New Delhi: The Election Commission of India’s plan to ensure that young citizens are registered as voters as soon as they turn 18 is expected to hit a hurdle. The Attorney General is understood to have opined that the move to have multiple cut-off dates contradicts provisions of the Constitution.
The commission had earlier this year told the Union government that the January 1 cut-off date set for the purpose deprives several youths from participating in the electoral exercise. The Union law & justice ministry had opposed the move, following the commission’s demand and referred the matter to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi for his opinion.
Mr Rohatgi is learnt to have supported the view of the law ministry that the move to have multiple cut off dates “contradicts” Article 326 of the Constit-ution. He also opined that to have such a system is not practical.
The commission brought up the matter again with the Union law ministry after the Modi government assumed power. According to the EC guidelines on enrolment of voters, for an election to be held in a particular year, only an individual who has attained the age of 18 years as on January 1 of that year is eligible to be enrolled in the voters’ list.
“As a result, a person who is turning 18 beyond January 1 will have to wait for next year to get registered. In case elections are taking place subsequently, they will have to wait for a longer period,” election commissioner Nasim Zaidi had said when the proposal was moved. But according to the law ministry, a change in rules or even an amendment to the Representation of the People Act will not help.
Article 326 states that every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than 18 of age on such “date” as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate legislature shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election. A proposal made in the 1970s had suggested cut off dates of January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 for those attaining the required age to register as voters.
