Ensure polling free from fear
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: February 01, 2012 -

When the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced elections to the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly, it knew holding elections to this trouble torn state was never going to be a cakewalk.

Consequently, it went about the business of conducting election with a lot of planning hoping to be prepared for all eventualities.

The challenge in holding elections anywhere in India is curbing the excessive influence of money and muscle power.

On the money power front, as we have already observed, the ECI was by and large successful in limiting obscene show of wealth in its outward, observable manifestation throughout, right from the issue of notification till the time of actual polling.

But despite some few cases of seizure of cash which was meant to be used for election purposes, on hindsight we can say, the ECI was far from successful in preventing large amount of cash being used to woo voters.

And in the last two days before the polling day, the trickle became a deluge and voters were offered money left and right.

All the measures put in place came to naught in these last few days, the mobile teams set up to thwart just such a move by the candidates seem to have no clue whatsoever, buying of votes went on unhindered.

How this can be prevented in future elections need serious pondering or else, contesting elections would become more and more difficult for people with moderate means making it an excusive corepati club.

On the muscle power front, a much more dismal picture is emerging as reports of alleged electoral malpractice continue to pour in especially from the hill constituencies.

In many polling stations in the hill districts, armed persons allegedly cadres of NSCN-IM are reported to have indulged in large scale rigging and booth capturing.

There are also allegations of preventing polling agents of rival candidates and threats to electorates forcing them to cast vote for a particular candidate.

In some cases EVM machines were vandalized, political workers kidnapped, shot and beaten up.

Understandably, various political parties have been very vocal in demanding re-poll in many polling stations of the hill districts and a few in the valley.

Many political parties who have asked for re-poll, have also pointed out presence of armed supporters of candidates during the polling process, some even forcing their entry inside the polling stations and indulging in various acts of threats, violence and other forms of electoral malpractice.

If that is correct, it exposes the inadequacy of security arrangement, in terms of actual deployment to guard the polling stations as also coordination with other law enforcing agencies, the Assam Rifles and the army towards creating a sanitized environ in and around the polling station.

The good news is ECI has announced re-poll in 34 polling stations on February 4 after going through the reports of the polling officials.

We look forward to foolproof security arrangement this time around not just inside the polling stations but around the whole area in which voters of a particular polling station reside.

Voters in these areas should feel safe and secure to exercise their franchise purely based on free will.