Karnataka State Election Commission is an State Constitutional body constituted in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

for ensuring that

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

in are conducted in free, fair and unbiased way.

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

with provisions as per Article 243K and 243 ZA and Article 324 ensures creation and safeguarding of the powers of State Election Commissions. Karnataka State Election Commission came into existence with the promulgation of 73rd and 74th amendment to the Constitution of India on 26 May 1993 with an objective of superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and to conduct all elections to the

Urban Local Bodies In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...

and Rural local bodies like

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Municipal Corporations Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ow ...

, Panchayats and any other specified by

Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...

. Karnataka State Election Commissioner is appointed by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Karnataka.

History and Administration

Karnataka State Election Commission was formed in accordance with powers of Election Commission of India, which was constituted in year 1950 to supervise state level elections. State election commissioner is appointed by Governor. To ensure the autonomy of the position, the Karnataka state election commissioner cannot be removed from office except on the grounds and manner specified for

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of High Court.

Powers and Responsibilities

Karnataka States Election Commissioner is responsible for the following: * Releasing election schedule. * Issue notification containing guidelines for conducting elections for Municipal Corporations in State. * Conducting elections for Municipal Corporations in State. * Issue notification containing guidelines for conducting elections for conducting elections for Municipal panchayats in State. * Conducting elections for Municipal panchayats in State. * Laying guidelines for persons eligible to contest in elections for Municipal Corporations in State. * Conducting elections for Municipal panchayats in State. * Model code of conduct are following in elections for local bodies. * Updating Electoral rolls with new additions. * Updating Electoral rolls with removals, if any. * Declaration of results of elections held for Municipal Corporations in State. * Declaration of results of elections held for Municipal panchayats in State. * Ordering repoll if needed. * Making arrangements for Statewide polls. * Monitoring poll expenditure for Panchayat polls. * Laying guidelines for issue of opinion polls. * Decision on conducting elections. * Declaring results of local body polls. * Municipal and Panchayat constituencies delimitation exercise. * Countermanding elections in case of mal practices.

Composition

Karnataka State Election Commission is headed by Chief Election Commissioner and as many members as specified in State Act. State Election Commissioners are independent persons not holding position or office in any Central or State Government organisations Sri Dr B.Basavaraju, I.A.S., Retd., is the Chief Election Commissioner of Karnataka State Election Commission. His period of service will be 5 years or attaining an age of 65 years whichever is earlier.

Constitutional Requirements

Karnataka State Election Commission was formed after amendment of Constitution with 73rd and 74th declaration. State Election Commissions were formed as per Article 243K of the Constitution, similar to setting up of Election commission of India as per Article 324.

References

External links