INSIDE THE ELECTIONS: A LOOK INTO THE ROLE EC'S POLL OBSERVERS PLAY

Every general election, over 2,000 government officials, belonging to the All India Services, fan out to every part of India to act as the eyes and the ears of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

In this election, over 2,150 senior officers drawn from India Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service and other Central Services have left their original place of posting to move to other distant places, with the objective to ensure that the general elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.

These observers, who are categorized into general observers, police observers and expenditure observers (who were first introduced by the ECI in the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections), are appointed under the powers conferred to ECI by Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the plenary powers available to the Commission under the Constitution of India.

They are the appointees of the Commission working under the superin tendence, control, and discipline of the Commission for the period from their appointment until the process of election is completed. These observers are not sent to their parent cadre or their present place of posting but to a new state.

As a practice, highly regarded officers, who have no blemish on their careers, are selected for the challenging and highly scrutinyprone role of an observer, where the pressure is not just from the ECI but from the local media, the voters and the candidates, all demanding and expecting different things from the observers. The challenges are compounded due to the language barrier.