New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS): The Election Commission on Friday launched the inaugural edition of "The Election Commission of India Annual National Essay Contest on Election & Democracy", conducted jointly by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) and Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), O.P. Jindal Global University.

The online competition opens on October 2, and the last date for the submission of entries is November 21.

This year, the topic of the competition, which will be both in English and Hindi, will be "Legal Framework for Social Media Regulations During Elections" and "The ECI's Role in Protecting and Preserving Electoral Democracy".

The main objective of this essay competition, open to students pursuing a law programme administered by an Indian law University, or institute, colleges recognised by the Bar Council of India, i0s to encourage law students to engage in contemporary research and explore new dimensions of the law governing elections in India.

The essay entries will be evaluated by JGLS faculty members with expertise in election laws, in consultation with the IIIDEM on five criteria - originality of the content, formatting and presentation, quality of research, argumentation and use of authorities and citations. There will be prizes for different categories whereas the first prize pegged at Rs 1 lakh.

Highlighting that the contest was an effort to inspire young and bright minds from law schools to undertake research on the laws and policy governing elections in India, Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, in his message, said that the contest would provide a platform for the students to showcase their depth of knowledge, analytical ability and persuasive style of writing.

"Essay contest is an initiative to sensitise, develop, harness and sharpen talent of Law students and provide annual competitive opportunity to express their understanding of the Constitution, law, and the electoral process," Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in his message.