Panaji: In order to discourage tainted candidates from contesting elections, the Election Commission said that political party They have to disclose the criminal records of all their candidates, and also the reasons why the candidate has been selected to fight for 2022 Goa assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra met the parties which are in the fray for the 2022 assembly elections and said that the commission will be strict to follow the norms.
Political parties will have to disclose this information on their websites and through newspapers at least thrice.
“The public should be fully informed about the credentials of a candidate. Political parties will also have to give reasons why they chose a person with criminal background and why they could not find a clean candidate.
Chandra said the ability to win elections cannot be counted as a reason nor can social activities be cited as a reason for choosing a particular candidate.
The term of the Goa Legislative Assembly is set to end on March 15 and elections are expected to be held in early February. The team of Election Commission officials met representatives of Congress, BJP, Goa Forward Party and MGP.
“In some cases which were monitored by the Commission, we found that the parties have given a reason that the candidate has done a lot of social work. This is despite the Supreme Court saying that victory cannot be the reason. The commission is going to be strict about this,” Chandra said.
He also announced that a special cell is being constituted to monitor the criminal records of the candidates. The Election Commission will also track and monitor social media, news outlets and political rallies to track incidents of fake news, hate speeches and paid news.
“There should be no hate speech by political parties during the elections, which will spoil the atmosphere,” Chandra said. Chandra urged political parties to ensure that the upcoming elections can be termed as the “most ethical election” in the country.
The Election Commission has urged voters and political parties to take advantage of online facilities provided by Goa’s Chief Election Office, especially online filing of nominations, permissions for political rallies and expenditure submissions.
On their part, the political parties demanded free and fair elections to ensure that the BJP does not misuse the government machinery to influence the elections.
“The Election Commission of India is fully committed to make the upcoming elections a very free, fair, fair, transparent and absolutely inducement free election,” Chandra said. He acknowledged that some opposition parties had expressed apprehension over attempts to intimidate voters.
Political parties will have to disclose this information on their websites and through newspapers at least thrice.
“The public should be fully informed about the credentials of a candidate. Political parties will also have to give reasons why they chose a person with criminal background and why they could not find a clean candidate.
Chandra said the ability to win elections cannot be counted as a reason nor can social activities be cited as a reason for choosing a particular candidate.
The term of the Goa Legislative Assembly is set to end on March 15 and elections are expected to be held in early February. The team of Election Commission officials met representatives of Congress, BJP, Goa Forward Party and MGP.
“In some cases which were monitored by the Commission, we found that the parties have given a reason that the candidate has done a lot of social work. This is despite the Supreme Court saying that victory cannot be the reason. The commission is going to be strict about this,” Chandra said.
He also announced that a special cell is being constituted to monitor the criminal records of the candidates. The Election Commission will also track and monitor social media, news outlets and political rallies to track incidents of fake news, hate speeches and paid news.
“There should be no hate speech by political parties during the elections, which will spoil the atmosphere,” Chandra said. Chandra urged political parties to ensure that the upcoming elections can be termed as the “most ethical election” in the country.
The Election Commission has urged voters and political parties to take advantage of online facilities provided by Goa’s Chief Election Office, especially online filing of nominations, permissions for political rallies and expenditure submissions.
On their part, the political parties demanded free and fair elections to ensure that the BJP does not misuse the government machinery to influence the elections.
“The Election Commission of India is fully committed to make the upcoming elections a very free, fair, fair, transparent and absolutely inducement free election,” Chandra said. He acknowledged that some opposition parties had expressed apprehension over attempts to intimidate voters.
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