Democratic elections provide the method through which citizens assert their civil and political rights. Founders of modern India adopted universal adult suffrage thus reposing faith in the wisdom of the common Indian to elect his/her representative to the seat of power.
Choice of electoral democracy for India was variously termed at that time as a giant leap forward, a bold enterprise and an unparalleled adventure. The makers of the Constitution had realised quite early that elections provide the starting point of justice and equality. Despite a 16% literacy rate and a caste-based hierarchical social system, the independence came directly to the hands of ordinary people in the form of a vote. Oppressed masses of India had voted in many elections before Switzerland allowed its women and Australia its aboriginals to vote.
A thriving and vibrant electoral democracy has been India’s distinct and durable identity at the global stage, long before it asserted itself as economic, nuclear or IT major. This brand, which was founded by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution, has been nurtured by Parliament, Judiciary, Political Parties, Media and above all by the People of India, with some distinct contribution from the Election Commission.
Over the past 61 years, the Election Commission has delivered 15 elections to the Lok Sabha and over 330 elections to State Legislative Assemblies, thus facilitating peaceful, orderly and democratic transfer of power. Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha held in April-May 2009 have been described as the biggest management event in the world. It involved 714 million voters, 8,35,000 polling stations, 1.18 million Electronic Voting Machines and 11 million personnel. India’s electorate is larger than that of any continent and even several continents put together.
The recently concluded elections to five states and union territory, which have been rated as among the finest, involved one fifth of the country’s electorate. The management of elections in India has continually evolved and still does, matching with the colossal proportions and ever increasing complexity of the task.
Curbing black money
The Commission’s journey has also witnessed change in both quality and quantity of its operations. In 1962, the voting process moved from the balloting system to marking system and then to the present system based on Electronic Voting Machines. Multi-member constituencies have given way to single member constituencies. Printed electoral rolls have now been substituted by computerised photo-electoral rolls. The Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is by now a cherished possession of all citizens. Year after year, with engagement of technology and driven by a sense of innovation, and more importantly matching with the dynamics of the socio-political and economic processes of the Indian society, the art and craft of election management have been chiseled further. In the highly charged arena of competitive elections, where distrust is best guarantor of fair-play, the Commission engages all tricks for prevention of intimidation, election tracking and security & facilitation of voters.
In this evolution, the ECI is presently at new crossroads. While India’s election management apparatus has quite effectively neutralised the challenges of muscle power and incumbency power, the Commission is aware of the battles that remain to be won. Election Commission of India is concerned that corruption can and in India does pollute the electoral process and undermines its real potential. It is a striking coincidence that when a debate on corruption is raging all around, the Election Commission has stepped up some determined measures to curb the use of black money during election campaigns.
This also covers the new menace of Paid News: a corrupt nexus between political parties, candidates and media houses that seeks to hoodwink the expenditure rules and causes undue influence on electors. Transparency in the conduct and the process of elections, especially in the arena of election expenditure and accounting is being given top priority. Awareness campaign for ethical voting without falling for bribes and inducements is a new dimension of our efforts, for which Civil Society has come forward with exemplary support.
Another issue that has engaged serious attention of the Commission in the past one year and more is voters’ participation. Elections have to be not only free and fair but also socially just and more participative. Otherwise there may remain a democracy deficit despite a correct election.
Turnout of young voters
The Constitution from its very inception provided every 21 year old the right to vote in direct recognition of the role of the youth in the democratic process. The voting age was further reduced to 18 years in 1989 through a Constitutional Amendment. These two steps are nothing less than two revolutions in the Indian context, the potential of which is unfortunately, far from realised. This is reflected in the low registration and low turnout of young voters.
Commission has responded to this predicament in a decisive manner. It has created a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) wing, which rolls out comprehensive community outreach and multi-media campaigns in partnership with a host of organisations after carrying out a scientific survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Practices (KABP) of voters to fill up all possible gaps in information, motivation and participation. This initiative has returned impressive dividends in terms of higher registration and higher turnout in each of the recent state elections including record turnout in some states.
In a historic measure, Commission declared 25th January, its foundation day as the National Voters Day (NVD) from this year with the avowed purpose to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. More than 52 lakh newly eligible and registered youth were given their EPICs at more than 8 lakh polling stations on the first National Voters Day. This has been billed as the largest exercise of empowerment of the youth on a single day, anywhere in the world. The Commission is aiming at even higher levels of impact during NVD 2012 and future years for making universal suffrage a reality.
Poll management
It does not require any explanation that aspiring democracies around the world look forward to sharing the knowledge, skills and expertise at ECI’s disposal. Responding to increasing global demands, especially from Afro-Asian nations, the Commission is in the process of setting up an India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) that will serve as a training and resource centre in the critical sector of elections for both national and international participants. In the days to come, this Institute of India should hold light to the road of democracy worldwide.
With the type of constitutional mandate that the Commission has, it cannot afford to sit on its laurels. There are several long pending reform proposals and some recent ones from the Commission, that aim at cleaning up the electoral process, so that the foundation can be laid for good governance and a corruption free polity. Countrywide consultations on these reforms are about to be completed, paving the way for adoption of due legislation. Some of these proposals deal with Criminalisation of politics and regulation of campaign finance, publicity and opinion polls etc. We would like to see these getting accepted by all Political Parties and Parliament.
To conclude, the fierce neutrality of Election Commission constitutes the core of its strength. It is, therefore, surprising when EC is attacked for doing what all political parties want it to do. Certain amount of hue and cry is of course expected, as we experience from election to election. If you go for a life saving surgery, some blood will drip. We are taking this in the stride. For carrying out its sacred duty, assigned by the Indian Constitution, the Commission will not dither. It does not matter if there are no accolades. It also does not matter if there are brickbats.
We have come to a stage in India when holding a free and fair election is no more a spectacular achievement. In fact not holding one would be an exception. This is India’s promise to its own people and to the world. The Commission is now looking ahead to add higher quality to election management – to enrich an already good brand. We will strive to make elections peaceful every time. There shall be no let off in the fight against money power in elections. The other goal is to have every eligible Indian on our electoral rolls and every Indian voter to vote in the elections. We will inform, motivate and facilitate our citizens to do so. The Commission has a simple vision: ‘Elections that are completely free of crime and abuse of money, based on a perfect electoral roll and with full participation of voters.
Reforms on the agenda
The Commission has a lot more up its sleeves
An attempt to build consensus over electoraL reforms will be made in July at a conference of political parties. The conference will deliberate on proposals finalised by the Election Commission after holding several regional consultations in various parts of the country.
Debarring people accused of various crimes from contesting elections as soon as the courts frame charges and greater transparency in the working of political parties through internal democracy and financial accountability are just two of the proposals in the report being prepared. There is also a proposal that the political parties should receive donations through cheques.
Another proposal suggests that nobody be allowed to contest from more than one seat in an election. Presently, if a candidate contests from more than one seat, and wins from all, he is allowed to retain just one seat. This necessitates by-elections, which also amounts to betrayal of the faith of the voter. Meanwhile, India is fast emerging as the ‘Global Guru’ of election management. Having successfully conducted elections since its inception in 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now gearing up to provide its expertise to the Arab world.
The first country on its agenda is Egypt, where a people’s movement brought down the 30-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak early this year. As the Arab nation prepares for parliamentary elections in September, to be followed by presidential polls, ECI’s help has been sought to ensure a smooth election.
The Egyptian side wanted to share India’s experience in areas like voter education and electoral participation, EVMs and technology based election tracking and facilitation systems, confided Akshay Rout, Director General of the ECI. There was also keen interest in the techniques used by the ECI for tracking election processes like SMS, voters’ helpline and videography.
Egypt is not the only country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier this month invited the ECI for a meeting in Cairo to provide help to other nascent democracies in the Arab region. Mexico and South Africa were the other countries invited for the meeting.
The ECI is also discussing with the governments of Delhi and Haryana for land acquisition and for subsequent construction of a campus for the India International Institute of Election Management at New Delhi.
In the past, the commission has extended election management support on request to a number of countries, i.e. Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. It has also signed MoUs with the UN and electoral bodies of Ivory Coast, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Brazil and Russia and is in the process of finalising accords with Nepal, Mauritius, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia.
Choice of electoral democracy for India was variously termed at that time as a giant leap forward, a bold enterprise and an unparalleled adventure. The makers of the Constitution had realised quite early that elections provide the starting point of justice and equality. Despite a 16% literacy rate and a caste-based hierarchical social system, the independence came directly to the hands of ordinary people in the form of a vote. Oppressed masses of India had voted in many elections before Switzerland allowed its women and Australia its aboriginals to vote.
A thriving and vibrant electoral democracy has been India’s distinct and durable identity at the global stage, long before it asserted itself as economic, nuclear or IT major. This brand, which was founded by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution, has been nurtured by Parliament, Judiciary, Political Parties, Media and above all by the People of India, with some distinct contribution from the Election Commission.
Over the past 61 years, the Election Commission has delivered 15 elections to the Lok Sabha and over 330 elections to State Legislative Assemblies, thus facilitating peaceful, orderly and democratic transfer of power. Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha held in April-May 2009 have been described as the biggest management event in the world. It involved 714 million voters, 8,35,000 polling stations, 1.18 million Electronic Voting Machines and 11 million personnel. India’s electorate is larger than that of any continent and even several continents put together.
The recently concluded elections to five states and union territory, which have been rated as among the finest, involved one fifth of the country’s electorate. The management of elections in India has continually evolved and still does, matching with the colossal proportions and ever increasing complexity of the task.
Curbing black money
The Commission’s journey has also witnessed change in both quality and quantity of its operations. In 1962, the voting process moved from the balloting system to marking system and then to the present system based on Electronic Voting Machines. Multi-member constituencies have given way to single member constituencies. Printed electoral rolls have now been substituted by computerised photo-electoral rolls. The Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is by now a cherished possession of all citizens. Year after year, with engagement of technology and driven by a sense of innovation, and more importantly matching with the dynamics of the socio-political and economic processes of the Indian society, the art and craft of election management have been chiseled further. In the highly charged arena of competitive elections, where distrust is best guarantor of fair-play, the Commission engages all tricks for prevention of intimidation, election tracking and security & facilitation of voters.
In this evolution, the ECI is presently at new crossroads. While India’s election management apparatus has quite effectively neutralised the challenges of muscle power and incumbency power, the Commission is aware of the battles that remain to be won. Election Commission of India is concerned that corruption can and in India does pollute the electoral process and undermines its real potential. It is a striking coincidence that when a debate on corruption is raging all around, the Election Commission has stepped up some determined measures to curb the use of black money during election campaigns.
This also covers the new menace of Paid News: a corrupt nexus between political parties, candidates and media houses that seeks to hoodwink the expenditure rules and causes undue influence on electors. Transparency in the conduct and the process of elections, especially in the arena of election expenditure and accounting is being given top priority. Awareness campaign for ethical voting without falling for bribes and inducements is a new dimension of our efforts, for which Civil Society has come forward with exemplary support.
Another issue that has engaged serious attention of the Commission in the past one year and more is voters’ participation. Elections have to be not only free and fair but also socially just and more participative. Otherwise there may remain a democracy deficit despite a correct election.
Turnout of young voters
The Constitution from its very inception provided every 21 year old the right to vote in direct recognition of the role of the youth in the democratic process. The voting age was further reduced to 18 years in 1989 through a Constitutional Amendment. These two steps are nothing less than two revolutions in the Indian context, the potential of which is unfortunately, far from realised. This is reflected in the low registration and low turnout of young voters.
Commission has responded to this predicament in a decisive manner. It has created a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) wing, which rolls out comprehensive community outreach and multi-media campaigns in partnership with a host of organisations after carrying out a scientific survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Practices (KABP) of voters to fill up all possible gaps in information, motivation and participation. This initiative has returned impressive dividends in terms of higher registration and higher turnout in each of the recent state elections including record turnout in some states.
In a historic measure, Commission declared 25th January, its foundation day as the National Voters Day (NVD) from this year with the avowed purpose to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. More than 52 lakh newly eligible and registered youth were given their EPICs at more than 8 lakh polling stations on the first National Voters Day. This has been billed as the largest exercise of empowerment of the youth on a single day, anywhere in the world. The Commission is aiming at even higher levels of impact during NVD 2012 and future years for making universal suffrage a reality.
Poll management
It does not require any explanation that aspiring democracies around the world look forward to sharing the knowledge, skills and expertise at ECI’s disposal. Responding to increasing global demands, especially from Afro-Asian nations, the Commission is in the process of setting up an India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) that will serve as a training and resource centre in the critical sector of elections for both national and international participants. In the days to come, this Institute of India should hold light to the road of democracy worldwide.
With the type of constitutional mandate that the Commission has, it cannot afford to sit on its laurels. There are several long pending reform proposals and some recent ones from the Commission, that aim at cleaning up the electoral process, so that the foundation can be laid for good governance and a corruption free polity. Countrywide consultations on these reforms are about to be completed, paving the way for adoption of due legislation. Some of these proposals deal with Criminalisation of politics and regulation of campaign finance, publicity and opinion polls etc. We would like to see these getting accepted by all Political Parties and Parliament.
To conclude, the fierce neutrality of Election Commission constitutes the core of its strength. It is, therefore, surprising when EC is attacked for doing what all political parties want it to do. Certain amount of hue and cry is of course expected, as we experience from election to election. If you go for a life saving surgery, some blood will drip. We are taking this in the stride. For carrying out its sacred duty, assigned by the Indian Constitution, the Commission will not dither. It does not matter if there are no accolades. It also does not matter if there are brickbats.
We have come to a stage in India when holding a free and fair election is no more a spectacular achievement. In fact not holding one would be an exception. This is India’s promise to its own people and to the world. The Commission is now looking ahead to add higher quality to election management – to enrich an already good brand. We will strive to make elections peaceful every time. There shall be no let off in the fight against money power in elections. The other goal is to have every eligible Indian on our electoral rolls and every Indian voter to vote in the elections. We will inform, motivate and facilitate our citizens to do so. The Commission has a simple vision: ‘Elections that are completely free of crime and abuse of money, based on a perfect electoral roll and with full participation of voters.
Reforms on the agenda
The Commission has a lot more up its sleeves
An attempt to build consensus over electoraL reforms will be made in July at a conference of political parties. The conference will deliberate on proposals finalised by the Election Commission after holding several regional consultations in various parts of the country.
Debarring people accused of various crimes from contesting elections as soon as the courts frame charges and greater transparency in the working of political parties through internal democracy and financial accountability are just two of the proposals in the report being prepared. There is also a proposal that the political parties should receive donations through cheques.
Another proposal suggests that nobody be allowed to contest from more than one seat in an election. Presently, if a candidate contests from more than one seat, and wins from all, he is allowed to retain just one seat. This necessitates by-elections, which also amounts to betrayal of the faith of the voter. Meanwhile, India is fast emerging as the ‘Global Guru’ of election management. Having successfully conducted elections since its inception in 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now gearing up to provide its expertise to the Arab world.
The first country on its agenda is Egypt, where a people’s movement brought down the 30-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak early this year. As the Arab nation prepares for parliamentary elections in September, to be followed by presidential polls, ECI’s help has been sought to ensure a smooth election.
The Egyptian side wanted to share India’s experience in areas like voter education and electoral participation, EVMs and technology based election tracking and facilitation systems, confided Akshay Rout, Director General of the ECI. There was also keen interest in the techniques used by the ECI for tracking election processes like SMS, voters’ helpline and videography.
Egypt is not the only country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier this month invited the ECI for a meeting in Cairo to provide help to other nascent democracies in the Arab region. Mexico and South Africa were the other countries invited for the meeting.
The ECI is also discussing with the governments of Delhi and Haryana for land acquisition and for subsequent construction of a campus for the India International Institute of Election Management at New Delhi.
In the past, the commission has extended election management support on request to a number of countries, i.e. Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. It has also signed MoUs with the UN and electoral bodies of Ivory Coast, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Brazil and Russia and is in the process of finalising accords with Nepal, Mauritius, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia.
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