In 2023, our leader introduced the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — a law whose real aim was to sideline the Supreme Court from the EC’s selection and oversight, so a chosen man could be quietly placed at the helm.
A particularly dangerous insertion was Section 16, which says: any action taken by an Election Commissioner while in office is immune from judicial review for life. In short — decisions taken during a commissioner’s tenure cannot be challenged forever. Even if an election commissioner takes dodgy decisions, engages in corruption, favours a party, or breaks rules — you cannot file an FIR, bring a civil or criminal case, or pursue judicial review against them, even after they retire.
Why give one unelected official effectively lifetime immunity, placing them above judges and arguably on par with the President? Why change rules and suspend 146 opposition MPs — and then push such a crucial bill through amid noise and chaos?
The reason is obvious: to enable large-scale manipulation. With these protections in place, a party can identify and neutralise vote blocks, create fake IDs and addresses, add bogus votes to inflate numbers, and deploy agents in multiple places to cast duplicate ballots. Mysterious spikes in turnout after 5 PM can be chalked up to “security footage” and then defended with claims about morality or decency. All the while, the protected officials face no legal exposure — the law has already guaranteed them lifetime immunity.
Even a 2–4% swing can flip the entire result. We saw that in a recent press conference: just 22,000 votes changed the math on eight seats and handed victory to the ruling party. Imagine if large-scale manipulation occurred in 2024 and fake margins produced dozens of seats — what does that mean for the legitimacy of the Prime Minister?
What options do we have now? The Election Commission is already shielded from judicial review. While the Supreme Court can review some constitutional questions, it cannot, under this law, directly compel the EC to hand over digital voter data or to obey orders in the way it used to. Any judge who tries to assert power risks being attacked politically.
Without digital logs, voter data, and transparent video records, electoral fraud won’t stop. The EC will never voluntarily hand over the raw digital data — doing so would expose the whole scheme. Ballot-paper voting isn’t on the table. Civil disobedience and peaceful protest may be suppressed; peaceful movements might be quashed with draconian laws and arrests.
So what can we do now? First and foremost: spread the facts. Tell every household what has been done to the electoral system. Warn your neighbours, relatives, and friends so they understand the stakes. Make sure the public knows how fragile our democratic processes have become and how small manipulations can steal entire governments.
Act quickly — time is limited. If this political machine wins again in 2029, it will have had enough uninterrupted time to further cripple democratic institutions permanently.
Don’t stay silent. Raise your voice loudly enough that the next morning, the person who sleeps peacefully hears these words reverberating like a hammer.
Vote thieves — vacate the seat!
#ProtectDemocracy #ElectoralReform #RuleOfLaw #SaveOurVotes #TransparencyNow #StopElectionManipulation #PrafulKr
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