– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: Amid rising concerns over electoral transparency, a Collective of Concerned Citizens, technical experts, and civil society organisations has launched a national campaign demanding accountability in India’s electoral process. They submitted a fresh memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI), following a previous notice in July 2024, reiterating six urgent demands to restore public trust in the system.
The memorandum raises pointed questions:
Why aren’t the past and present Voter Lists available in a searchable format on the ECI website?
Why is aggregate voter count data and all Form 17-Cs missing from searchable public databases?
Why are Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A, and 11B—which detail voter roll additions and deletions—not accessible transparently?
Why is the EVM source code not open source and publicly inspectable for software integrity checks?
Why is there no full disclosure of Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) contents with oversight by independent technical experts?
Why are VVPAT slips not fully counted?
The memorandum questions the ECI’s growing closeness to the political executive, failure to enforce the Model Code of Conduct, and inaction on divisive speech. It highlights a broader erosion of the Commission’s independence.
Citing CSDS data, the memorandum notes only 28% of Indians still trust the ECI—signaling a deep democratic decline.
The group, coordinated by Vote for Democracy (VFD), held a three-hour national consultation with civil society before preparing the document. State-wide expert committee consultations are also being planned.
The memorandum is endorsed by 83 prominent individuals—former judges, IAS officers, computer scientists, journalists, and activists—all calling for electoral reform.
Notable signatories include MG Devasahayam (ex-IAS, Army), Madhav Deshpande, Prof. Harish Karnick, Justices D. Hariparanthaman and B.G. Kolse Patil, Aruna Roy, Venkatesh Nayak, Anjali Bhardwaj, E.A.S. Sarma (IAS Retd), Prashant Tandon, Teesta Setalvad, and Raju Parulekar.
Their collective expertise in election law, policy, technology, and rights underscores the urgency of the demands. The initiative signals a rising national demand for electoral integrity and systemic reform.
