HYDERABAD, 21 April 2005 — The Election Commission and all state poll panels yesterday urged the central government to give legislative backing for the model code of conduct for conducting elections.
They also asked the government to give punitive powers to the Election Commission to act against violators.
Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy said “the conference resolved that the model code of conduct could be given a legislative shape. In case of any violation of the model code of conduct, the Election Commission should be competent to disqualify a person or impose a monetary penalty.”
A meeting here of state election commissioners chaired by Krishnamurthy decided to introduce photo electoral rolls across the country in three years.
“The conference resolved that the model code of conduct can be given a legislative shape provided in any violation of the code the central election commission should be competent to disqualify a person or impose a monetary penalty,” Krishnamurthy told reporters after the meeting.
“If powers are given to the commission to deal with violations, it will be very useful to improve the quality of elections.”
