Election Commission of India on Congress: Amid the demands of making the webcasting footage of polling stations public, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Saturday (June 21) that such a step would be a violation of concerns related to the confidentiality and security of the voters.
Officials claimed that the demand that is being introduced as a rational request is actually opposite to the confidentiality and security concerns of voters, the Representation of the People Act 1950 and 1951, the legal provisions prescribed in 1950 and 1951 and the Supreme Court’s instructions.
Safety of voters may be in danger
Officials said that by sharing the footage, voters can be easily identified by any group or individual, so that both voters and not voting voters can come under pressure, discrimination and threats of anti -social elements.
For example, he said that if a particular political party gets a small number of votes at a particular booth, then that party will be able to easily identify through CCTV footage that which voter has voted and which voter has not been harassed or intimidated by voters.
ECI Order to destroy footage to state election officials
The Election Commission of India directed the state election officials in a letter on May 30 to destroy such footage after 45 days, if the verdict is not challenged in court, due to the possibility of using its electronic data to create malicious discourse.
Footage is provided in court on challenging within 45 days
Officials have emphasized that no election can be challenged after 45 days of the announcement of the result, so maintaining more footage than this period increases the possibility of misuse of misunderstanding and malicious discussions.
He said that if an election petition is filed within 45 days and CCTV footage is not destroyed, it is also made available to the competent court if asked.
According to officials, maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of the voters is not compromised for the Election Commission and it has never compromised on this necessary principle prescribed in the law, which has also been retained by the Supreme Court.
Several opposition parties including Congress demanded footage of Maharashtra election from the Election Commission.
The Congress and some other opposition parties had demanded the release of CCTV footage after 5 pm from polling stations in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections.
The government made changes in election rules in view of the misuse of recording
In December last year, the government had changed the election rule with the aim of preventing public monitoring to prevent misuse of video recording of some electronic documents such as CCTV cameras and webcasting footage.