[We reproduce below a statement issued on 11 March 2024, by the group comprising the Citizens Commission on Elections, which included eminent citizens like former Justice Madan B. Lokur, Wajahat Habibullah, MG Devasahayam, Sundar Burra and others. This statement announces the formation of the IPMIE, keeping the special urgency to monitor the conduct of the electoral process that stands seriously threatened as we move into the 2024 general elections.]

India is world’s largest democracy wherein General Election to Parliament is around-the-corner (April-May, 2024). As is known the words “election” and “democracy” have become synonymous. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states as much: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

The situation on the ground in India, has created anxiety and upsurge within the country. The citizen is at the centre of any democracy with their right to vote in a free and fair manner. Currently, the concern among the Indian electorate is that this process is in peril. The present scenario reveals an unevenness of the playing field that militates against the right to free and fair elections, and risks obstructing the will of the people.