Amid rising concerns over lack of electoral transparency, a Collective of Concerned Citizens, technical experts, and civil society bodies has launched a national campaign demanding accountability in India’s electoral process. They submitted a fresh memorandum to the Election Commission of India, following a previous notice in July 2024, reiterating six urgent demands to restore public trust in the system.
The memorandum raises pointed questions:
- Why aren’t the past and present Voter Lists available in a searchable format on the ECI website?
- Why is aggregate voter count data and all Form 17-Cs missing from searchable public databases?
- Why are Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A, and 11B – which detail voter roll additions and deletions – not accessible transparently?
- Why is the EVM source code not open source and publicly inspectable for software integrity checks?
- Why is there no full disclosure of Symbol Loading Unit contents with oversight by independent technical experts?
- Why are VVPAT slips not fully counted?
The memorandum questions the ECI’s growing closeness to the political executive, failure to enforce Model Code of Conduct, and inaction on divisive speech. It highlights a broader erosion of the Commission’s independence.
Citing CSDS data, it notes only 28% of Indians still trust the ECI – pointing a deep democratic decline.
The move shows a rising national demand for electoral integrity and systemic reform.