Civil society groups have announced a 'Citizens Vigil' to monitor the vote-counting process next week for the polls to the 18th Lok Sabha that began on April 19. The counting of votes will start on June 4.
The watch will document 'misconduct' by government officials or politicians in the polling process, and disseminate the information for follow-ups, said a statement issued on Friday by a group of organisations, including the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan, All India Kisan Sabha, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, and Vote for Democracy.
The statement from the groups said that the ongoing elections have been marked by an absence of 'exemplary conduct' from a statutory body like the Election Commission of India (ECI). The statement said that they held two meetings of civil society groups and political parties in Bengaluru and Delhi this month.
As part of the vigilance process, a campaign '#Voters Will Must Prevail', will be undertaken to ensure accountability and transparency from all statutory bodies, (including the ECI), to ensure a free and fair counting of votes.
The groups plan to set up a 'Vigilant Voter Task Force' on counting day. The groups said they will work with political parties from the opposition to involve Counting Agents in ensuring a methodical counting of votes. Other measures to monitor the counting will be helpline numbers to record and respond to complaints that come in from the ground.
'There is genuine apprehension and fear that these levels of structured manipulations will continue both during the counting process and thereafter, failing to respect the mandate of the people,' the groups added.
