Election commission and changing contours of politics

Abstract

Looking at the past of the Election Commission, one finds that the relative calm in which it functioned earlier was the era of the one-party dominant system. With the coming of a true multiparty system, the scene has changed. Apart from the increased load of electoral work, the EC also has to deal with the changed nature of politics. Aspirations by multiple parties to attain or hold on to power have hugely increased rule-bending, rule-flouting and aggressiveness. These transformations in politics demand not only an altered approach to electoral work, but perhaps a reform in the setting up of the EC itself.