ECI rejects report of dissent by Election Commissioners

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected a report by a leading newspaper claiming that two Election Commissioners had “objected on record” to several decisions taken by the poll panel, allegedly without their knowledge.

People familiar with the developments and having direct knowledge of the matter said that no Election Commissioner had recorded any dissent on the decisions taken by the poll body. They said the two commissioners had only made certain observations, which were subsequently examined by the Commission.

The latest controversy comes after The Indian Express published an investigative report claiming



that on 14 occasions over a period of 10 months, two Election Commissioners had objected on record to steps taken by the Commission.

According to the report, the objections related to a range of decisions and processes, including allegations that the commissioners were kept in the dark about certain matters as well as issues concerning the addition of new voters and deletion of names from electoral rolls.

Sources also said that all decisions taken by the ECI bear the signatures of all three members of the poll panel — Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.