Election Commission to publish meeting agendas in advance and minutes afterwards

New Delhi: The Election Commission has made several changes to its working to ensure transparency. The agenda of the commission's meetings will now be issued in advance. The minutes of the meetings, that is, the record of proceedings, will also be made public. This process was not being followed earlier.

The decision to publish the agenda and minutes of meetings has been taken to increase accountability within the commission. It will make available information on which subjects were discussed at the meetings and what decisions were taken. The agenda will be issued before the meeting is held.

Officials of the commission will now have to obtain the commission's prior permission before travelling abroad. This was a practice that had earlier been missed. Making permission for foreign travel mandatory is a step in the same direction, towards increasing accountability within the commission.

A new IT module will also be placed before a committee of officials and will proceed only after it is approved.

The declaration option has been removed from the online SIR form, and the rules for SIR have also been changed. The commission has removed the additional declaration requirement from the online Form 6 for new voters in 17 states and Union Territories.

This declaration will no longer be part of the online voter registration application. A separate declaration will have to be given for it. The aim of the change is to make the registration process easier for new voters. It is also meant to reduce difficulties in filling out the online application.

In all, the commission has decided on three things. The agenda of meetings will be issued in advance, the minutes and record of proceedings of meetings will be made public, and officials will have to take the commission's prior permission before foreign travel. The aim of these steps is to bring transparency to the commission's working.