The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday notified all states and union territories that they must issue a “no-dues certificate”  within 48 hours after an aspiring candidate requests the certificate.

The ECI stated that the issuance of the no-dues certificate is crucial for the contesting candidates since not issuing them would be in contravention of the individuals’ candidature. The notification stated, “If the candidate is not able to provide ‘No Dues Certificate’ even after he has cleared all such dues towards the said government accommodation, this goes against his candidature at the time of scrutiny of nominations.” The ECI also said that there will be “no respite” to candidates who submit the certificate after the end of the statutory period for filing nominations.

The issuance of the no-dues certificate is in the hands of the concerned states and union territories’ authorities. During the ongoing Lok Sabha election in India, the matter came before the ECI when the concerned authorities had not issued the ‘no-due certificates’ in matters of rent, electricity, telephone and water charges even after the clearance of all supposed dues as required to be done by the contesting parties.

The ECI stressed that the failure to issue the certificates could hamper not just the rights of the aspiring candidates and the political parties but also the electorates of the concerned constituency, stating that their issuance is detrimental to the objectives of “participatory electoral democracy.”

The commission also enforced the setup of an institutionalized framework immediately after the promulgation of the Modal Code of Conduct, which ensures that political parties do not play rough or outside the law and therefore mandates certain regulations to be followed during vote campaigning and rallies. A nodal officer is required to receive and handle such requests as asked by the aspiring candidates.

The ECI is conducting the 2024 General Elections for Lok Sabha, the lower assembly of the Indian Parliament, that began on April 19. The commission looks after political parties’ rights as well as the rights of the electorates. The Lok Sabha elections are currently being conducted in four phases across 28 Indian states and eight union territories ending on June 1, which will eventually decide the next ruling government at the center of one of the biggest democracies around the globe.