The Election Commission of India (ECI), through the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), in association with Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) (together, the Competition Organizers), is pleased to announce “The 1st edition of the Election Commission of India Annual National Essay Contest on Election & Democracy
About Election Commission of India (ECI)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a permanent and independent body established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the president of India, and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission. Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to both the Central government and the state governments
About the Competition
The Election Commission of India (ECI), through the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), in association with Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) (together, the Competition Organizers), is pleased to announce “The 1st edition of the Election Commission of India Annual National Essay Contest on Election & Democracy, conducted jointly by IIIDEM & JGLS”. The submissions can be either in English or in Hindi. Students pursuing under-graduate, graduate (three/five year) and post-graduate law degree courses in Indian universities / institutes / colleges recognized by the Bar Council of India are eligible to participate. The main objective of this essay competition is to encourage law students to engage in contemporary research and explore new dimensions of the law governing elections in India.
Objectives
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You will have the opportunity to showcase your legal acumen and research skills in the field of Election Law.
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Submitting an essay entry to this competition is an opportunity to enhance your knowledge and test your writing skills.
Eligibility
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Full-time Under-Graduate/ Graduate Degree Programme (ex. B.a/B.B.A/B.Com.LLB.) from Indian Law Universities/ Institutes/ Colleges recognized by the Bar Council of India.
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Full-time Post-Graduate Degree Programme (ex. LLM/M.Phil/Ph.D) from Indian Law Universities/ Institutes/Colleges recognized by the Bar Council of India.
Important Dates
Topics
Note: Topical indications given below are non-exhaustive. Participants may author essays that may not squarely fit into sub-themes but address the main topics in one way or the other. Participants can choose any one of the following two topics:
Topic 1: Legal Framework For Social Media Regulations During Elections
With political parties, election contestants and stakeholders considerably digitalising their election campaigns and advertisements, a new trend has developed over the last decade. Consequently, there is immense scope to reimagine the traditional legal framework that regulates these aspects. Is there a necessity to create a new legal framework uniquely to monitor electoral activities on social media apart from the current rules that discipline print and broadcast media? What should be the nature of that alternate legal system for effective regulation of speech and expenditure by parties/candidates on social media which are powered by big data analytics and management teams? These questions can be addressed from the perspective of maintenance and promotion of electoral integrity in the digital space. Alternatively, essays can adopt a rights-based discourse to deal with them, as any regulation of campaigns and advertisements on social media will obviously prompt concerns about freedom of speech and constitutional sustainability. Additionally, legal issues surrounding the intermediary liability of social media companies in this structure could play a role in the discussions. Besides, potential practical challenges like enforcement of electoral silence periods for campaigns on social media and controlling publication of fake and unauthorised exit poll results before the polling finishes that any future legal framework must consider and pay attention could also be discussed. In fact, all these sub-themes could be studied comparatively to justify legal arguments and proposals.
Topic 2: The ECI's Role In Protecting And Preserving Electoral Democracy
This topic may be viewed from several perspectives. Essays could consider the ECI’s role in protecting the integrity of our electoral democracy. How can the ECI play a role in the decriminalisation of politics? What should be the road ahead for ensuring transparency in fundraising and regulating illegal and unregulated expenditures by political parties during elections? Further, participants may discuss how the legal framework around the Model Code of Conduct could be reworked to ensure that ECI is able to effectively keep politicians and parties in check with regard to violations of the Code. This may be done apart from analysing whether the ECI should be conferred the power to deregister political parties for grievous violations of the rules, and principles of inner party democracy. Besides, one can assess how the ECI may enhance the democratic quotient of this electoral democracy. Essays on voting rights and facilities for NRI voters, diversification of voter education activities to improve voter turnouts, legal aspects concerning the integrity and verification of votes through EVMs, and prevention of voters’ exclusion from electoral rolls may fall under this wing. Additionally, contributions could also focus on addressing the ECI’s institutional independence as an aspect that may help the ECI to perform its role effectively.
Submission Procedure
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A participant can submit only one entry. In case it is found that any participant has submitted more than one entry, only the first entry will be considered as valid.
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All entries must be submitted as electronic copies in PDF format. Participants are required to use the ‘restrict editing’ function so that the formatting of the entry does not unravel and the content remains unchanged during electronic transmission to the Competition Organizers. Participants should submit their entries only by uploading to this weblink here.
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All entries must be accompanied by (a) a coloured scan of a self-attested valid student identity card and (b) duly filled-in and signed entry form endorsed by the university / institute / college in PDF format, Click here to access the entry form.
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Entries submitted in hard copies and not in the prescribed format will be summarily rejected without any intimation and NO query, correspondence; representation etc. pertaining to such entries will be entertained by the Competition Organizers under any circumstances;
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The file name of the essay must be ‘Participant’s name_Topic’;
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Entries shall be forwarded by participants or collaborating team of co-authors directly, and shall not be forwarded through any other person, at the Weblink prescribed above. All the fields in the entry form shall be compulsorily filled; and
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Only original essays will be considered for the competition. Previously published essays shall be rejected outright. Any form of plagiarism will result in disqualification of the essay.
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There is no entry / application fee to the competition. Additionally, participants are also not required to register before sending in their entries.
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All the Participants retain the copyrights of their submitted pieces. However, by entering the Competition, the Participants consent to the use of his/her/their name and/or pieces, or parts thereof, in any advertisements, educational materials, corpus of research, media and promotional materials carried out or produced by the IIIDEM / ECI, and their authorised partners, without further notice or compensation. The IIIDEM / ECI can publish or decline to publish, use or decline to use, any submitted pieces at their sole discretion.]
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Any decision taken by the Organizers in relation to the Essay Contest is final and binding, and there is no scope of appeal.
Prizes
All prizes for this competition have been sponsored by the ECI. Winners will receive prizes as per the following table:
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English Essay Prizes
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Prizes
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Full-time Under-Graduate/ Graduate Students
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Full-time Post-Graduate Students
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First
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? 1,00,000
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? 1,00,000
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Second
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? 75,000
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? 75,000
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Third
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? 50,000
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? 50,000
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Hindi Essay Prizes
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Prizes
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Full-time Under-Graduate/ Graduate Students
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Full-time Post-Graduate Students
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First
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? 1,00,000
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? 1,00,000
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Second
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? 75,000
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? 75,000
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Third
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? 50,000
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? 50,000
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The prize winners will also be awarded a certificate from the IIDEM/ ECI. The names of the winners may also be published on the IIIDEM/ECI website.
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All participants with valid entries will be given a participation certificate.
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