Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India has directed all recognised political parties to submit hard and soft copies of their election manifestoes to the commission. Chief electoral officer Rajat Kumar on Friday issued guidelines to all the parties to strictly adhere to the model code of conduct issued by the EC in this regard. The need for such a code emerged after the Supreme Court in July 2013 asked the EC to formulate guidelines to ensure a “level playing field” between contesting parties.
The guidelines issued by the EC says, “In the interests of transparency, level playing field and credibility of promises, it is expected that manifestos also reflect the rationale for promises and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it. Trust of voters should be sought only on those promises which are possible to be fulfilled.”
The other guidelines include: The election manifesto shall not contain anything repugnant to the ideals and principles enshrined in the Constitution and further it shall be consistent with the letter and spirit of other provisions of the model code of conduct. Political parties should avoid making those promises which are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the voters in exercising their franchise.
