The Corona Election

Context: In Bihar, the Election Commission's challenge is to ensure the level playing field in a mostly virtual campaign.

Measures Adopted for “Corona Election”

• Reduction of the number of electors per polling booth.
• Addition of auxiliary polling stations to prevent over-crowding.
• COVID-sensitive capacity-building of election officials.
• Reduction in the counting tables per assembly constituency to avoid crowding at the counting centres
• Extension of the postal ballot option to senior citizens over the age of 80, COVID-positive patients, persons with disabilities and voters in essential services.
• To increase the voter turnout ratio (like South Korea and Sri Lanka).
• Systematic Voter Education for Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme and technological facilities to ensure voter education and mobilisation. 
• Allowing Virtual Rallies to be a dominant feature of digital campaigning, besides social media; reducing costs and COVID risks.
• The bandwagon that follows a political leader visiting different constituencies would come to a halt.
• Voluntary Code of Ethics: issued by the ECI in collaboration with social media platforms.

Challenges to the Election Commission Limitations of Virtual Rallies

• Limitations of Virtual Rallies: Limited internet penetration will restrict the accessibility to every nook and corner of rural, hilly and forest areas.
• Sparse usage of smartphones and patchy mobile network will hamper the online communication 

• For, E.g. Smartphone usage in Bihar is just 27%.

• The problem of unequal opportunity:

• In Increased Expenses: For E.g. In the absence of expenditure ceiling, political parties will go for expensive communication devices for increasing their voter base.

• In Technology Adoption: Technologically challenged political parties will quickly adapt to this youthful platform depending on their financial position. 
• In Social Media Campaigns: Higher investment in ads to woo the voters.
• Rise in fake news and hate propaganda will be a by-product of social media campaigning.
• The focus of all political parties and their candidates would be on the digital mode — allowing the social media platforms to be flooded with problematic posts.
• Accountability of Digital Platforms: The recent revelations of The Wall Street Journal regarding Facebook have cast a shadow over the platform’s neutrality.

Way Forward

• The EC should relax its stringent norms against old traditional methods like wall paintings, posters and flags. 

• Encourage car, motorcycle and bicycle rallies with proper distancing for deep and extensive reach with reduced costs.

• Strengthening the implementation of the Voluntary Code of Ethics. 

Conclusion: Replacement of door-to-door and large-scale physical campaigning with the digital campaigning must not be at the cost of the democratic election process.

Another related article:

Is EC empowered to delay Bihar elections due to Covid-19?