India must strengthen democracy by ensuring transparent political funding, curbing electoral malpractices, and boosting voter participation. Reforms like VVPAT, debates on electoral bonds, and proposals for simultaneous elections highlight the need for continuous legal and procedural changes to safeguard electoral integrity and uphold the Constitution’s mandate for free and fair elections.
Copyright infringement not intended
Picture Courtesy: THE HINDU
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to verify nearly 8 crore voters, has raised concerns about transparency and credibility of the fairness of electoral reforms ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
India, the world's largest democracy, functions under a parliamentary system where citizens elect representatives through universal adult suffrage.
The electoral model for Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies uses a "First-Past-the-Post" (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the most votes wins.
It was established on January 25, 1950, as a permanent constitutional body under Article 324, responsible for superintending, directing, and controlling the entire electoral process of Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President.
The ECI functions as a three-member body, consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the President for a six-year tenure or until they reach 65 years of age, they hold the same status as Supreme Court judges.
Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950: Deals with electoral rolls.
RPA, 1951: Covers the conduct of elections and post-election disputes.
Delimitation Act, 2002: Periodically redraws constituency boundaries based on census data to maintain population uniformity.
Major Challenges in Indian Elections
Criminalization of Politics: A Report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) indicates that 46% of elected MPs in 2024 have declared criminal cases, with 31% facing serious charges such as rape, murder, and kidnapping.
Money Power: Excessive use of money by candidates and political parties remains a concern. Estimated expenditure for the 2024 Lok Sabha election reached around Rs 1,00,000 crore (ADR report).
Electoral Roll Discrepancies: Issues like duplicate voter IDs continue, although the ECI has initiated measures such as the centralized ERONET system to address these concerns. Proposals to link Aadhaar with voter IDs aim to cleanse electoral rolls but raise privacy concerns.
Misuse of State Machinery: Ruling party misuses official machinery for electoral advantage. This includes utilizing government resources for campaign activities and spending discretionary funds, which provides an unfair advantage.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) Violations: Violations such as hate speech, communal appeals, and the spread of unverified allegations by star campaigners continue. The ECI faces limitations in strictly enforcing these guidelines.
Lack of Internal Party Democracy: Political parties lack robust internal democratic structures, resulting in highly centralized decision-making, prevalence of dynastic politics, and non-transparent candidate selection processes.
Abuse of Digital Platforms and Fake News: Social media has facilitated the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation campaigns during elections. This influences public opinion and poses a serious threat to information integrity.
EVM Tampering Concerns: Concerns about the potential for EVM tampering and demands for full VVPAT-EVM matching continue. While the Supreme Court has not mandated full matching, it has permitted verification of the memory chips of 5% of EVMs in a constituency if tampering is suspected.
Caste and Communal Appeals: Political parties continue to exploit caste and religious identities for electoral gains, promoting communal polarization and threat to national unity.
Insufficient Voter Participation: Overall, 65.79% voter turnout recorded in General Elections 2024.
Judicial Interventions (Supreme Court Judgments)
Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) (2002): Mandated that all contesting candidates must disclose their criminal antecedents, assets, liabilities, and educational qualifications through an affidavit at the time of nomination.
Lily Thomas vs Union of India (2013): Invalidated Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, leading to the immediate disqualification of convicted Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India (2013): Court directed the Election Commission to introduce the "None of the Above" (NOTA) option on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), enabling voters to register their dissent against all candidates if unsatisfied.
Electoral Bonds Case (2024): Struck down the Electoral Bond scheme as unconstitutional, ruled that the scheme violated citizens' fundamental right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution by legalizing anonymous corporate funding to political parties.
Legislative & Administrative Reforms
61st Constitutional Amendment Act (1988): Lowered the voting age from 21 years to 18 years.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) & Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs): The ECI first used EVMs with full implementation in the 1999 Goa Assembly elections, to enhance vote counting accuracy and reduce ballot fraud.
Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC): Former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan introduced EPICs in 1993 to curb electoral fraud and verify voter identity effectively.
Prohibition on Sale of Liquor: A ban on liquor sales is enforced 48 hours before polling within a polling area to prevent undue influence on voters.
Contesting from Two Constituencies: Candidates can contest from a maximum of two constituencies during general elections or simultaneous by-elections.
Reduced Campaigning Period: Period between the last date for withdrawal of candidature and the polling day was shortened from 20 days to 14 days.
Disclosure of Criminal Antecedents and Assets: Candidates must declare their criminal records, assets, and liabilities during nomination, with false declarations subject to punishment.
Proxy Voting for Armed Forces (2003): Enabled service voters to cast their votes through a proxy.
Voting Rights for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) (2010): Indian citizens residing abroad who have not acquired foreign citizenship gained the right to vote in their home constituency.
Home Voting (2024): ECI introduced a home voting facility for persons with disabilities and citizens above 85 years of age.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC): The ECI developed comprehensive guidelines for political parties and candidates to ensure healthy campaigning and a level playing field.
Anti-Defection Law (1985): The 52nd Constitutional Amendment introduced the Tenth Schedule to prevent political defections by elected representatives driven by the lure of office.
Recommendations by Key Committees
Tarkunde Committee (1975): Recommended that the ECI should function as a three-member body, with appointments made based on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990): Limiting election expenses, prohibiting the use of government resources in campaigns, introducing voter IDs, enhancing transparency in political party funding, increasing the ECI's authority to designate investigating agencies.
Vohra Committee (1993): Investigated the nexus between crime and politics, recommended establishing a Nodal Cell to centralize information from various agencies.
Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections (1998): Supported partial state funding of elections, to level the playing field for all candidates and curb the influence of black money.
Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008): Emphasized the critical need for greater transparency in campaign financing.
High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections (Kovind Committee): Explored the feasibility of "one nation - one election," recommending a phased implementation and harmonization of electoral rolls across the country.
Decriminalization of Politics: Legislate to bar individuals with serious criminal charges from contesting elections once charges are framed, rather than awaiting conviction, to prevent prolonged delays and misuse of legal processes.
Political Funding Reforms: Bringing political parties under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Explore robust state funding mechanisms, as recommended by the Indrajit Gupta Committee.
Empowering the ECI
Enhance Electoral Roll Integrity: Implement Aadhaar-Voter ID linking with privacy safeguards to eliminate duplicate entries.
Improve Voting and Counting Process: Increase the sample sizes for VVPAT-EVM matching to instill greater confidence in the counting process. Introduce "totaliser" machines for vote aggregation to enhance transparency during the counting stage.
Increase Voter Awareness and Participation: Simplify voter registration processes, particularly for young and mobile citizens.
Regulate Digital Space: Develop strong regulations and promote collaboration with technology companies to monitor and combat misinformation and fake news during elections.
Strengthen Internal Party Democracy: Introduce legal provisions to enforce internal elections, and accountability within political parties.
Address Reservation for Women: Implement the Women's Reservation Act to reserve 33% of seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for women.
Fixed Term for Legislatures and Simultaneous Elections: Implementing fixed terms for legislatures and holding simultaneous elections (for Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and local bodies) to cut unnecessary expenditure and promote stable governance.
What India can learn from other countries?
Independent Election Management Bodies: Democracies, such as Canada and Australia, ensure a higher degree of independence for their election management bodies through impartial appointment processes.
Campaign Finance Transparency: Countries like the USA and Canada enforce strict disclosure requirements for political donations, making them publicly accessible.
Voter Identification: Canada offers multiple options for voter identification to ensure inclusivity while preventing fraud.
Proportional Representation: Shift to a proportional representation, like some European countries, to ensure fairer representation for smaller parties and a more accurate reflection of vote share in seat distribution.
India’s electoral reforms have advanced democracy through credible institutions and technology, yet challenges in political finance, criminalization, and representation persist. True progress demands structural changes curbing money power and social divides, balancing innovation with inclusivity, and active citizen engagement to strengthen democratic governance and institutional integrity.
|
For Prelims: Election Commission of India (ECI) l Delimitation Exercise For Mains: The One Nation, One Election l Electoral Reforms l Representation of Women in Parliament |
Source: THE HINDU
|
PRACTICE QUESTION Q. "Electoral reforms in India are a continuous process, essential for upholding the sanctity of democracy." Critically analyze. 250 words |
It's the right of all citizens above a certain age (currently 18 in India) to vote in elections, regardless of their caste, religion, gender, or economic status.
It's a set of guidelines issued by the ECI to regulate the conduct of political parties and candidates before and during elections to ensure free and fair polls.
It's a proposal to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies across the country.
© 2025 iasgyan. All right reserved
