What are Election Laws in India and How do they Work?

The Indian election is a topic of great debate. This grand territory carries a democracy that depends on this singular point of decision-making. The people of India with their variety of opinions take part in this process and elect a representative for them to take responsibility for the country.

Election laws ensure the necessary freedom and fairness during elections. Let’s look at some aspects of Indian election laws and how it works.

Election law is related to public law that operates during an election.

It regulates electoral observation, counting votes, registration process, scrutiny, propaganda and financing related to elections, electoral disputes, electoral system, ballot access, election campaign, voting rights, electoral zone division, election management bodies etc.

The election law ensures democracy and fairness throughout the whole election process by implementing a model code of conduct.

The election law aims to ensure equity, safety and order through the following components of election:

• Composition of The Election Commission
• The Tenure and Removal of Election Commissioners
• Preparation of Electoral Rolls
• Delimitation of Constituencies
• Allotment of Symbol
• Recognition of Political Parties
• Appointment of Polling Officers
• Filling of Nomination
• Withdrawal and Scrutiny
• Security Deposit
• Notification for Election
• Election Campaign
• Scrutinization of Expenses
• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
• Polling, Counting and Declaration of Results

In India, the conduct of elections follows many rules and regulations. The Indian Government holds elections for the centre and state separately, however, the conduct of parliamentary and state legislature follows almost the same election laws and instructions.

Here are the Acts related to election laws:

• Representation of the People Act 1950: Representation of the People Act 1950 deals primarily with two things, namely revisions and updating of electoral roles and preparation of the same.
• Representation of the People Act 1951: Regulation of the People Act 1951 deals with issues that arise during elections like malpractices, disputes etc. These contentions are to be brought before the State High Court of related constituencies.
• Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act 1952: During elections for the offices of President and Vice-President of India, this law is applied.
• The Registration of Electors Rules 1960: The Registration of Electors Rules aims to implement perfect order in updating electoral rolls, and verification and registration of elector details. This act provides detailed guidelines for issuance of voter ID cards and registration of eligible electors. Furthermore, it indicates the right ways to correct voter cards, how to include eligible voters and how to exclude non-eligible ones.
• Conduct of Elections Rules 1961: Conduct of Elections Rules is a detailed guideline set by the Central Government with the Election Commission for each minute level of an election process. It includes nomination registration, review of endorsements, notice for holding elections, polling and counting of votes, and categorisation of the result-based constitution.
• Election Symbols Order 1968: Election Symbols Order 1968 authorises the Election Commission to acknowledge and allocate diverse symbols to political groups.
• Anti-defection Law 1985: This law determines who is going to be liable for defection. It will hold someone liable if a member of a house that belongs to a specific party discontinues voting while his or her political party does not, gives up his or her political party membership willingly, and when an independent member joins after the election. 
• Delimitation Act 2002: The Delimitation Act 2002 was created to correct a distortion in the sizes of electoral constituencies on the basis of the 2001 consensus. Additionally, it would re-fix the number of seats for the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Classes without altering the total number of seats.
• Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act 1959: This act aims to prevent specific offices from disqualifying holders for being chosen as members of the parliament. It can prevent offices from doing so if they receive some sort of profit from the government. 
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act 1976: This act aims to include certain tribes and cases to the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to represent and readjust assembly and parliamentary constituencies.

However, these Indian election laws are not the only ones which are involved in an election. To better understand how these laws work one should also look at how the government is structured, election requisites, types and more.

India has a parliamentary form of government. It is based on the British Westminster system of parliament. India holds its President as the head of state who can exercise his or her power directly through subordinate officers.

A state's chief minister heads a state legislature which is composed of Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad. A chief minister also holds the responsibility to appoint the state legislature governor.

There are primarily 3 types of elections held in India. Here follows the list:

• Assembly Elections: Through assembly elections, the Indian electorate elects Vidhan Sabha members. Vidhan Sabha members elect the chief ministers of a state.
• General Elections: To constitute Lok Sabha a general election is held. It involves electing parliament members to all the 543 constituencies.
• By-Election: Some offices get vacant during elections. By-Elections help to fill that gap.

There are 3 major requisites for election in India. Let’s look at them one by one here:

• Free and Impartial Authority: To hold an election the authority should be free of any political influence and practice autonomy.
• Redressal Mechanism: A redressal mechanism should be there to provide support during a time when unrest appears in the middle of an election process.
• Rules and Regulation: The authority responsible for conducting an election should abide by and implement all applicable rules and regulations. Now, let’s look at how the Election Commission functions to get a better understanding.

Here are the primary functions of the Indian election commission:

• The Election Commission acknowledges political parties be they national, state, or regional.
• They update the voter list and prepare electoral rolls.
• The commission sets a limit to the election expenses.
• They issue the schedules of elections and notifications of dates for filing nominations.
• The Election Commission allows symbols to the political parties.

The Election Commission has a chief election commissioner and a set number of the election commission as set by the President of India. They have a fixed tenure of 6 years and a retirement age of 65 years.

As many as 2 or 3 Director-Generals and Deputy Election Commissioners, who are top officers in a separate secretariat in New Delhi, assist the Election Commission in their work.

The commission appoints a Chief Electoral Officer from senior civil servants whom the concerned state government recommends.

At districts and constituencies, the District Electoral Officers, Returning Officers, and Electoral Registration Officers conduct the election work. They perform the task with the assistance of a considerable number of junior officials.

Conducting an Indian election is not just a task, it is a humongous event. At specific intervals, the Election Commission performs this duty with nearly five million civil police and polling officers.

In this article, one gets a brief discussion on how election law works in India. It also discusses various aspects to give a broader understanding of the topic.