Need to revisit parameters for assessment of democratic indices used by intl organisations: CEC Rajiv Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday questioned rating a country's democratic index based on "unilaterally devised and unvalidated parameters", saying it often tends to cause more harm to the cause of democracy. In his address at the opening ceremony of the 5th General Assembly of the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) in Cape Town, South Africa, he also said that leveraging of social media for voter connect has been a positive feature, but "misuse of social media platforms for disinformation is a real challenge" before the election management bodies and across the world.

Addressing the gathering in the presence of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, CEC Kumar said "delivering judgements on election process of a country through ratings against unilaterally devised and unvalidated parameters often tend to cause more harm to the cause of democracy."

He underlined the need to "revisit the parameters for assessment of democratic indices" being used by certain international organisations.

His remarks come against the backdrop of certain reports claiming that India's score declined in recent years in Democracy Index.

The government has already rejected the reports.

Today democracy and election management bodies (EMBs) face challenges both around the globe and at home, Kumar said.

The challenges, he said, emanate from overcoming polarisation, populism and its consequences, economic inequality, immigration and the challenge of sustaining multiethnic democracies.

Independent functioning of EMBs with full empowerment is critical to free and fair elections, he said stressing that "it is essential that the EMBs are equipped and empowered to handle unforeseen situations through provision for Plenary Powers."