Opinion - Letters to the Editor

On Election Commission

As an Indian-American, I often mention with pride that the Indian democratic establishment and process have one thing that we do not have in the U.S. — a national, independent, rigorous, respected, and successful body that conducts elections. I applaud the Election Commission for successfully managing the mammoth task of getting the largest electorate in the world to vote, curtailing what the players in the election can manipulate, and counting the votes accurately. A model that, I believe, the oldest democracy can emulate from the largest.

Rameysh Ramdas,
San Jose, California

The Model Code of Conduct is intended to ensure a level-playing field to all candidates. While many contest the elections in Tamil Nadu, two parties have television channels affiliated to them. Fairness of reporting in these channels is well known. Surely the electronic media have a greater influence over the electorate than a few sops offered by the government on the eve of the elections, the number of vehicles used by candidates for electioneering, and so on. Unless this issue is addressed satisfactorily, all talk of enforcing the Model Code of Conduct is meaningless. This, however, is not to belittle the importance of the Code in the orderly conduct of elections.

Y. Collison,
Chennai

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