The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on March 16 that India would vote in seven phases in the Lok Sabha elections, from April 19 to June 1 and the results will be announced on June 4.
- With this announcement, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect.
About Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
- The MCC of ECI is a set of guidelines issued to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections.
- It aims to ensure free and fair elections are conducted.
- The MCC comes into force from the date the election schedule is announced until the date that results are out.
- The MCC contains eight provisions dealing with general conduct, meetings, processions, polling day, polling booths, observers, the party in power, and election manifestos.
- As soon as the code kicks in, the party in power — whether at the Centre or in the states — should ensure that it does not use its official position for campaigning. No policy, project or scheme can be announced that can influence the voting behaviour.
- The party must also avoid advertising at the cost of the public exchequer or using official mass media for publicity on achievements to improve chances of victory in the elections.
- The code also says the ministers must not combine official visits with election work or use official machinery for the same. The ruling party cannot use government transport or machinery for campaigning.
- The issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in the newspapers and other media is also considered an offence.
- Political parties or candidates can be criticised based only on their work record and no caste and communal sentiments can be used to lure voters.
No legal backing
- The MCC evolved as part of the ECI’s drive to ensure free and fair elections and was the result of a consensus among major political parties. It has no statutory backing. This means anybody breaching the MCC can’t be proceeded against under any clause of the Code. Everything is voluntary.
- The EC uses moral sanction or censure for its enforcement. The ECI can issue a notice to a politician or a party for an alleged breach of the MCC either on its own or based on a complaint by another party or individual.
- Once a notice is issued, the person or party must reply in writing — either accepting fault and tendering an unconditional apology or rebutting the allegation. In the latter case, if the person or party is found guilty subsequently, he/it can attract a written censure from the ECI — something that many see as a mere slap on the wrist.
- Although the ECI rarely resorts to punitive action to enforce MCC, during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it had banned two leaders from campaigning to prevent them from further vitiating the poll atmosphere with their speeches.
- The Commission resorted to its extraordinary powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to impose the ban.
