The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) outlines rules and ethics guiding electoral campaigns and political party behaviors designed to foster free, fair and ethical democratic contestation in India. Amidst rising instances of MCC violations through inflammatory rhetoric, voter inducements, public disorder and misuse of office during electioneering, review of the strengths and weaknesses of ethical oversight frameworks and capacities governing competitive, accountable and non-violent campaigns is warranted.
Key Shortcomings in Implementation of MCC
- Delayed Enactment and Variable Enforcement: MCC only comes into force with election announcement limiting scope. Enforcement trends reactive allowing room for violations without timely redress once advantage gained. Penal provisions for violation found inadequate to deter.
- Partisan Appointments and Monitoring Lacunae: Questions raised regarding neutrality, autonomy and effectiveness of election observers and district media certification monitoring committees dominated by government nominees. Social media oversight remains weak.
- Framework Gaps on New-Age Technological Abuses: Regulations lag on data theft, surveillance and targeted disinformation via social media platforms, under-declared digital spending and opacity of targeting mechanisms enabling voter manipulation with no enforceable penal provisions.
- Non-Standardization in Candidate Self-Declarations: Loopholes exploited through selective reporting of pending criminal cases, assets owned, actual educational qualifications and profession in nomination papers submitted with no scope for legal redress once inaccuracies detected after elections.
- Election Finance Non-Transparency: 62% growth in income of national parties from unknown sources in 2020-21 alone gives advantage to resource rich players with greatest opacity around details of corporate donors and actual spending potentially influencing voter choices through unaccounted flows of money to parties and candidates violating permitted limits.
Imperatives for Strengthening Model Code of Conduct
- Increase lifespan and enhance legal validity of MCC with recognition under Representation of People Act making violations a punishable electoral offence. Standardize checklists based on emerging modalities of malpractice.
- Appoint MCC violation oversight committees at state & district levels for year-round functioning, comprising non-partisans and civil society watchdogs. Set up dedicated fact checking mechanisms to curb disinformation especially around identity politics.
- Enforce proactive social media platforms regulations requiring transparent reporting on spending and archiving of all political advertisements with candidate/party authorization declaration and minimum viable paper trail norms for speedy takedowns of verified fake or hate content.
- Universal machine-readable template for candidate nomination papers to standardize disclosures, facilitate digitally compiled dashboards for public. Make falsification and discrepancies between submissions liable for legal penalization including candidature disqualification based on ECI verdicts.
- Real-time expenditure monitoring based on GST returns, banking transactions, cash withdrawals and seized records matched against registered donor and voter databases to detect margins of unreported funding flows breaching caps early during campaign cycles with scope for punitive action against defaulting groups.
Key Priority Areas for Strengthening Model Code of Conduct Enforcement
Deterrence Against Transgressions
- Legally binding MCC as part of electoral reforms process with censure policies proportionate to violation severity instituted through amendments under Representation of People Act provisions
- Empower Election Commission to bar repeat defaulting parties/candidates from contesting for defined period based on severity of ethics breaches.
Impartial Monitoring Mechanisms
- Create permanent MCC state-level monitoring authorities manned by autonomous oversight bodies like Lokayukta with nominated civil society participation to ensure neutrality.
- Enhance visibility through active tracking of physical campaigns plus online platforms around the clock. Appoint dedicated social media content reviewers.
Transparent Digital Campaigning
- Enforce statutory ad authorization declaration giving paper trail attribution. Standardized public reporting by platforms on political parties advertisement volumes, spending and targeting parameters.
- Set curbs on data stealing apps, strengthen cyber security protocols around voter and policy databases. Better oversight to curb propagation of polarizing and fake content.
Groomed Ethical Leadership Culture
- Review selection norms of electoral candidates based on educational qualifications, criminal records, financial transparency compliance, past public conduct.
- Institute mandatory civic literacy modules as part of political party worker curriculums highlighting electoral ethics.
The Road Ahead
- Free, fair and ethical conduct of political actors during electoral contests forms a cornerstone of democratic processes by enabling informed voter choices and preventing asymmetric undue influence through abuse of power, money, platforms or institutional machinery itself.
- By addressing emerging gaps in capacities, orientation and enforcement efficiencies, reforming and empowering oversight bodies guiding respectable democratic practice, India can lead by example upholding the highest standards making elections truly representative, rule-based and accountable with level playing field for all political parties and citizens alike.
