INDIA'S VOTER LIST CLEANUP A CONCERN

The Election Commission's push to update electoral rolls ahead of key assembly elections has sparked debate over transparency, timing and impact on voter inclusion in a country where millions don't have the documents needed

- BY NIDHI RAZDAN | Special to Gulf News

The furore over the Election Commission of India's move to revise the voter list in Bihar just months ahead of assembly polls has only deepened, with the poll panel now reportedly planning a similar exercise across the country.

In the name of cleaning up the rolls, the panel is effectively on a drive to disenfranchise millions of voters, with huge ramifications for our democracy.

In a democracy as vast and complex as India, institutions are the bedrock that hold the republic together. Among these, the Election Commission of India has traditionally stood tall — an independent, impartial guardian of free and fair elections. Yet, over the last few years, this once-trusted institution has come under increasing scrutiny, coming under political pressure, compromising its integrity, and selectively enforcing the rules.

The credibility crisis has not come overnight. It has been a gradual erosion, marked by a series of decisions — and silences — that suggest the commission is no longer the neutral umpire it once was, but a player in the game tilted in favour of the ruling establishment.

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