The Election Commission of India (EC), on February 26, announced the schedule for the Legislative Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Union Territory of Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
While Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will head for polling in a single phase, Assam will have three phases. Voters in West Bengal will head to the polls across eight phases. Counting of votes in all states and the UT will happen on May 2.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force in these states. Among other things, the code bars the government from announcing policy decisions.
What is MCC?
The MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the EC with the intention of regulating political parties and candidates prior to the elections. This is done in order to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.
Article 324 of the Constitution gives EC the power to supervise elections to the Parliament and the state legislatures, MCC is in keeping with that.
When does MCC come into effect?
The MCC is effective as soon as the poll dates are announced. It remains effective until the election results are formally declared and notified.
What restrictions does the MCC impose?
There are eight provisions dealing with the general conduct of a political party or a candidate, meetings, processions, instructions for polling days and polling booths, observers appointed by the EC to deal with complaints of the candidates, restrictions to be followed by the party in power and guidelines pertaining to the election manifestos.
What happens when the code is violated?
The EC issues a notice to the political party or a politician for alleged breach of the code, on the basis of a complaint by another party or an individual.
The party or the person then has to reply to the EC in writing, either accepting that the MCC was violated, or rebutting the charge.
However, the MCC is not enforceable by law. Certain provisions of the MCC can be enforced by invoking corresponding provisions in other statues, such as Indian Penal Code (IPC), Representation of the People Act, etc.
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