Monitoring of Expenditure on Election Campaign, Shadow Observation Register (SOR)

Monitoring of Expenditure on Election Campaign

 Though it is mandatory for each contesting candidate to maintain his/her account of election expenses in a true and correct manner, yet it is observed that some of the candidates inadvertently or deliberately fail to maintain the account correctly and in the proper manner. All the candidates are required to get their accounts inspected thrice during the campaign period, the dates of which are notified by the RO. The inspection also provides an opportunity to the candidate to see whether he/she has accounted his/her expenditure correctly and in a proper manner and enables him/her to rectify the defects observed during the inspection. For cross checking the expenditure incurred by the candidates, Accounting Team maintains Shadow Observation Registers and Folder of Evidence for each candidate so that expenditure incurred by the candidates on major rallies/meetings etc., is properly recorded and shown to the candidates during inspections.

Shadow Observation Register (SOR):

A Shadow Observation Register for each candidate shall be maintained by Accounting Team in the format as enclosed at Annexure- B13. This Register will be maintained in hard copy and/or in excel sheet, with print outs (kept serially, page numbered) and the observed expenditure as captured by various teams/ reports of the expenditure monitoring machinery. The purpose of this register is to cross check items of the major expenses incurred and reported by the candidate.

The accounting teams shall get information on daily basis from the Video Surveillance Teams, Video Viewing Teams, MCMC, SSTs and FSs, and complaint monitoring Control Room. The Accounting Team shall work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Expenditure Observer and Assistant Expenditure Observer.

The Assistant Expenditure Observer shall make daily inspection of the Shadow Observation Register for each candidate and ensure that all expenditure reported by different teams of Expenditure Monitoring are entered in this Register. In case of any discrepancy or laxity, the same should be immediately reported to the Expenditure Observer.

The Shadow Observation Register can be shown to the candidate or his representative and any member of the public only up to the period for which inspection of the register of election expenditure maintained by the candidate has been done and not before inspection of accounts of the said date. If the expenditure reported in the register of election expenditure maintained by the candidate is less than the amount mentioned in the Shadow Observation Register, it shall be brought to the notice of the candidate or his representative at the time of inspection, in writing in his register itself under the signature of the Expenditure Observer and also making such noting in Shadow Observation Register and obtaining the signature of the candidate/ his representative. The candidate or his agent shall be served a notice in writing on the same day by the RO for such discrepancy. A copy of the notice shall be put on the notice board of the RO for information of the public. Any member of the public shall be entitled to obtain a copy of the notice on payment of a fee of Re 1/- per page. A copy of the notice and the reply received from the candidate or his election agent shall be kept in Folder of Evidence and mentioned in Shadow Observation Register. Replies received shall be put on the notice board of the RO and copies of these shall also be made available to the public on payment of Re. 1/- per page. The copies of notices so issued and replies received, if any, shall be marked to the DEMC with Expenditure Observer, DEO and Dy. DEO for forming opinion about the truthfulness of the account of expenditure submitted by the candidate after the declaration of results. The latest instructions of the commission should be followed.