ECI makes provisions for Postal Ballot for Elderly People and disabled

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has come out with new instructions for people with disabilities. The form required for postal ballot is to be delivered at the residence of all those who are above 80 years of age.

Highlights

If the person opts for postal ballot, the Booth Level Officer will collect the filled form 12-D at his or her door step. The ballot is to be collected within five days of notification and deposited with the returning officer. These instructions are applicable to all the elections, by elections that were announced by the ECI in the last week of September 2020. The ballots are to be delivered and collected on pre-informed dates.

This is applicable for Bihar Elections that is to be held on October 28, 2020 as well.

About the Postal Ballot

The postal ballot facility introduced for elderly and the disabled are different from those that was in practice for service voters. Here, the people willing to use the facility will have to fill up a form. The official then carry the ballot to the residence of such voters and the voting process is videographed to ensure transparency.

Election Commission of India

It is an autonomous constitutional authority that is responsible for administering State and Union Elections. Part XV of the Constitutions details about the ECI. Under the part, Articles 324 to Article 329 speak about powers, tenure, functions, eligibility of election commission. The powers of ECI are administrative, Quasi-judicial and advisory. The powers of ECI are as follows

• It has powers to register and deregister a political party
• It has powers to enforce “Model Code of Conduct”.
• It advises the President and Governor on disqualification of members of the legislature.
• It advises Supreme Court and High Court on disputes between political parties and candidates.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020