Editor’s Pick: ECI bans victory parades

The Hindu Newsletter - The Hindu Newsletter - Editor's Pick [logo] Editor's Pick Wednesday | 28 April, 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( [alt_text]( ECI bans victory parades [ ]( The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday [banned victory processions]( after the declaration of Assembly election results in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Kerala on May 2 in view of the[COVID-19 pandemic](. The decision came a day after the Madras High Court, in a strongly worded order, [blamed the commission for the second wave]( of the pandemic in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The court observed that the commission had entirely failed to enforce COVID-19 protocols during campaigning. “Public health is of paramount importance, and it is distressing that constitutional authorities have to be reminded in such regard,” the court said in its order. On Tuesday the Commission said it had decided to make more stringent measures to be followed during the process of counting. It said no victory processions would be allowed after the counting of votes and only a maximum of two people would be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or their authorised representative to receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer. Welcome as this move is, it is worth reflecting on the Commission’s laxity in enforcing guidelines thus far, especially as more serological evidence comes to light of campaign events leading to surges in COVID-9 cases. The Commission had[issued guidelines for elections]( in August last year, such as wearing masks, using sanitisers, maintaining physical distancing, among others. Several warnings had to be issued for violations during [the Bihar polls]( held last year and yet these guidelines were simply ‘reiterated’ for the current round of Assembly polls. Action against violations was only taken on April 16 when the commission [banned campaigning from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m.]( and extended the silence period before polling from 48 hours to 72 hours. By then polling was over in Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and only three of the eight phases remained in West Bengal. Making campaigning virtual, an idea proposed by many experts and which we discussed in the [last edition of The Hindu’s parley podcast](, would have been the right move. However, for the ECI, it is better late than never. That marks this story out as our top pick of the day. [underlineimg] Today's Editorials [Arrow][Right priorities: On U.S. COVID-19 aid to India]( [Arrow][True name: On Armenian genocide]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Name the swimming great who died on Monday and had to his credit 26 individual freestyle swimming World records. 1. Tsuyoshi Yamanaka 2. John Konrads 3. Murray Rose 4. George Breen To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today's Best Reads [[Activists of the Left parties and the Congress participate in a campaign rally in Purulia on March 25, 2021.] The Left’s big battle in Bengal]( [[ International cooperation at work! First shipment of vital medical supplies including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators that arrived early on April 27, 2021. Twitter/@MEAIndia ] Aid pours in from the world to counter India's COVID-19 second wave]( [[Big rush: Kin of patients waiting to refill empty oxygen cylinders in New Delhi on Tuesday.] Coronavirus | Across India, a desperate hunt for COVID-19 care]( [[Vital supply: The White House said 10 million doses could be cleared for export “in coming weeks” and the rest by June.] India likely to get major chunk of U.S. vaccine exports]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](mailto:rm-0bfryrbzbf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkf5@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.)