Between Moral Force and Supplementary Legality: A Model Code of Conduct and the Election Commission of India

Abstract

Abstract

The Model Code of Conduct framed in 1968 by the Election Commission in consultation with political parties and intended for voluntarily adherence, was the consummation of a progressively widening consensus over certain norms that were first drawn up by the government of Kerala before the general elections of 1960. The acceptance of the Model Code by all political parties appears therefore to be a manifestation of a “voluntary act of political morality and collective ethics.” This article examines the contexts and modalities through which the Model Code of Conduct has emerged as an integral aspect of conducting fair and free elections. Through a study of specific cases, and by tracing the historical trajectory of the Model Code, the article dwells both at the disputes over its interpretation and implementation, and the manner in which it enhances the disciplinary powers of the Election Commission during the “special time” which obtain during “electoral trials.” Despite the fact that technically the Model Code does not have the force of law, and is largely seen as having only a moral force compelling “voluntary adherence,” the Model Code of Conduct has come to fill a significant vacuum that previously existed in the election law.