ELECTION

The foundation stone of democracy

 ELECTION

• India is a constitutional democracy with a parliamentary system of government, and

at the heart of the system is a commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections.
• These elections determine the composition of the government, the membership of
the two houses of parliament, the state and union territory legislative assemblies,
and the Presidency and vice-presidency.
• The mainstay of a democratic society .
• Elections helps to solve the problem of succession in leadership and thus
contributes to the continuation of democracy .
 Electorate
Information
Announcement of Elections

Nomination Phase

Scrutiny of Nominations

Withdrawal of Candidates
Contesting
Campaigning Candidates
information

Polling

Counting
 The Election Commission Of India
• Constitution of India in Art 324 provides for an Election Commissioner and other
Election commissioners, who are appointed by the president of India.
• The chief election commissioner functions as the chairperson of the commission.
• Art 325 provides for creation of a single election roll for entire country.
• There is an Election Commission of India at National level and State Election
Commissions at State level to administer the electoral process in India.
• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established
federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the
Republic of India.
• Under the supervision of the commission, free and fair elections have been held in
India at regular intervals as per the principles enshrined in the Constitution.
• The Election Commission has the power of superintendence, direction and control of
all elections to the Parliament of India and the state legislatures and of elections to the
office of the President of India and the Vice-President of India.
 The Election
Commission Of
India

• Elections are conducted according to the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by
Parliament. The major laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the
preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which deals, in
detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post election disputes.
• The Supreme Court of India has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient
provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the
residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner.
 The Lok Sabha
• For Lok Sabha elections the country is divided into 543 constituencies chosen by direct
election .President can nominate 2 members from the Anglo-Indian community.
• Each constituency has roughly equal population living within it.
• The member elected from each constituency is called ‘Member of Parliament’ or ‘MP’.
• Each state is sub-divided into Assembly constituencies.
• The elected representatives are called - ’Members of Legislative Assembly’ or ‘MLA’
• Each village or town is sub-divided into ‘wards’.
• Thus, each parliamentary constituency has within it several assembly constituencies, within
which are several wards.
 The Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India.
Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are nominated by the President
of India for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services.
The remainder of the body is elected by the state and territorial legislatures indirectly.
Members sit for six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two
years
THE LOK SABHA THE RAJYA SABHA
 RESERVED CONSTITUENCIES
• Some constitutions are reserved for people who come from scheduled caste (SC)
and scheduled tribe (ST). This applies to ‘Other Backward Classes’ or ‘OBC’ as well.
Today, out of 543 seats in India's parliament, 84 (18.42%) are reserved for
SC/Dalits and 47 (8.66%)for ST/Tribes.
• In Parliament 33% reservation bill for women is still pending .
• This is to prevent domination of those with better resources and give a chance to
weaker sections of society.
• In an SC/ST reserved constituency, only someone from the SC/ST’s can stand for
elections.
 VOTERS LIST
 In a democratic election, the list of those
persons who are eligible to vote is prepared
before elections and displayed to everyone.
 This list is officially called Voters List.
 For every constituency, there is a voters list
Article 326 of the Constitution, 1950 stipulate
that the minimum age for registration of a
voter is 18 years.
 A person who is not a citizen of India cannot
be registered as a voter.
 A person cannot be enrolled as a voter in
more than one place in the same constituency
or in more than one constituency .
 NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES
• To be a candidate of Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the minimum age limit
is 25 years. Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol
and support.
• He/She must be a qualified voter and must be eligible to hold the office .
Educational qualification is not needed for any candidate .
• He/She must make an oath that they were not engaged in any action to overthrow
the government by force or violence and
• He/She was not a member of an organization that engage in anti constitutional and
anti social activities .
• A candidate must file the nomination certificate with the prescribed filing fee.
 ELECTION CAMPAIGN
• At first before the elections the dates of nomination, polling and counting are
notified by the election commissioner.
• The model code of conduct comes in force from the day the dates are announced.
• There are two weeks time between the declaration of candidates and the polling of
votes. During this period candidates and their followers contact their voters ,
prominent political leaders address election meetings of their candidates and
mobilise their supporters .
• During this period T.V. ,radio and newspapers are full of election related events.
• The code of conduct stipulates that campaigning be stopped 48 hours prior to
polling day.
 POLLING OF VOTES
• Government schools and colleges are chosen as polling stations. The Collector of each district
is in charge of polling. Government employeesare employed to many of the polling stations.
• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being increasingly used instead of ballot boxes to
prevent election fraud via booth capturing, which is heavily prevalent in certain parts of India.
• The final stage of the election is the voting day. It may also be called as election day. The
voters go to the nearby polling booth and enter it one by one. After verification of the identity
of the voters by the official, a mark is put on the index fingers. Now the voters are allowed to
cast their vote one by one. The electronic voting machine has the names of the candidates and
their election symbols.
• The voter is then asked to go and press the button of the candidate to whom he wants to vote
for. In this system a voter cannot vote more than once. After the completion of the voting
time; within a short time the counting of votes is started so that final result can be known.
 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
• No place of worship can be used for election campaign by any party.
• Political parties should remain within certain limits while criticizing
• the opposite party.
• During election campaign no government transport, official aircraft, machinery or
personnel could be used by political party .
• The Election Commission has fixed the legal limits on the amount of money which
a candidate can spend during election campaigns.
• These limits have been revised from time to time. The Election Commission by
appointing observers keeps an eye on the individual account of election expenditure.
The contestants are also required to give details of expenditure within 30 days of
declaration of results.
 Counting Of Votes And Declaration Of Results
• After finishing the job, the Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) are sealed by the
Presiding Officer and all the voting machines are deposited in the headquarter of the
constituency.
• After two days all votes are counted candidate-wise. The candidates who secure the
highest votes from the constituency is declared elected.
• In general elections all the counting is done at one time on the same day.
• Within a short span of time all the results are announced through T.V. channels and
special news bulletins. Within a short time picture is clear as to which political party
will form the government .
 Challenges To Free And Fair Elections
• No doubt that in the elections some of the candidates win on the basis of money
power, muscle power and rigging. But overall the general election still reflects the
people verdict.
• In some of the political parties, candidates are contesting elections with a huge
criminal record. They push the other willing candidates out of electoral race due to
their huge pressure on party.
• No political party offers any choice to ordinary citizen. Often they see the
background and manpower of the candidate.
• Often some of the independent winning candidates play a major role in the
formation of newly elected government. The independent candidates offer their
services at their own terms and conditions.
• Their power cannot be ignored in the game of number; pushing the majority up.