THE ELECTION COMMISION OF INDIA ANNUAL NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST ON ELECTION; DEMOCRACY Conducted jointly by IIIDEM JGLS

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

The Election Commission of India (ECI), through the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), in association with Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) (together, the Competition Organizers), is pleased to announce “The 1st edition of the Election Commission of India Annual National Essay Contest on Election & Democracy, conducted jointly by IIIDEM & JGLS”. The submissions can be either in English or in Hindi. Students pursuing under-graduate, graduate (three/five year) and post-graduate law degree courses in Indian universities / institutes / colleges recognized by the Bar Council of India are eligible to participate. The main objective of this essay competition is to encourage law students to engage in contemporary research and explore new dimensions of the law governing elections in India.

WHY YOU SHOULD PARTICIPATE:

You will have the opportunity to showcase your legal acumen and research skills in the field of Election Law.
Submitting an essay entry to this competition is an opportunity to enhance your knowledge and test your writing skills.

View Details & Prizes

TOPICS & THEME

“THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA ANNUAL NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST ON ELECTION & DEMOCRACY,
CONDUCTED JOINTLY BY IIIDEM & JGLS”

Note: Topical indications given below are non-exhaustive. Participants may author essays that may not squarely fit into sub-themes but address the main topics in one way or the other. Participants can choose any one of the following two topics:

TOPIC 1: LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATIONS DURING ELECTIONS

With political parties, election contestants and stakeholders considerably digitalising their election campaigns and advertisements, a new trend has developed over the last decade. Consequently, there is immense scope to reimagine the traditional legal framework that regulates these aspects. Is there a necessity to create a new legal framework uniquely to monitor electoral activities on social media apart from the current rules that discipline print and broadcast media? What should be the nature of that alternate legal system for effective regulation of speech and expenditure by parties/candidates on social media which are powered by big data analytics and management teams? These questions can be addressed from the perspective of maintenance and promotion of electoral integrity in the digital space. Alternatively, essays can adopt a rights-based discourse to deal with them, as any regulation of campaigns and advertisements on social media will obviously prompt concerns about freedom of speech and constitutional sustainability. Additionally, legal issues surrounding the intermediary liability of social media companies in this structure could play a role in the discussions. Besides, potential practical challenges like enforcement of electoral silence periods for campaigns on social media and controlling publication of fake and unauthorised exit poll results before the polling finishes that any future legal framework must consider and pay attention could also be discussed. In fact, all these sub-themes could be studied comparatively to justify legal arguments and proposals.

TOPIC 2: THE ECI’S ROLE IN PROTECTING AND PRESERVING ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY

This topic may be viewed from several perspectives. Essays could consider the ECI’s role in protecting the integrity of our electoral democracy. How can the ECI play a role in the decriminalisation of politics? What should be the road ahead for ensuring transparency in fundraising and regulating illegal and unregulated expenditures by political parties during elections? Further, participants may discuss how the legal framework around the Model Code of Conduct could be reworked to ensure that ECI is able to effectively keep politicians and parties in check with regard to violations of the Code. This may be done apart from analysing whether the ECI should be conferred the power to deregister political parties for grievous violations of the rules, and principles of inner party democracy. Besides, one can assess how the ECI may enhance the democratic quotient of this electoral democracy. Essays on voting rights and facilities for NRI voters, diversification of voter education activities to improve voter turnouts, legal aspects concerning the integrity and verification of votes through EVMs, and prevention of voters’ exclusion from electoral rolls may fall under this wing. Additionally, contributions could also focus on addressing the ECI’s institutional independence as an aspect that may help the ECI to perform its role effectively.

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