ECI’s tough stand on election footage strikes discordant note

IT’s been seven months since Maharashtra went to the polls, but the November 2024 Assembly elections continue to be in the news — for the wrong reasons. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has toughened its stand on a demand by the Congress and other Opposition parties to release post-5 pm CCTV footage from polling booths. The ECI has directed its state electoral officers across the country to destroy CCTV, webcasting and video footage of the election process after 45 days (of the declaration of the result) if the poll verdict is not challenged in courts within that period. The poll panel has justified this decision on the grounds that its electronic data can be misused to create “malicious narratives” and spread misinformation.

According to the Representation of the People Act, no election can be challenged beyond 45 days after the result is out. However, retention of footage for a longer period, even if no election petition is filed, can be helpful to any aggrieved stakeholder. As per the earlier instructions issued in September 2024, recordings from the pre-nomination phase were to be preserved for three months, while footage from the nomination stage, campaigning, voting and counting were to be retained for periods ranging from six months to one year. The new orders have done away with these reasonable timelines.

The apparent haste to erase the footage raises doubts about the transparency and integrity of the electoral exercise. The onus of clearing the air lies squarely on the ECI, which got a poll rule amended last year in order to prevent public scrutiny of electronic documents such as CCTV data from polling stations on voting day. It’s true that the secrecy and security of voters are non-negotiable, but measures that arouse suspicion are detrimental to the democratic process. The way out is to take strict action against individuals and political parties who misuse recordings, not to restrict access or destroy valuable evidence prematurely.

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