The Election Commission (EC) has done well to add a section on election manifestos to its model code of conduct that political parties and candidates are obliged to follow in the coming general election. The timing is appropriate as parties are preparing their manifestos now. Several restrictions, including desisting from making announcements that “exert undue influence on voters in exercising their franchise”, will now be incumbent upon all contestants in the election due by May. The need for such guidelines emerged after the Supreme Court in July 2013 asked the EC to formulate guidelines to ensure a “level playing field” between contesting parties and candidates. The EC guidelines that ask political parties to reflect on the rationale for promises and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it in their manifestos are in the interest of transparency, level playing field and credibility of promises. Parties should seek the trust of voters only on those promises which are possible to be fulfilled.
While these are worthy guidelines, it is a hard fact that in today’s climate of political permissiveness, parties are prone to flouting anything that does not entail punitive action. Guidelines are flouted and the recalcitrant party or individual gets away with a mere reprimand that is an inadequate deterrent against a model code violation. If the EC’s word on manifestos is to have any meaning, the commission must be clothed with authority to mete out deterrent punishment. Significantly, parties during their meeting with the EC had expressed divergent views and most were against issue of such guidelines saying making promises to the electorate was their right.
The coming Lok Sabha elections will be a litmus test of how sincere the parties are in following the model code of conduct. This will be particularly so in case of freebies offered to influence voters. In a recent verdict, the Supreme Court had, while upholding the offer of grinders, mixies and laptops to voters held that “freebies shake the root of free and fair elections”.