GEWC to scrutinise LS poll candidates

The Gujarat Election Watch Committee (GEWC), headed by Justice B J Divan, met here last Friday to initiate election watch for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The committee aims to ensure effective implementation of a Supreme Court judgement that makes it mandatory for candidates to disclose information on their criminal, financial and educational backgrounds. The GEWC had conducted a similar exercise for the Assembly elections in the state in December 2002.

The SC's judgement, dated March 13, 2003, makes it mandatory for candidates to file an affidavit containing information about their background along with their nomination forms.

The GEWC will collect copies of the affidavits, analyze and summerise the information, and publish it for the public. The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), which had filed the public interest litigation that led to the SC judgement, will work with several other civil society organisations including 'We the People' and 'Gujarat Biradari' for disseminating information in the affidavits.

The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is the first after the Supreme Court's judgement, and election watches are being organised in 15 states of the country.

These include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

"The efforts of the ADR have evoked widespread support from civil society organisations. Efforts are on to organise similar election watches in other states as well," said an ADR official.

"It is hoped that this large-scale awareness campaign about the candidates' background will result in cleaner elections and a better functioning democracy through the selection of better candidates by the political parties and the electorate," said the official.