Electoral Reforms in India
Jul. 28, 2020 • Snehal Asthana
INTRODUCTION
India being a democracy, voting and elections play a very vital role. But these two very important processes have been facing a lot of issues in a big democracy like India. Some of these issues may include- Communalism and politics, Money Power, Booth Capturing, Violence, and Criminalization of Politics. Therefore, the need for electoral reforms has been ever increasing. This was the view of many committees formed for this matter, some of which are[1] -
- Tarkunde Committee (1974)
- Jaya Prakash Narayan Committee (1974)
- Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms (1990)
- Vohra Committee Report (1993)
- Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections (1998)
- Law Commission Report on Reform of the Electoral Laws (1999)
- National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2001)
- Election Commission of India - Proposed Electoral Reforms(2004)
- Jeevan Reddy Committee (2004)
- The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008)[2]
With a view to restoring the faith of the public in the democracy of India and its processes, many electoral reforms have been made from time to time.
MAJOR ELECTORAL REFORMS PROPOSED IN INDIA
Some of the major election reforms recommended by these committees in India include-
- A Shift Away From The First Past The Post (FPTP) System Of Representation
- Ceiling On Election Expenses
- Regulation Of Political Parties
- Electronic Voting
- Practice Of Erecting Camps
- Photo Id Cards To Voters
- Increase Of Number Of Polling Booths
- Appointment Of Observers
- Operation Of Electoral Rolls
- Desirability Of President’s Rule During Elections
- Independent Election Machinery
- Need For Universal Education
- Removal Of Parasites
- Natural Justice
- Registration Of Birth And Death
- Media Control[3]
- Declaration Of January 25th As The National Voters’ Day[4]
ELECTION REFORMS PROPOSED BY THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
The Election Commission of India (ECI) had made certain major propositions with respect to electoral reforms in India in the year 2016. They are enlisted explained in brief as follows-
- Amendment to the Constitution of India-
One of the major reforms with respect to the election process in India proposed by the ECI was an amendment to certain articles in the Constitution of India. This would include-
(a) There should be protected in the Constitution itself for all members of the Election Commission of India, such as the salary of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners, and allied matters. Article 324(5) should also include the removability of Election Commissioners (EC) like that of Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) as a CEC is in no way superior to the ECs. [5]
(b) The expenditure of the Commission should be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
(c) An independent Secretariat should be appointed for the Commission so that there is no interference from the Executive in choosing and appointing officials. The Law Commission also in its 255th Report (2015)[6] endorsed the Commission's view and recommended the insertion of Article 324(2A) after sub-section (2) of the Constitution.[7]
- Electoral Roll Matters-
(a) Section 20(6) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 should be amended so as to include the registration in the native constituency of a husband as well.
(b) Section 20(8) of the aforementioned Act should include the words “Air Force Act, 1950 and the Navy Act, 1957” as well.
(c) The State laws should be amended with regard to the usage of common electoral rolls prepared by the Commission (ECI) for the election of local bodies.
(d) An alternative option of proxy voting or postal ballot voting should be given to overseas electors and accordingly Section 60 of The Representation of the People Act, 1951 should be amended.
(e) Section 14(b) of the aforesaid Act should be amended and it should be changed to turning 18 on any day in the year and not only on 1st January.
- De-criminalization of Politics-
(a) Any person who is charged with a cognizable offence (punishable with imprisonment of at least 5 years) shall be debarred from standing in the elections.
(b) There should be no misuse of religion for electoral gain.
(c) Bribery in elections should be made a cognizable offence with a minimum of 2 years of imprisonment and Sections 171B and 171E of the Cr.P.C should be amended accordingly.
Ø Other electoral reforms proposed by the ECI were reforms related to[8]-
- Election Management Issues
- Election Officials and Logistics
- Nomination of Candidates
- Reforms relating to Political Parties
- Election Campaign and Advertisements
- Election Expenses and Election Petitions[9]
ELECTION REFORMS PROPOSED BY THE LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA
The following electoral reforms were proposed by the Law Commission of India (LCI) in its 255th report in the year 2015[10]-
- Anti-Defection Law In India
- Compulsory Voting
- Election Finance Reforms
- Election Petitions
- Independent Candidates
- NOTA And The Right To Reject
- Opinion Polls
- Paid News And Political Advertising
- Preparation And Use Of Common Electoral Rolls
- Proportional Representation Instead Of FPTP
- Regulation Of Political Parties And Inner Party Democracy
- Restriction On Government Sponsored Advertisements
- Restriction On The Number Of Seats From Which A Candidate May Contest
- Right To Recall
- Strengthening The Office Of ECI
- Totalizer For Counting Of Votes
CONCLUSION
The various electoral reforms proposed by the different Committees, the Election Commission of India as well as the Law Commission of India will only be effective if people are made more aware of the importance of the process of choosing a representative or a responsible leader. Even though a lot of reforms have been made in the electoral process, a lot still needs to be done to improve the whole process of voting and elections and to make it more transparent, efficient and accountable.
This article is authored by Nandini Menon, a 3rd-year student pursuing a 5-year law course [BSW LLB (Hons.)] at the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU).
Disclaimer: The article is an original submission of the Author. Niti Manthan does not hold any liability arising out of this article. Kindly refer to our terms of use or write to us in case of any concerns.
[1] 'Reports On Electoral Reforms|Legislative Department | Ministry Of Law And Justice | GOI' (Legislative.gov.in, 2020) <http://legislative.gov.in/reports-on-electoral-reforms> accessed 3 July 2020.
[2] ibid.
[3] 'Government Responses To Disinformation On Social Media Platforms' (Loc.gov, 2020) <https://www.loc.gov/law/help/social-media-disinformation/india.php> accessed 3 July 2020.
[4] Election Commission of India, 'National Voters’ Day Celebrated On 25Th January' (2019) <https://eci.gov.in/files/file/9308-national-voters%E2%80%99-day-celebrated-on-25th-january-president-of-india-lauds-initiatives-being-taken-up-by-election-commission-in-preparation-for-the-lok-sabha-elections-2019/> accessed 3 July 2020.
[5] T.N. Seshan, Chief Election Commissioner of India vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors. 1995 (4) SCALE 285
[6] 'Electoral Reforms' (Law Commission of India 2015) <http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report255.pdf> accessed 3 July 2020.
[7] “(2A)(1): The Election Commission shall have a separate independent and permanent secretarial staff. The Election Commission may, by rules prescribed by it, regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to its permanent secretarial staff.”
[8] 'Proposed Election Reforms' (Election Commission of India, 2016) <https://eci.gov.in/files/category/53-proposed-election-reforms/> accessed 4 July 2020.
[9] ibid.
[10] 'Electoral Reforms' (Law Commission of India 2015) <http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report255.pdf> accessed 4 July 2020.