The Election Commission on Tuesday proposed that political parties should declare what the promises made in their manifestos would cost the exchequer and how they intended on paying for them, if elected to power.
The Election Commission wrote in a letter to the heads of all recognised national and State parties about its proposal to amend the Model Code of Conduct guidelines to include the financial ramifications of promises in their manifestos. It sought the parties’ views by October 19.
“While the existing guidelines under MCC require the political parties and candidates to explain the rationale for promises made therein as well as the possible ways and means to finance such promises, the Commission found that the declarations are quite routine, ambiguous and do not provide adequate information to voters to exercise informed choice in an election,” the Commission’s letter stated.
