[orc]To exercise the voting right judiciously and to be informed, voters need to be aware of various election related rules. Here is a compilation of all those rules & contacts a voter should know for the upcoming elections in Karnataka.
Verify your name on the Voter List/Electoral Roll
First & foremost, check if your name is on the electoral roll or more popularly known as the voter list. You could search your name on the CEO Karnataka website or on the National Voters Service Portal (NVSP). Do not forget to check your polling station details either on the CEO Karnataka website or on the NVSP.
Know your Candidate
Any candidate contesting the Assembly or the Lok Sabha election has to submit a list of documents to the returning officer appointed by the election commission. The list includes a nomination paper in a specific format, an affidavit as per ECI guidelines, additional affidavit regarding dues to public institutions, Forms A & B etc. Check out story for details of these documents.
The affidavit is an important document to know about the candidate. It has details of pending criminal cases against the candidate if any, details of his/her movable/immovable property, details of liabilities, educational qualification and the source of income. All this information is submitted by the candidate himself/herself. The copy of the affidavit can be downloaded from the CEO Karnataka website or the ECI website. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit working for electoral reforms also puts out a summary of the contesting candidates on the ‘My Neta‘ website.
Learn about Election rules & Report Violations
All contesting candidates & political parties have to abide by the model code of conduct rules & guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Violation of these rules can result in multiple electoral offences. Citizens/voters can report any such violation that comes to their notice. There are multiple ways to report violations.
Report to the CEO/DC/SP: If you come across any violation of the model code of conduct or any electoral offence, you can get in touch with the Chief Electoral Officer of the Karnataka state or the District Election Officers or the SP of your district.
Report to the Election Observers: The ECI also appoints central observers to oversee the election process. You could get in touch with these observers and report any violation of the electoral rules. You can report to the general observers or the police observers or the expenditure observer whose details are uploaded on the ECI website. The maximum allowed expenditure for Karnataka Assembly election is Rs 28 lakh per candidate. The details of what all have to be counted in the expenditure of the candidate is explained in detail in the ECI’s press note.
Make a Complaint on the ECI Portal: One can also make a complaint on the CEO Karntaka website or the National Grievance Service of the ECI.
