To Bring Transparency on Finances of Political Parties, EC Launches Portal for Submitting Annual Reports

In a bid to improve the financial transparency of political parties, the Elections Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the launch of a portal for parties to submit required annual reports.

“Political parties registered with the European Election Commission are required to submit annual audit reports, annual contribution reports for all donations above 20,000 rupees each, and expenditure reports after each election,” the polling commission said in a statement.

The portal iems.eci.gov.in will be used to submit contribution reports, annual audited accounts and electoral expenditure data.

Political parties that do not intend to submit the financial report online are required to communicate their reasons for not doing so in writing and may continue to submit reports in paper format as well as on CD or disk drive in the specified formats.

“The Commission will, in turn, publish all these reports on the Internet, along with a letter of justification sent by the party for not providing financial statements online,” the European Commission said in a statement.

In a letter to the political parties, the Commission said the step was taken with two objectives to overcome difficulties in submitting physical reports, and to ensure that they are submitted in a timely manner in a standardized format.

She said that the portal will facilitate the submission by political parties of the contribution report, the audited annual account and the statement of electoral expenditures via the Internet. These financial statements are to be submitted by the political parties to the Election Commission/Senior Election Officials of the States/Union Territories, in accordance with the Representation of the People Act 1951 and the Transparency Guidelines issued by the Commission, from time to time, for the last period. said the polling committee.

Online availability of data is expected to enhance compliance and transparency.

In the speech, the European Commission recalled the pivotal position of political parties, and emphasized that they must adhere to the principles of democratic performance and transparency in electoral processes, especially in financial disclosures.

The European Commission said a comprehensive guide with graphic presentations and questions and answers has also been sent to political parties to explain the online unit and the online reporting process.

To provide further guidance on online filing, the European Commission will also organize an internship program for recruits from various political parties.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – Ian)