Election Commission presents united front in face of mounting criticism

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday sought to put up a united front in the face of mounting criticism of its functioning, underlined that all decisions on the special intensive revision were unanimous, and clarified on key questions raised by the government and the Opposition.CEC Gyanesh Kumar, along with ECs Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu during a meeting at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi on Saturday. (X/@ECISVEEP)In the first public meeting of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi since the controversy began earlier this week, ECI sought to push back on criticism of its backend software, set up a review and said any future decisions on new digital initiatives will involve further discussions and checks.ECI also clarified allegations of discrepancies in the Goa SIR.“This press note is issued as per the decisions of the meeting of the commission held on 26.09.2026 and has the approval of the full commission,” the ECI note emphasised, appending a photograph of the CEC and two ECs to drive home the point.Also Read | Delhi SIR extended, no mandatory ERO hearing: EC takes key decisions amid calls for Gyanesh Kumar's resignationOn Monday, an Indian Express investigation said Sandhu and Joshi had recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even written to the cabinet secretary. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. ECI has said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols to prevent unauthorised tampering or manipulation.In its note, ECI clarified that the letter to cabinet secretary TV Somanathan was not related “to any policy matter of the commission or IT division but related to working of an officer on deputation to ECI”. “The work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two commissioners and the oversight over the IT division by the DEC was never actually withdrawn,” it added.ECI defended SIR, stressing that all decisions were unanimous.“The order for the SIR issued on 24.6.2025 for all the States/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other States/UTs was issued with the unanimous approval of the commission. The same has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 27.5.2026. The schedule for SIR for 12 States and UTs was issued on 27.10.2025 and those for 19 States/ UTs was issued on 14.05.2026 with the unanimous approval of the commission,” the note said.Also Read | Got SIR notice over unmapped or logical discrepancies? EC explains what to do nextECI also said that in Goa – where 97 voters deemed eligible to be included in the electoral roll by local election authorities found themselves deleted in the final roll – the chief election officer directed concerned booth-level officers to conduct house-to-house visits to left-out voters to collect their forms. “81 voters out of 97 have already filled Form 6 for inclusion,” the note added. It pushed back against allegations of centralisation of its backend software but added that a panel will review the oversight and access mechanisms. “Field officers have role-based access to the ECINET system as per their statutory powers. A committee headed by senior deputy election commissioner (DEC) and including an independent expert from IIT/IIIT will review the ECINET to double-check that it complies with the provisions of the acts and rules and submit report to the commission,” it said.“Various upgradations of the portal have already been made based on the inputs from state CEOs in the past few months. In case, any further flexibility is required by the field officers, that will be made operational. Henceforth, all the new initiatives about IT modules and portals will be discussed in the Committee of Officers (COO) before approval by the commission,” it added.Also Read | EC says poll commissioners' letters to Cabinet Secretary not over policy matter, but 'related to...'It also announced additional steps to ensure that the decisions of all commissioners were complied with. “For all commission’s meeting, agenda will be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued. APARs {Annual Performance Appraisal Reports} of all the officers will be completed within the stipulated time frame, i.e., 31st December every year. Approval of the Commission will be taken for foreign trips of the officers. All directions issued by the commissioners to the officers of the commission shall be meticulously complied with,” it said.