18
ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN INDIA
Elections
enable every adult citizen of the country to participate in the process of government
formation. You must have observed that elections are held in our country frequently.
These include elections to elect members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State
Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas) Legislative Councils (Vidhan Parishad)
and of,
President and Vice-President of India. Elections are also held for local bodies
such as municipalities,
municipal corporations and Panchayati Raj justifications. If you have attained the
age of 18, you must have voted in some of these elections. If not, you will
have the opportunity
to vote in the next round of elections. These elections are held on the basis
of universal
adult franchise, which means all Indians of 18 years of age and above have the right
to vote, irrespective of their caste, colour, religion, sex or place of birth.
Election
is a complex exercise. It involves schedules rules and machinery. This lesson
will give
you a clear picture of the voting procedure, as also about filing of
nominations, their scrutiny
and the campaigns carried out by the parties and the candidates before actual polling.
In this lesson you will read about the Election Commission, electoral system in India
and also some suggestions for electoral reforms. Objectives
The
architects of the Indian Constitution attached special significance to an
independent electoral
machinery for the conduct of elections. The Constitution of India provides for
an Election
Commission of India which is responsible for superintendence direction and
control of
all elections. It is responsible for conducting elections to both the Houses of
Parliament and
State Legislatures and for the offices of President and Vice-President.
Besides, it is also
responsible for the preparation revision, updation and maintenance of lists of
voters. It delimits
constituencies for election to the Parliament and the State Legislatures, fixes
the election
programme and settles election disputes. It performs many other functions
related to
elections.
Composition
The
Election Commission consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and such other Election
Commissioners as may be decided by the President from time to time. Ever since the
first Chief Election Commissioner was appointed in 1950, there was no other
Election Commissioner
till 1989. The Chief Election Commissioner was assisted by a larger number of
officials. The Election Commission became a multi-member body on 16 October
1989 when
the President appointed two more Election Commissioners. The senior of the two Election
Commissioners is appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner.
Tenure and Removal
Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed for a term of
six years, or till the age of 65 whichever is earlier. It is important that
Chief Election Commissioner
and other Election Commissioners should be free from all political interferences.
Therefore, even if they are appointed by the President, they cannot be removed
by him. And no changes can be brought in the conditions of service and the tenure
of office after their appointment. The Chief Election Commissioner cannot be removed
from office, except on the grounds and in the manner on which the Supreme Court
judges can be removed. However, since the other Election Commissioners and the Regional
Election Commissioners work under the Chief Commissioner, they may be
removed
by the President on his recommendations.
FUNCTIONSPowers and Functions of The Election Commission
The
primary function of the Election Commission is to conduct free and fair
elections in India.
For this purpose, the Election Commission has the following functions:
Delimitation of Constituencies
To
facilitate the process of elections, a country has to be divided into several
constituencies.
Constituency
It is territorial area from where a candidate contests elections The
task of delimiting constituencies is generally performed by the Delimitation
Commission consisting
of five serving or retired judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Election Commissioner
who is its ex-officio member. All secretarial assistance (at all levels,
national, state,
district) is provided to the Delimitation Commission by the Election
Commission.
The
Delimitation Commission is constituted by the Government from time to time.
Preparation of Electoral Rolls
Each
constituency has a comprehensive list of voters. It is known as the Electoral
Roll, or the
Voters’ List. The Commission prepares the Electoral Roll for Parliament as well
as Legislative
Assembly elections. The Electoral Roll of every constituency contains the
names
of all the persons who have right to vote in that constituency. The electoral
roll is also
revised from time to time generally before every general election, by-election
and mid-term
election in the constituency.
General
Election Election to constitute a new Lok Sabha or Assembly is called
General Election.
By-Election
If at any time there is a mid-term vacancy due to the death or
resignation of a member either in Lok Sabha or Legislative
Assembly only one seat falls vacant. The election
for that seat is known as by-election.
Mid-term
Election If the Lok Sabha or State Assembly is dissolved before completion
of five years and the election is held to constitute new
Lok Sabha or new State Assembly, etc. is called midterm election.
The
revision is carried out from house to house by the enumerators appointed by
Election Commission
and all eligible voters are registered. A person can be registered as a voter
if he/she
fulfils the following conditions:
1.
He/she is a citizen of India.
2.
He/she is 18 years of age.
3.
He/she is resident of the constituency.
Recognition of Political Parties
One
of the important functions of the Election Commission is to recognise political
parties as
all India (National) or State (Regional) Political Parties. If in a general
election, a particular
party gets four percent of the total valid votes polled in any four states it
is recognised
as an all India (National) Party. If a party gets four percent of the total
valid votes
in a state, it is recognized as a State or regional party. (You will read in
details about Political
Parties in the following Lesson No.19). The Indian National Congress, the
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), The Communist Party of India (Marxist)
the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Nationalist Congress Party are at present
(2006) major recognised national parties.
Allotment of Symbol
Political
Parties have symbols which are allotted by the Election Commission. For
example, Hand
is the symbol of the Indian National Congress, Lotus is the symbol of the
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) and Elephant is the symbol of Bahujan Samaj Party. These symbols are
significant for the following reasons:
1.
They are a help for the illiterate voters who cannot read the names of the
candidates.
2.
They help in differentiating between two candidates having the same name.
To
ensure that elections are held in free and fair manner, the Election Commission
appoints thousands
of polling personnel to assist in the election work. These personnel are drawn among
magistrates, police officers, civil servants, clerks, typists, school teachers,
drivers, peons
etc. Out of these there are three main officials who play very important role
in the conduct
of free and fair election. They are Returning Officer, Presiding Officer and
Polling Officers.
Returning Officer
In
every constituency, one Officer is designated as Returning Officer by the
Commission in
consultation with the concerned State government. However, an Officer can be nominated
as Returning Officer for more than one constituency. All the nomination papers
are
submitted to the Returning Officer. Papers are scrutinised by him/her and if
they are in
order, accepted by him/her. Election symbols are allotted by him/her in
accordance with the
directions issued by the Election Commission. He/she also accepts withdrawal of
the candidates
and announces the final list. He/she supervises all the polling booths, votes
are counted
under his/her supervision and finally result is announced by him/her. In fact,
the Returning
Officer is the overall incharge of the efficient and fair conduct of elections
in the
concerned constituency.
Presiding Officers
Every
constituency has a large number of polling booths. Each polling booth on an
average caters
to about a thousands votes. Every such booth is under the charge of an officer
who is
called the Presiding Officer. He/she supervises the entire process polling in
the polling booth
and ensures that every voter gets an opportunity to cast vote freely. After the
polling is
over he/she seals all the ballot boxes and deliver them to the Returning
Officer.
Polling Officers
Every
Presiding Officer is assisted by three to four polling officers. They check the
names of
the voters in the electoral roll, put indelible ink on the finger of the voter,
issue ballot papers
and ensure that votes are secretly cast by each voter.
[Indelible
ink – This ink cannot be removed easily. It is put on the first finger
of the right hand
of the voter so that a person does not come again to cast vote for the second
time.
This
is done to avoid impersonation.] Intext Questions 18.1
Tick
mark (P) the appropraite alternative out of the four
alternatives.
1.
Responsibility for conducting free and fair elections rests on:
a)
The Chief Justice of India
b)
The Election Commission
c)
The President
d)
The Comptroller and Auditor General
2.
The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by:
a)
The Chief Justice of India
b)
The President
c)
The Law Minister
d)
The Prime Minister
Fill
in the blanks :
3.
The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed for _______ years. (four/five/six)
4.
The procedure for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner is the same as
that of the
_______________ . (Speaker of the Lok Sabha/Judge of the Supreme Court/
The
Prime Minister of India)
5.
Match the following symbols with the respective Political Parties:
a)
BJP Cycle
b)
Indian National Congress Lotus
c)
Telgu Desam Hand
6.
Which of the following is referred to as Mid-term election ?
a)
the election held in middle of the year
b)
the election held out of schedule
c)
the election held any time during the term when ruling party loses a vote of
confidence.
7.
Which of the following is essential to be voter?
a)
the person should be 21 years of age
b)
the person should be a citizen of India
c)
the person should have passed secondary examination.
Process.ral Process
Elections
in India are conducted according to the procedure laid down by law. The
following process
is observed.
Notification for Election
The
process of election officially begins when on the recommendation of Election Commission,
the President in case of Lok Sabha and the Governor in case of State Assembly issue
a notification for the election. Seven days are given to candidates to file
nomination.
The
seventh day is the last date after the issue of notification excluding Sunday.
Scrutiny of
nomination papers is done on the day normally after the last date of filing
nominations.The candidate
can withdraw his/her nomination on the second day after the scrutiny of papers.
Election
is held not earlier than twentieth day after the withdrawal.
Filing of Nomination Structure of Government
A
person who intends to contest an election is required to file the nomination
paper in a prescribed
form indicating his name, age, postal address and serial number in the
electoral rolls.
The candidate is required to be duly proposed and seconded by at least two
voters registered
in the concerned constituency. Every candidate has to take an oath or make affirmation.
These papers are then submitted to the Returning Officer designated by the Election
Commission.
Security Deposit
Every
candidate has to make a security deposit at the time of filing nomination. For
Lok Sabha
every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs.10,000/- and for State
Assembly Rs.
5,000. But candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are
required to
deposit Rs. 5,000/– for if contesting the Lok Sabha elections and Rs. 2,500/–
for contesting Vidhan
Sabha elections. The security deposit is forfeited if the candidate fails to
get at
least
1/6 of the total valid votes polled.
Scrutiny and Withdrawal
All
nomination papers received by the Returning Officer are scrutinised on the day
fixed by
the Election Commission. This is done to ensure that all papers are filled
according to the
procedure laid down and accompanied by required security deposit. The Returning Officer
is empowered to reject a nomination paper on any one of the following ground:
(i)
If the candidate is less than 25 years of age.
(ii)
If he/she has not made security deposit.
(iii)
If he/she is holding any office of profit.
(iv)
If he/she is not listed as a voter anywhere in the country
The
second day after the scrutiny of nomination papers is the last date for the
withdrawal of
the candidates. In case that day happens to be a holiday or Sunday, the day
immediately after
that is fixed as the last day for the withdrawal.
Election Campaign
Campaigning
is the process by which a candidate tries to persuade the voters to vote for him
rather than others. During this period, the candidates try to travel through
their constituency
to influence as many voters as possible to vote in their favour. In the recent times,
the Election Commission has granted all the recognised National and Regional
Parties, free
access to the State-owned electronic media, the All India Radio (AIR) and the Doordarshan
to do their campaigning. The total free time is fixed by the Election
Commission which
is allotted to all the political parties. Campaigning stops 48 hours before the
day of polling.
A number of campaign techniques are involved in the election process. Some of
these
are:
i.
Holding of public meetings
ii.
Distribution of handbills, highlighting the main issues of their election
manifesto (election
manifesto
is a document issued by political party. It is declaration of policies and programmes
of the party concerned – about this you will read in details in the following Door to door appeal by influential people in
the party.
iv.
Broadcasting and telecasting of speeches by various political leaders.
Model Code of Conduct
During
the campaign period the political parties and the contesting candidates are
expected to
abide by a model code of conduct evolved by the Election Commission of India on
the basis
of the consensus among political parties. It comes into force the moment
schedule of election
is announced by the Election Commission. The code of conduct is as follows :
(i)
Political Parties and contesting candidates should not use religious places for
election campaign.
(ii)
Such speeches should not be delivered in a way to create hatred among different communities
belonging to different religions, castes and languages, etc.
(iii)
Official machinery should not be used for election work.
(iv)
No new grants can be sanctioned, no new schemes or projects can be started once the
election dates are announced.
(v)
One cannot misuse mass media for partisan coverage.
Scrutinisation of Expenses
Though
the Election Commission provides free access for a limited time to all the
recognised National
and State parties for their campaign, this does not mean that political parties
do not
spend anything on their elections campaign. The political parties and the
candidates contesting
election spend large sum of amount on their election campaign. However, the Election
Commission has the power to scrutinise the election expenses to be incurred by the
candidates. There is a ceiling on expenses to be incurred in Parliamentary as
well as State
Assembly elections. Every candidate is required to file an account of his
election expenses
within 45 days of declaration of results. In case of default or if the
candidate has incurred
(expenses) more than the prescribed limit, the Election Commission can take appropriate
action and the candidate elected may be disqualified and his election may be countermanded.
Polling, Counting and Declaration of Result
In
order to conduct polling, large number of polling booths are set up in each
constituency. Each
booth is placed under the charge of a Presiding Officer with the Polling
Officers to help
the process. A voter
casts his/her vote secretly in an enclosure, so that no other person comes to
know of
the choice he/she has made. It is known as secret ballot. After
the polling is over, ballot boxes are sealed in the presence of agents of the
candidates. Agents
ensure that no voter is denied right to vote, provided the voter turns up comes within
the prescribed time limit.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
The
Election Commission has started using tamper proof electronic voting machines
to ensure
free and fair elections. Each machine has the names and symbols of the
candidates.
Structure of Government
in
a constituency. One Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) can accommodate maximum of 16
candidates. But if the number exceeds 16, then more than one EVM may be used.
If the
number of candidates is very large, ballot papers may be used. The voter has to
press the
appropriate button to vote for the candidate of his/her choice. As soon as the
button is pressed,
the machine is automatically switched off. Then comes the turn of the next
voter.
The
machine is easy to operate, and with this the use of ballot paper and ballot
boxes is done
away with. When the machine is used, the counting of votes becomes more
convenient and
faster. The EVMs were used in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi
in 1999,
and later in all the State Assembly constituencies. In 2004 General Elections
EVMs were
used all over the country for Lok Sabha elections. The
sealed ballot boxes or EVMs are shifted in tight security to the counting
centre.
Counting
takes place under the supervision of the Returning Officer and in the presence of
candidates and their agents. If there is any doubt about the validity or
otherwise of a vote,
decision of the Returning Officer is final. As soon as counting is over, the
candidate securing
the maximum number of votes is declared elected (or returned) by the Returning Officer.
Re-poll – If at the time of polling, a
booth is captured by some anti-social elements, the Election
Commission may order holding of re-poll in either the entire constituency or particular
booths.
Countermanding of Election. If a duly nominated
candidate belonging to a recognised party
dies at any time after the last date of nomination and before the commencement
of polling,
the Election Commission orders countermanding the elections. This is not just postponement
of polling. The entire election process, beginning from nominations is
initiated afresh
in the concerned constituency.Intext Questions 18.2
1.
Who issues the notification for elections?
a)
Election Commission
b)
Returning Officer
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)
President
2.
Which day is the last date for filing nominations?
a)
4th day
b)
5th day
c)
7th day
3.
Election schedule is spread over:
a)
7 days
b)
20 days
c)
1 month
4.
Nomination papers should be duly proposed and seconded by:
a)
2 voters of the concerned constituency.
b)
3 voters of any constituency
c)
4 voters of the concerned constituency.
d)
6 voters of the concerned constituency.
5.
Campaigning is stopped
a)
12 hours before the polling.
b)
24 hours before the polling.
c)
48 hours before the polling.
6.
The polling booth is manned by the
a)
Polling Officers
b)
Returning Officer
c)
Presiding Officer
7.
The Electronic Voting Machine can accommodate a maximum of:
a)
10 candidates
b)
16 candidates
c)
20 candidates18.5 Shortcomings of Indian Electoral System
There
has been universal appreciation of the Indian electoral system. People have
hailed
the
manner in which elections have been conducted in India. But there are its
weaknesses.
It
has been seen that in spite of the efforts of Election Commission to ensure
free and fair election,
there are certain shortcomings of our Electoral system. Some notable weaknesses are
discussed below:
Money Power Structure of Government
The
role of unaccounted money in elections has become a serious problem. The
political parties
collect funds from companies and business houses, and then use this money to influence
the voter to vote in their favour. The business contributions are mostly in
cash
and
are not unaccounted. Many other corrupt practices are also adopted during
election such
as bribing, rigging or voters intimidation, impersonation and providing
transport and conveyance
of voters to and fro the polling stations. The reports of liquor being
distributed in
poor areas are frequent during election.
Muscle Power
Earlier
the criminals used to support the candidates by intimidating the voter at a
gunpoint to
vote according to their direction. Now they themselves have come out openly by contesting
the elections leading to criminalisation of politics. As a result violence
during
elections
has also increased.
Caste and Religion
Generally
the candidates are given tickets by the political parties on the consideration whether
the candidate can muster the support of numerically larger castes and
communities and
possesses enough resources. Even the electorates vote on the caste and communal lines.
Communal loyalties of the voters are used at the time of propaganda campaign.
Misuse of government machinery
All
the political parties do not have equal opportunity in respect of access to
resources.
The
party in power is always in advantageous position then the opposition parties. There is
widespread allegation that the party in power accomplishes misuse of government machinery.
All
these features lead to violence, booth capturing, rigging bogus voting,
forcible removal of
ballot papers, ballot boxes burning of vehicles, etc. which result into loss of
public faith in
elections.lectoral Reforms
In
order to restore the confidence of the public in the democratic electoral
system, many electoral
reforms have been recommended from time to time by Tarkunde Committee and Goswami
Committee which were particularly appointed to study and report on the scheme for
Electoral Reforms in the year 1974 and 1990 respectively. Out of these
recommendations some
have been implemented. In fact, it was under the chairmanship of the then Chief Election
Commissioner, T.N. Seshan, that Election Commission initiated many more measures
to ensure free and fair elections. Some of the reforms which have been implemented
so far are as follows:
1.
The voting age has been lowered from 21 years to 18 years. This has helped
increase the
number of voters and response confidence in the youth of the country.
2.
Another landmark change has been the increase in the amount of security deposit
by the
candidate to prevent many nonserious condidates from contesting elections with a
ulterior motive.
3.
The photo identity cards have been introduced to eradicate bogus voting or impersonation.
4.
With the introduction of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) the voting capturing,
rigging, and
bogus voting may not be possible. The use of EVM will in the long run result in reducing
the cost of holding elections and also the incidence of tampering during counting
of votes.
5.
If a discrepancy is found between the member of votes polled and number of
total votes
counted, the Returning officer away report the matter forthwith to Election Commission.
Election Commission on such report may either declare the poll at the
particular
polling station as void and give a date for fresh poll or countermand election in
that constituency.
There
is no doubt that India needs drastic poll reforms but still the fact remains
that Indian elections
have been largely free and fair and successfully conducted. It gives the
country the
proud distinction of being the largest democracy in the world.stions 18.3
1.
Some of the notable shortcomings of the Indian Electoral system are (a)
___________________ (b)____________________
(c)____________________(d)___________________
2.
The most significant electoral reforms implemented in India are:
(I)
___________________
(II)____________________
(III)____________________
(IV)___________________
What You Have Learnt
In
order to conduct free and fair elections in India, Election Commission as an
impartial body
has been established by the Constitution itself. It is a three-member body. The
main functions
of the Election Commission are to delimit the constituencies, recognise the
political parties,
allot the symbols, and appoint officials to conduct and supervise the
elections, The electoral
process begins with the issue of notification by the President. The Election Commission
releases the schedule for election and, issues model code of conduct to be followed
during elections. The contesting candidates file their nomination papers. Their papers
are scrutinised by the concerned Returning Officers after which they are either accepted
or rejected. The candidates can also withdraw their nominations. During the election
campaign, political parties and their candidate release their respective
Election Manifestos.
A large number of public meetings, and door-to-door campaign are organised and
the electronic media, TV and Radio etc. are used to win the people’s
confidence. On Structure of Government
the
polling day the Election Commission ensures that voters cast their votes in
free and fair
manner. The candidate who secures highest number of votes in a constituency is declared
elected.
Recently
Electronic Voting Machine has been introduced, it has replaced the use of
ballot papers
and ballot boxes. This change has yielded positive outcomes, as no bogus
voting, rigging
or booth capturing can happen now, and the counting can be completed in no
time.
Though
Election Commission tries its best to conduct free and fair elections our
electoral system
is faced with the problems like use of money and muscle powers, and other
corrupt practices.
To avoid all this certain electoral reforms have been introduced from time to
time.
Terminal Exercises
1.
What are the functions of Election Commission of India?
2.
Explain briefly the electoral process followed during Lok Sabha or Assembly
Elections.
3.
Write in brief the shortcomings of electoral system in India. Suggest reforms
for improving
the system.
1.
b) 2. b) 3. Six 4. Judge of the Supreme Court
5.
a – Lotus; b – Hand; c – Cycle
6.
c) 7. b)
1.
c) 2. c) 3. c) 4. a) 5. c)
6.
a) 7. b)
1.
a) Money power
b)
Muscle power
c)
Role of Caste and religion
d)
Misuse of government machinery
2.
i) Lowering of voting age
ii)
Increasing the amount of security deposit
iii)
Introduction of Photo Identity Card
iv)
Introduction of Electronic Voting Machines
