Latest news with #ElectoralLaws
ABC News
13-08-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming wins a High Court appeal over fines for three Facebook posts
Former Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Laming has won his High Court appeal against a $40,000 fine over three Facebook posts. He was accused of not properly identifying himself as a political candidate upon posting in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election. Andrew Laming was the LNP member for Bowman when he made the Facebook posts on a page he administered titled "Redland Hospital: Let's fight for fair funding". The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) went after Mr Laming for failing to provide the correct authorisation required of political candidates in political communication. Under Australian electoral laws, MPs are required to give details, including their name and location, on any material that is aimed at influencing votes. Mr Laming admitted the posts lacked the required authorisation, but contested whether some of them fell into the category of political communication. The original Federal Court judgment found some of the posts were clearly written by Mr Laming, having been signed by him, including a letter to a journalist, but others did not identify him as the writer or publisher. The judgment noted it was evident from the post "that Mr Laming was pretending it was posted by someone else", even referring to himself in the third person. In the end, the case was narrowed down to three posts and Mr Laming was fined $20,000. But the AEC appealed and the fine was doubled to $40,000. That was to reflect the fact that the posts had been viewed 28 times. Mr Laming took it to the High Court, describing the reasoning as counterintuitive, saying he only made the omission once on each post. The AEC said the purpose of the law was to deter breaches and protect the rights of voters to make an informed choice. The commission told the High Court that on Mr Laming's reasoning, any anonymous political publication would only result in a single contravention, no matter how harmful or wide-reaching it may be. But today the High Court ruled a line in the sand, saying there was a contravention each time the posts were published, not each time they were viewed. Mr Laming quit politics before the 2022 election after a series of unrelated controversies.
India Gazette
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
ECI says Maha Assembly polls are as per electoral laws, invites Rahul Gandhi to discuss his allegations
New Delhi [India], June 24 (ANI): Terming the elections strictly as per electoral laws passed by the Parliament, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has invited the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for an interaction to discuss the issues related to his allegation on the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year, sources said on Tuesday. According to the sources, the letter was sent via email on June 12 and was also received at his residence. As per the sources, it said in its letter that all elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time. ECI further mentioned that the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by National and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of INC, across the state of Maharashtra. 'All elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time. As you are aware, the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by national and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of the INC, across the state of Maharashtra. We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates,' the letter reads. The former Congress President had recently raised allegations against the poll body of 'election rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls. However, ECI has rejected the allegations. Gandhi further raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, citing the destruction of evidence as a potential indicator of election rigging against the backdrop of the Election Commission's (EC) revised guidelines on preserving video footage and photographs of elections, reducing the retention period to 45 days. Earlier, amid a demand for making available video or CCTV footage of the webcasting of the polling stations during the poll day, EC sources said that it is 'entirely contrary to the privacy and security concerns of the voters' and sharing of the footage would leave both the elector, who has voted, as well as the elector, who has not voted, vulnerable to 'pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements'. ECI sources also justified the decision in which the Election Commission has asked its state poll officers to destroy CCTV cameras, webcasting and video footage of the election process if the election result is not challenged in a court in 45 days. ECI sources said some people are raising the demand for making available the video or CCTV footage of the webcasting of the polling stations on poll day. 'While this suits their narrative in making the demand sound quite genuine and in the interest of voters and safeguarding the democratic process in the country, it is aimed at achieving exactly the opposite objective. What is veiled as a very logical demand is entirely contrary to the privacy and security concerns of the voters, the legal position laid down in the Representation of the People Act, 1950/1951 and the directions of the Supreme Court of India,' a source said. (ANI)
Mint
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
‘If you still have any issues…': EC invites Rahul Gandhi to ‘discuss allegations on Maharashtra assembly polls'
Inviting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to discuss his allegations that the Maharashtra Assembly 2024 elections were rigged, the Election Commission on Tuesday termed the polls strictly as per electoral laws passed by the Parliament. A letter was sent via an email on June 12 was also received at the Leader of Opposition's (LoP) residence, an ANI report, citing sources, said. The EC said in its letter that all elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the EC from time to time. ECI further mentioned that the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by National and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of INC, across the state of Maharashtra. "All elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India strictly as per Electoral Laws passed by the Parliament, Rules made therein, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time. As you are aware, the entire election process is conducted in a decentralised manner at the Assembly Constituency level, which involved more than 100,186 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 288 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 139 General Observers, 41 Police Observers, 71 Expenditure Observers and 288 Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the Commission and 108,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by national and State Political Parties, including 28,421 of the INC, across the state of Maharashtra. We presume that any issue regarding the conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates," the letter reads. The letter also said that the ECI presumes that 'any issue regarding conduct of elections would have already been raised through election petitions filed in the competent court of law by the INC candidates'. Inviting Rahul Gandhi to discuss the issues related to his allegation on the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year, the EC's letter added, 'However, if you still have any issues, you are welcome to write to us and the Commission is also willing to meet you in person at a mutually convenient date and time to discuss all issues.' Earlier this month, the LoP in Lok Sabha had demanded that the EC publish consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra, and release post-5pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths. The Congress leader has accused the BJP of rigging the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections through a five-step process, including tampering with the EC and inflating voter turnout. The EC had, in response to Rahul's allegations, released a point-wise rebuttal, labelling them 'absurd' and saying that Rahul had raised 'unsubstantial allegations'. On June 21, the ECI had rejected Rahul Gandhi's request for poll footage, and said that such a move is violative of privacy and security concerns of voters. ECI sources said that calls for public release of footage may be politically motivated, aiming to harass or profile voters, especially in booths where a party performs poorly. (With inputs from agencies)
