4. Any attempt of distribution of cash and liquor during poll be checked and inter-state borders should be sealed.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Electoral roll:

 

Political parties also gave some suggestions on Electoral Roll.

1. Some parties demanded that the names of the voters should not be deleted without giving proper opportunity to them and any Additions and Deletions, if any, should be published as supplementary electoral rolls and shown to all concerned.
2. Action should be taken against those responsible for breach of rules in the matter of maintaining the purity of Electoral Roll.
3. Political Parties demanded that left out electors should be enrolled and election cards, which are ready for the new registered electors be distributed at the earliest. Some Political Parties demanded that Voter Slips be distributed through BLO only and Political Parties should not be allowed to distribute Voter Slips.
4. Parties urged that the guideline of ECI be communicated to all concerned officials relating to the appointment of polling agent from nearby polling station in case no agent is available from same polling station.
5. Parties demanded that opportunity should be given to the contesting candidate to make up any deficiency in the nomination forms during scrutiny.
6. Some parties demanded extensive training to polling staff including EROs , AEROs and BLOs be given.

 

 

 

5. EVM/VVPAT
6. Political parties welcomed the introduction of VVPAT in all polling stations during forthcoming elections. Parties requested that after introduction of VVPATs, the time frame of voting should be rationalised to achieve maximum voting.
7. Parties emphasised the need to publicise the concept and functioning of VVPAT and proper lighting arrangements be made in all the Polling Booths.

 

—————————————————————————-

The Commission took note of the concerns and suggestions of the political parties and assured them that the Commission will put in place an effective mechanism to ensure smooth conduct of entire poll process in a free, fair, transparent and inclusive election.

The Commission has directed the State Election Machinery to ensure effective monitoring & vigilance, comprehensive planning and discipline at all levels to address the concern of the political parties and instil confidence in the electorate to exercise their franchise without fear, coercion, intimidation or inducement. Commission further directed that   entire electoral process must be conducted in a free and fair manner and all possible steps must be taken to ensure that every elector is able to exercise his/her franchise without any threat, intimidation or inducement.

 

 

 

 

 

ELECTORAL ROLLS:

• The CEO Gujarat has informed that after the Final Publication of the Electoral Roll on 09.2017 Following is the detail of ER:

 

	Male		Female		Third Gender
As on 25-09-2017		2.25 Cr. (51.96%)		2.07 Cr. (47.80%)	688	4.33 Cr. (+3.83%)

 

As per the Commission’s direction, a special drive has been launched on 9^th October, which will conclude on 25^th  October,2017.  During this campaign, BLO shall:

• Distribute EPIC cards to newly registered Electors
• Add the new voters and take the forms from citizens to get them registered as Voter
• Collect the names of Absentee, shifted and dead voters (ASD) but no new deletion will take Place.

• In the recent campaign for Summary Revision as per eligibility on 01.01.2017, 46 Lac new voters have been enrolled, out of this, 3.21 Lac are first time voters in 18-19 age cohort.
• At the same time 14 Lac names of shifted and dead voters from the electoral rolls have been deleted during this revision.
• Percentage of photo coverage in the electoral roll is 99.99 % and EPIC coverage is 99.99 %. The remaining EPIC cards shall be issued to electors soon.
• Final Electoral Rolls has been displayed on the CEO’s Website and copies of the final Rolls have been given to all recognized Political Parties. All new additions and deletions have been made available to all political parties at field level.

POLLING STATIONS:

• Presently there are a total of 50,128Polling Stations at 28639 polling locations.
• I am very happy to inform that AMF( Assured Minimum facilities) has been provided to all 50,128 Polling Stations. The status of Assured Minimum Facilities of these Polling Stations is as follows:

 

• Present Status of AMFs:
  • Ramp 100%
  • Drinking water 100%
  • Toilets 100%
  • Electricity 100%
  • Waiting Room/Shade 95%

 

LAW AND ORDER: SECURITY MANAGEMENT

State administration and police have been asked to take steps to tone up the Security and Law and Order maintenance.

• General and police observers will be deployed in the state to monitor all activities and advise the local administration. The contact numbers of these observers will be made available to public. They will directly report to Commission.
• The CAPF will be used for Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) jointly by the DMs and SPs to reassure the voters and instil faith and confidence in them. The CAPF vehicles will have proper signage and public address system.
• The Commission has directed the State government to provide cashless treatment facility to all polling staff, CAPF and police force deployed for Election Duty. To get the best possible medical treatment in the nearest hospital including the private hospitals in case of medical emergency as a welfare measure.
• Strict vigil will be maintained to check the cross-border smuggling of, drugs, liquor and other illicit items from neighbouring states. International borders in border districts of the state and Inter-state borders will be appropriately subjected to security and surveillance.
• Action against all identified trouble-mongers/anti-social elements/bad characters, proclaimed offenders etc. would be taken in order to prevent them from vitiating the election process. Comprehensive Inspection of Jails would be conducted by Jail department to stop the activities of criminals inside and outside.
• Webcasting / CCTV coverage/videography shall be provided at border check posts, identified Polling Stations etc.
• All critical polling stations and those in vulnerable areas will be covered under these arrangements.
• All licensed arms in the state shall be verified and except those exempted by the District-level Committee, all other Licenced weapons shall be deposited with the concerned Police Stations. Administration has been directed to launch a special drive for Deposition of licenced arms.

 

CONTROL OF ABUSE OF MONEY AND EXPENDITURE MONITORING

Commission reviewed with enforcement agencies to curb misuse of money/drugs/liquor & gifts distribution. All DEOs will Constitute Election Expenditure Monitoring Teams as per ECI Instructions

• Income Tax officials will be deployed in all the districts for expenditure monitoring by the Candidates and the Political Parties.
• Adequate no. of Flying Squads and Static Surveillance Teams will be operationalized in all 182 Assembly Constituencies to check movement of cash, liquor, drugs and other free bees in Gujarat.
• The vehicles used by flying squads will be fitted with GPS to track their movement and prompt action.
• Mobile app based complaint system regarding abuse of money will be activated in each district. People will be able to file complaints with concerned authorities.
• Income Tax Authorities would set up A 24 X 7 control room and a 24 X 7 toll free number, (phone no 1800 233 1313) for the whole state will be started. A dedicated email id will also be created and made operational. These numbers and email id will be widely publicized through print and electronic media. (The control room will be make operational from announcement of Election)
• Movement of money through banking channels will be monitored and fool-proof arrangements would be made to monitor suspicious banking transactions.
• After announcement of elections, affidavits filed by candidates will be quickly uploaded on website of the CEO, Gujarat. This would enable all the Electors and Income Tax authorities to have access to the affidavits filed by candidates.
• 11 Air intelligence Units of IT authorities would be set up at Ahmadabad domestic, Ahmadabad-International, Baroda, Kandla, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Bhuj, Diu Airports. (Will be set up after announcement of Election)
• IT Teams would be deployed at the Railway Stations also.

MCMC AND PAID NEWS

• MCMC (Media Certification and Monitoring Committee) committees have been constituted at every district while state level committee is located at state capital. To facilitate the candidates living at faraway places from district headquarters, Commission has directed that pre-certification requests for electronic media advertisements can be received at RO level. RO will forward these requests to MCMC committee at district level. After certified advertisement received from MCMC committee, RO will deliver the certificate to the candidate in a time bound manner.
• Press Council of India is being requested to nominate a senior journalist to facilitate better functioning of MCMC in the State.
• Systematic and structured training would be organised for MCMC members across the state.

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES:

• The Commission has been successfully utilizing Information Technology based applications during elections, not only for improved facilitation of the various stakeholders like electors, election managers, political parties and candidates, but also to ensure efficient and effective monitoring of various elections processes and redressal of Public grievances.

 

Some of the important IT initiatives shall be as follows:

SAMADHAN: Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System

 

A comprehensive, robust and reliable Public Grievance Redress System has been developed by the Election Commission to provide a common platform for all complaints, grievances, concerns and suggestions lodged by any member of the public. A Mobile App shall also be made available for the people, so that they can submit complaints with photographs/videos on the common platform. SMS is sent to complainant on receipt/disposal of complaint and the complainant can track status and view ATR online or through the Mobile App. This system has been developed in such a manner that in addition to providing redress to the complaints of the pubic, it also serves as a common interface for providing services through a common interface.

 

(b) SUVIDHA: Single Window Permission System

 

A single window system for giving election-related permissions/clearances within 24 hours has been created. In this system, Candidates and Political Parties can apply for permissions for Meetings, Rallies, vehicles, temporary election office, loudspeakers etc at a single location, where back-end convergence of various authorities/departments has been done. This system is put in place at every RO level in each sub-division which will provide for applying, processing, granting and monitoring permissions in a synergistic manner. However, in case of permissions for Helicopter usage/landing and use of helipads, the application shall have to be submitted at least 36 hours in advance.

 

(c) SUGAM: Vehicle Management System

It is an IT-based Vehicle Management System with the facility of issuance of requisition letters for vehicles, capturing of vehicle details with address, mobile number and bank details of owner and driver, transfer of vehicles from one district to another district etc.

• ELECTION- ATLAS: e-Atlas (GIS-Maps) has been prepared for 182 -Assembly Constituencies of the State. GIS maps contains P.C. layers, AC layers, Polling Stations layers with information of DEOs, ROs, BLOs & AMF, Vulnerable & Critical Polling Stations etc.
• RONET: RONET is an integrated application of several applications clubbed in one. This application will be used to monitor various activities of Gujarat Vidhan Sabha Elections-2017. This application contains various modules like Candidates, Permission Requests, EVM & VVPAT, Polling Staff, Training, Pre-Poll Arrangement, Poll Day, Law & Order etc.
• Mobile Updation Application: MOBILE UPDATION is a web-based mobile application which will facilitate the voters to get their mobile numbers updated and to enter their new mobile numbers for receiving messages from Election Department regarding SVEEP and Important Election dates.
• e-Payment:- Payments related to elections will be made through e-Payment gateway.
• Webcasting shall be done at selected no of polling stations.

 

 

 

EVM and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT):

• EVM machines with VVPATs will be used in all the 50128 polling stations of 182 Assembly Constituencies of state. VVPAT enables a voter to see the name of the candidate and the symbol of the candidate on paper to whom he has casted his vote.
• Commission has directed that awareness about the use of VVPATs must be carried out by district election machinery to acquaint the electors and political parties about the features and Transparency of the VVPATs.
• Commission has directed that DEOs and SPs shall be personally responsible for safety and security of EVM & VVPAT.
• If a candidate has any substantive reason about the result of a particular EVM of a Polling Station, he/she can request the Returning Officer for counting of VVPAT paper slips giving specific reason for the request. The Returning Officer shall consider and decide about the request as per the guidelines issued by the Commission in this regard.
• Commission has decided to count VVPAT slips of one polling station, selected at random, in each Assembly Constituency on a pilot basis.

 

Measures taken for Voter Facilitation and making Election inclusive and voter friendly

Voter Facilitation

• Commission has directed that all the necessary arrangements for facilitation and convenience of voters at the polling stations shall be made to ensure a smooth and comfortable voting experience.
• I am happy to inform that For the First Time, the Commission has decided to set up a minimum of one all Women Managed Polling Station in the 182 Assembly constituencies of the State. I would like to appreciate the Follow up Action which has been taken by the CEO and all the DEOs wherein they have selected one polling station as All Women Managed Polling Station in all the 182 Assembly constituencies of the State.
• Revised Photo Voter slips, voter guide, voter facilitation posters will be provided. Height of voting compartment has been increased.

 

ACCESSIBLE ELECTIONS:

• The Commission has laid special emphasis on making the election process accessible for all sections of the electorate, especially the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), aged and infirm electors etc. Towards this objective, comprehensive and consolidated guidelines would be issued for making special arrangements like all polling premises will be provided with sturdy Ramps (temporary or permanent) for barrier free access and proper link roads to polling stations.
• A data base of PWD voters has been created and such electors are being enrolled and mapped with PS. the list of which has been given to BLOs to provide assistance.
• Special facilities to PWD voters like wheel chair, waiting area, queue assistance, parking area, ramps, escort would be provided.
• Braille ballot paper for easy readability by the visually impaired voters would be provided.

SVEEP:

• Commission directed to organise a participative and people-friendly SVEEP campaign to transform into a peoples’ movement to create a festive buzz about the forthcoming elections. All the media including outdoor and indoor, cinema hall, video vans and social media be used for this.
• Effective use of social media through face book & twitter page of CEO Gujarat.
• Booth Awareness Groups (BAG) have been established by DEOs.
• Post cards carrying different information on enrolment and electoral participation being sent covering all households across the State.
• The focus of SVEEP is on improving gender ratio and increasing poll percentage, ethical voting.
• Booth Level Awareness Groups (BAGs), Campus Ambassadors and Nodal Officers in educational institutions.
• 10 of Polling Stations in each Assembly Constituency with lowest turnout in previous Assembly Elections, 2012 and in Lok Sabha Elections, 2014 identified for a focussed SVEEP plan implementation for these area.

 

Regular Media Interaction (Information, and Dissemination through Media) :

• The Commission considers media as its formidable ally and a force-multiplier in ensuring efficient election management and effective compliance of all laws, instructions and guidelines of the Commission.
• Commission has directed CEOs and DEOs to use social media for the benefits of voters and polling.
• Commission will issue a comprehensive press note on media related issues immediately after the announcement of the polls. Media is expected to follow these regulations during election process.
• The Commission has directed that close to elections, regular press briefings must be held by the CEO and the DEOs and all crucial information on election related matters be periodically informed to all stakeholders through the media

Finally

Commission is committed to maintain purity of elections and to deliver Free, Fair and Transparent elections.

• Commission has directed the State level and District level Election Machinery to be fearless, unbiased, neutral and independent from any influence whatsoever. Conduct and discharge of duties by the election officials would be under constant watch of the Commission.
• The Commission is making sincere efforts to ensure that “No voter to be left behind” in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly Elections in Gujarat.