Election and Representation Notes
Chapter 3: Election and Representation
Introduction
Elections are like games, requiring agreed-upon rules and impartial umpires.
Changing the rules of elections can drastically alter the outcome.
Basic decisions about elections are written in a democratic country's constitution.
The chapter will cover election methods, the Indian election system's characteristics, the importance of free and fair elections, and the debate on electoral reforms.
Elections and Democracy
Democracy necessitates representation, as citizens cannot directly participate in every decision.
Elections have become the most visible symbol of the democratic process in India.
Direct democracy involves citizens directly participating in decision-making, like in ancient Greek city-states.
Gram sabhas are considered the closest examples of direct democracy.
Due to large populations, rule by the people usually means rule by people’s representatives chosen through elections.
Citizens have a limited, indirect role through their elected representatives.
The method by which people elect their representatives is very important.
Not all elections are democratic; non-democratic countries hold elections to appear democratic.
A democratic constitution lays down basic rules about elections, which are further detailed by laws.
Key rules address voter eligibility, candidate eligibility, election supervision, how voters choose representatives, and vote counting methods.
Election System in India
The Constitution outlines how votes are counted and representatives are elected.
There are different methods for people to make their choices and for counting their preferences, affecting the election outcome.
Some rules can favor bigger parties while others can help the smaller players; some rules can favor the majority community, others can protect the minorities.
First Past the Post System (FPTP) (examples)
In the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party won 415 of 543 seats (over 80%) with only 48% of the votes.
The BJP got 7.4% of the votes but less than 1% of the seats in the same election.
The country is divided into 543 constituencies, each electing one representative.
The candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency is declared elected, even without securing a majority.
This method is called the First Past the Post (FPTP) system or the Plurality System.
The FPTP system is prescribed by the Constitution.
The Congress party won a greater share of seats than votes because its candidates secured less than 50% of the votes in many constituencies.
Votes for losing candidates are essentially ‘wasted’ as those candidates/parties get no seat.
A party could win all seats with only 25% of the votes if everyone else gets even fewer votes.
Proportional Representation (PR) (examples)
In Israel, each party is allotted seats in parliament in proportion to its share of votes.
Each party picks nominees from a pre-declared list to fill its allocated seats.
This is called the Proportional Representation (PR) system.
Some countries, like Israel and Netherlands, treat the entire country as one constituency.
Other countries, like Argentina and Portugal, divide the country into multi-member constituencies.
Voters exercise their preference for a party, not a candidate.
Seats in a constituency are distributed based on votes polled by a party.
Representatives from a constituency belong to different parties.
India uses PR on a limited scale for indirect elections.
The Constitution prescribes a complex version of PR for electing the President, Vice President, Rajya Sabha, and Vidhan Parishads.
Comparison of FPTP and PR System (israel)
FPTP:
Country divided into small geographical units.
Each constituency elects one representative.
Voter votes for a candidate.
A party may get more seats than votes.
The winner may not get a majority of votes (50\% + 1).
Examples: U.K., India.
PR:
Large geographical areas are constituencies.
More than one representative may be elected from one constituency.
Voter votes for the party.
Every party gets seats in proportion to votes.
The winner gets a majority of votes.
Examples: Israel, Netherlands.
Israel's Proportional Representation
Elections to the legislature (Knesset) occur every four years.
Voters vote for the party, not candidates.
A party gets seats in proportion to votes polled, allowing smaller parties to gain representation.
A party must get a minimum of 1.5% votes to be eligible for seats.
This often leads to a multi-party coalition government.
Single Transferable Vote (STV) in Rajya Sabha Elections (math
A third variant of PR, the Single Transferable Vote system (STV), is followed for Rajya Sabha elections.
Every state has a specific quota of seats in the Rajya Sabha.
Members are elected by the respective State legislative assemblies.
The voters are the MLAs in that State.
Every voter is required to rank candidates according to her or his preference.
To be declared the winner, a candidate must secure a minimum quota of votes, which is determined by the formula: \frac{\text{Total votes polled}}{\text{Total number of candidates to be elected} + 1} + 1
For example, if 4 Rajya Sabha members have to be elected by the 200 MLAs in Rajasthan, the winner would require \frac{200}{4+1} + 1 = 41 votes.
The votes are counted on the basis of first preference votes secured by each candidate, of which the candidate has secured the first preference votes.
If, after the counting of all first preference votes, the required number of candidates fail to fulfill the quota, the candidate who secured the lowest votes of first preference is eliminated and his/her votes are transferred to those who are mentioned as second preference on those ballot papers.
This process continues till the required number of candidates are declared elected.
Why India Adopted FPTP
The FPTP system is simple to understand, even for those without specialized knowledge of politics.
Voters have a clear choice between specific candidates or parties.
The FPTP system offers voters a choice not simply between parties but specific candidates.
In constituency-based systems like FPTP, voters know their representative and can hold them accountable.
The Constitution makers felt PR might not provide a stable government in a parliamentary system.
PR system may not produce a clear majority because seats in the legislature would be divided on the basis of share of votes.
The FPTP system gives the largest party/coalition extra seats, enabling stable government formation.
The FPTP system encourages voters from different social groups to unite and win an election in a locality.
In a diverse country like India, a PR system would encourage each community to form its own nation-wide party.
The FPTP system has proven simple and familiar to ordinary voters.
It has helped larger parties win clear majorities at the center and state level.
The system discouraged parties that get votes from only one caste or community.
Normally, the FPTP system results in a two-party system.
India has experienced one-party dominance, multi-party coalitions, and a gradual emergence of two-party competition in many states.
The distinguishing feature of India’s party system is that the rise of coalitions has made it possible for new and smaller parties to enter into electoral competition in spite of the FPTP system.
Reservation of Constituencies (downsides of fptp)
The FPTP system often disadvantages smaller social groups.
In India, caste-based discrimination makes this significant.
Dominant social groups/castes can win everywhere, leaving oppressed groups unrepresented.
The Constitution makers were aware of this difficulty and the need to provide a way to ensure fair and just representation to the oppressed social groups.
British government introduced ‘separate electorates'.
In the constituent assembly, many members expressed a fear that this will not suit our purposes.
Therefore, it was decided to adopt the system of reserved constituencies.
All voters in a constituency are eligible to vote, but candidates must belong to a specific community or social section for which the seat is reserved.
Certain social groups are spread across the country, but may not have sufficient numbers in any one constituency to win.
Reservation becomes necessary to ensure their proper representation.
The Constitution reserves seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
This provision was initially for 10 years and has been extended to 2010 through amendments.
The Parliament can further extend it when the period of reservation expires.
The number of seats reserved for both groups is in proportion to their share in the population.
Currently, 79 of 543 Lok Sabha seats are reserved for SCs and 41 for STs.
Delimitation Commission
An independent body called the Delimitation Commission decides which constituency is to be reserved.
The President of India appoints the Delimitation Commission, which works with the Election Commission of India.
It draws up the boundaries of constituencies across the country.
A quota of constituencies to be reserved in each State is fixed depending on the proportion of SC or ST in that State.
After drawing the boundaries, the Delimitation Commission looks at the population composition in each constituency.
Constituencies with the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population are reserved for ST.
For Scheduled Castes, the Commission considers both the proportion of SC population and spreading these constituencies across different regions of the State.
Reserved constituencies can be rotated each time the Delimitation exercise is undertaken.
The Constitution does not make similar reservation for other disadvantaged groups.
There is growing demand for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women to reserve one-third seats for women is increasingly being articulated.
Reservation of seats for women has been provided for in rural and urban local bodies.
A similar provision for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas would require an amendment to the Constitution.
Such an amendment has been proposed several times in the Parliament but has not yet been passed.
Free and Fair Elections
The true test of any election system is its ability to ensure a free and fair electoral process.
The election system must be impartial and transparent.
The system of election must also allow the aspirations of the voter to find legitimate expression through the electoral results.
Universal Franchise and Right to Contest
The Constitution addresses who can vote and who can contest elections.
Democratic elections require universal adult franchise.
All adult citizens of the country must be eligible to vote in the elections.
The framers of the Indian Constitution guaranteed every adult citizen the right to vote.
The eligibility age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1989.
Adult franchise ensures all citizens can participate in selecting representatives.
This aligns with the principle of equality and non-discrimination.
The Constitution makers had a firm belief in the ability and worth of all adult citizens as equals in the matter of deciding what is good for the society, the country and for their own constituencies.
All citizens can stand for election and become representatives.
There are minimum age requirements for contesting elections
a candidate must be at least 25 years old in order to stand for Lok Sabha or Assembly election.
A person imprisoned for two or more years is disqualified from contesting elections.
There are no restrictions of income, education, class, or gender on the right to contest elections.
The system of election is open to all citizens.
Independent Election Commission(article 324)
India has made efforts to ensure free and fair elections.
The most important effort is the creation of an independent Election Commission.
Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for an independent Election Commission for the ‘superintendence, direction and control of the electoral roll and the conduct of elections’ in India.
The Supreme Court has agreed with this interpretation of the Constitution.
A Chief Electoral Officer in every state assists the Election Commission of India.
The Election Commission is not responsible for the conduct of local body elections.
State Election Commissioners work independently of the Election Commission of India.
The Election Commission of India can be a single member or a multi-member body.
Till 1989, the Election Commission was single member.
1993: The Commission became multi-member and has remained multi-member since then.
There was a sharp difference of opinion between the then Chief Election Commissioner and the other Commissioners about who had how much power.
The matter had to be settled by the Supreme Court.
A multi-member Election Commission is more appropriate as power is shared and there is greater accountability.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) presides over the Election Commission but does not have more powers than the other Election Commissioners.
The CEC and the two Election Commissioners have equal powers to take all decisions relating to elections as a collective body.
They are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
This may allow a ruling party to appoint a partisan person to the Commission.
Many suggest that consultation with the leader of opposition and the Chief Justice of India should be necessary for appointments.???????
The Constitution ensures the security of the tenure of the CEC and Election Commissioners.
They are appointed for a six year term or continue till the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
The CEC can be removed before the expiry of the term, by the President if both Houses of Parliament make such a recommendation with a special majority.
The Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India.
Special majority:
Two-thirds majority of those present and voting, and
Simple majority of the total membership of the House.
Functions of Election Commission
It supervises the preparation of up-to-date voters’ list.
It determines the timing of elections and prepares the election schedule.
The election schedule includes the notification of elections, date from which nominations can be filed, last date for filing nominations, last date of scrutiny, last date of withdrawal, date of polling and date of counting and declaration of results.
During the entire process, the Election Commission has the power to take decisions to ensure a free and fair poll.
It can postpone or cancel the election in the entire country or a specific State or constituency on the grounds that the atmosphere is vitiated and therefore, a free and fair election may not be possible.
The Commission also implements a model code of conduct for parties and candidates.
It can order a re-poll in a specific constituency.
It can also order a recount of votes when it feels that the counting process has not been fully fair and just.
The Election Commission accords recognition to political parties and allots symbols to each of them.
The Election Commission has very limited staff of its own.
It conducts the elections with the help of the administrative machinery.
During the election process, the administrative officers of the State and central governments are assigned election related duty and in this respect, the Election Commission has full control over them.
The EC can transfer the officers, or stop their transfers; it can take action against them for failing to act in a non-partisan manner.
The Election Commission is more independent and assertive now than it was twenty years ago.
The Election Commission has started using more effectively the powers it always had in the Constitution.
The EC has faced many difficult situations such as holding elections in militancy affected areas like Assam, Punjab or Jammu and Kashmir.
Electoral Reforms
No election system is perfect.
Democratic societies must constantly seek mechanisms to make elections as free and fair as possible.
India has tried to make its election process free and fair by doing the acceptance of adult suffrage, freedom to contest elections, and the establishment of an independent Election Commission.
Suggestions for Reforming Election System
Change the election system from FPTP to a variant of PR.
Ensure that parties get seats in proportion to the votes they get.
Special provision to ensure that at least one-third women are elected to the parliament and assemblies.
Stricter provisions to control the role of money in electoral politics.
The elections expenses should be paid by the government out of a special fund.
Candidates with a criminal case should be barred from contesting elections.
Complete ban on caste and religious appeals in the campaign.
A law to regulate the functioning of political parties and ensure they function transparently and democratically.
There is no consensus about these suggestions.
Legal reforms are limited.
Free and fair elections require candidates, parties, and those involved to abide by democratic competition.
Ensuring Fair Elections
People must be more vigilant and actively involved in political activities.
Political institutions and voluntary organizations must function as watchdogs.
Conclusion
Elections and their representative character are crucial for effective and trustworthy democracy.
Factors Gauging Success of Indian Election System
The election system allows voters to freely choose representatives and change governments peacefully.
Voters take keen interest and participate in the election process.
The system is accommodative and inclusive.
The social composition of representatives has changed gradually.
Election outcomes largely reflect fairness, despite occasional rigging attempts.
Elections have become a part of our democratic life.
Regularity and periodicity of elections has earned fame for India as a great democratic experiment.