Sequence of Activities of AP Election Watch 2004

1. Training of Trainers, resource persons and volunteers
2. Voter registration and Electoral rolls revision
3. Campaign against criminalization
4. Voter Awareness campaign
5. Debates between candidates
6. Montioring of Polling Process
7. Pre and Post polling surveys

What will be the impact of AP Election Watch 2004:

1. During 1999 Election Watch, we have made public a list of 45 candidates with criminal record. That list was compiled using a narrower criteria for evaluation. For EW ' 04, we are adopting much broader criteria as outlined earlier, which should result in much more stringent evaluation.
2. Major political parties should not nominate any new candidates with criminal/corrupt record and we will also make a major push for the parties not to field even the established candidates with a criminal/corrupt record.
3. Through the common platforms and candidate debates, we aim to achieve the following in the near-term:
   • Irrespective of the electoral outcome, we hope to see significant devolution of powers and empowerment of local governments.
   • Have citizen's charters in all local governments in addition to other major public services with a provision for compensation.
   • Enact appropriate rules for implementation of Right to Information law, with a provision for compensation for non-disclosure.
   • Democratization of management of agricultural market committees.
   • Local courts for speedy justice must be established.
4. At the national-level, post office should be made the nodal agency for voter registration in the next 1-2 years.
5. The campaign must result in TV networks being utilized for effective debates between the candidates, very much in line with the American Presidential debates. It must result in equitable allocation of time to recognized political parties by public and private media as envisaged in the newly enacted law on political funding.
6. The disclosure of candidate details must lead to serious research in the medium and long-term. Civil society organizations must be able to compare the financial information disclosed by the candidates with the reality on the ground. If any discrepancies are noticed in the disclosures of any major party candidates, that must become a major point of advocacy to mobilize public opinion and pressurize parties to avoid nominating candidates with dubious financial record.

What will be FDR/Lok Satta contribution ?

In this Election Watch campaign, FDR/Lok Satta contribution will primarily be in the form of volunteer time and effort. Across the state, more than 25,000 volunteers will be participating in the campaign. In addition, we will endeavour to get free airtime on various electronic media outlets to air the broadcast capsules that will be prepared for the campaign. The monetary value of such airtime will easily run into millions of rupees. Two key activities, namely assisting the voter registration process and monitoring of the polling process on the polling day, which are both heavily volunteer dependent, will be primarily undertaken at our cost. Screening of potential candidates and campaign against criminalization will be undertaken largely with Lok Satta resources and efforts, except those items for which financial support is sought. The first meeting of the screening committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge and Law Commission Chairman, Justice BP Jeevan Reddy, has been already conducted to finalize the criteria for assessing the criminal antecedents of potential candidates.

 

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