The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on March 16 that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into effect.
The country would vote in seven phases in the Lok Sabha elections, from April 19 to June 1 and the results will be announced on June 4.
The Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission to regulate the campaigning of political parties and the candidates during elections.
Its main aim is to conduct free and fair elections by preventing any activities that could influence voters or disrupt the poll process.
The Model Code of Conduct was first used during the 1960 Assembly elections in Kerala.
Following its success, the Election Commission introduced it nationwide during the 1962 Lok Sabha elections.
During the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, the poll panel decided to enforce the MCC more strictly due to repeated violations of election norms and concerns over corrupt practices.
MCC has no statutory backing.
Simply put, this means anybody breaching the MCC can’t be proceeded against under any clause of the Code.
The EC uses moral sanction or censure for its enforcement.