An electoral roll is a list of people who have enrolled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body that Prepares and periodically revises electoral rolls and registers all eligible voters.
The founding fathers of our Republic conceived of representative parliamentary democracy as the polity most suited to India’s ethos, background and needs. They envisaged equal participation of all the adult citizens in the democratic process without any discrimination. Selection of representatives of the people through universal adult franchise and free and fair elections was for them an act of faith. Universal adult franchise was a bold and ambitious political experiment and a symbol of the abiding faith that the founders reposed in the great masses of the country and in their innate wisdom. To achieve these objectives, article 326 of the Constitution enfranchises for all the adult citizens (not less than 18 years of age) and empowers them to vote at the elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections in an independent Election Commission. Article 325 deals with the preparation of Electoral Roll.
Article 325
There shall be one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for election to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of the Legislature of a State and no person shall be ineligible for inclusion in any such roll or claim to be included in any special electoral roll for any such constituency on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them.
According to Article 325 of the Constitution of India, there shall be one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for election to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of the Legislature of a State and no person shall be ineligible for inclusion in any such roll or claim to be included in any special electoral roll for any such constituency on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them. This is an important provision that aimed to categorically state that no separate electorates would be held for minorities in the country.
Article 326
The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election.
Previously the age limit was 21 years, but, because of The Constitution (Sixty-First Amendment) Act,1989, the age is lowered to 18 years.
Article 326 incorporates the system of adult suffrage for elections to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly of every State. According to this system, a person to be registered as a voter for these elections must comply with the following requirements:
- He must be a citizen of India.
- He must not be less than 18 years of age on the appointed day.
- He must not be otherwise disqualified under the Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, corrupt or illegal practice.
Preparation of Electoral List
According to Section 15 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 for every constituency there shall be an electoral roll which shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Act under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission.
Under Article 325 of the Constitution, no person shall be ineligible for inclusion in any such roll or claim to be included in any special electoral roll for any such constituency on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them.
Disqualification from Electoral List
According to Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,
(1) A person shall be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he—
(a) is not a citizen of India; or
(b) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
(c) is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt practices and other offences in connection with elections.
(2) The name of any person who becomes so disqualified after registration shall forthwith be struck off the electoral roll in which it is included:
Provided that the name of any person struck off the electoral roll of a constituency by reason of a disqualification under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall forthwith be re-instated in that roll if such disqualification is, during the period such roll is in force, removed under any law authorising such removal.
Electoral Reforms in India Introduction
It is generally accepted that while the first three general elections were held in a free and fair manner, a plummeting of standards started during the fourth general elections in 1967. Many consider the electoral system in the country as the basis of political corruption. In the next sections, we will talk about the challenges in this regard, and some of the previous attempts at electoral reform.
Issues in Electoral Politics in India
There are multiple issues plaguing the electoral process in India. Some of the most prominent ones are mentioned below.
Money Power
In every constituency, candidates have to spend crores of rupees for campaigning, publicity, etc. Most candidates far exceed the permissible limit of expenses.
Muscle Power
In certain parts of the country, there are widespread reports of illegal and untoward incidents during polling such as the use of violence, intimidation, booth capturing, etc.
Criminalisation of Politics and Politicization of Criminals
Criminals enter into politics and ensure that money and muscle power wins them elections, so that the cases against them are not proceeded with. Political parties are also happy as long as they have winnable candidates. Political parties field criminals in elections for funds and in return provide them with political patronage and protection.
Misuse of Government Machinery
There is a general opinion that the party in power uses government machinery such as using government vehicles for canvassing, advertisements at the cost of the exchequer, disbursements out of the discretionary funds at the disposal of the ministers, and other such means to improve the chances of their candidates winning.
Non-serious Independent candidates
Serious candidates float non-serious candidates in elections to cut a good portion of the votes that would otherwise have gone to rival candidates.
Casteism
There are cases of certain caste groups lending strong support to particular political parties. Thus, political parties make offers to win over different caste groups, and caste groups also try to pressurize parties to offer tickets for their members’ elections. Voting on caste lines is prevalent in the country and this is a serious blotch on democracy and equality. This also creates rifts in the country.
Communalism
Communal polarization poses a serious threat to the Indian political ethos of pluralism, parliamentarianism, secularism and federalism. Read more about Communalism in the linked article.
Lack of Moral Values in Politics
The political corruption in India has led to politics becoming a business. People enter the political arena for making money and retaining their money and power. There are very few leaders who enter politics to make a difference in the lives of their people. The Gandhian values of service and sacrifice are missing from the Indian political scene.
Electoral Reforms Undertaken
Electoral Reforms Pre-2000
- Lowering of Voting Age: The 61st Amendment Act to the Constitution reduced the minimum age for voting from 21 to 18 years.
- Deputation to Election Commission: All personnel working in preparing, revising and correcting the electoral rolls for elections shall be considered to be on deputation to the EC for the period of such employment, and they shall be superintended by the EC.
- Increase in the number of proposers and the security deposit: The number of electors required to sign as proposers in the nomination papers for elections to the Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Councils has been raised to 10% of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors, whichever is less chiefly to prevent frivolous candidates. The security deposit has also been hiked to prevent non-serious candidates.
- Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs): First introduced in 1998 during the state elections of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, EVMs are used widely now as they are fool-proof, efficient and a better option in terms of the environment.
- Disqualification on conviction for violating the National Honours Act, 1971: This shall lead to disqualification of the person for 6 years from contesting to the Parliament and the state legislatures.
- Restriction on contesting from more than 2 constituencies: A candidate cannot contest from more than 2 constituencies.
- Death of a contesting candidate: Previously, the election was countermanded on the death of a contesting candidate. In the future, no election will be countermanded on the death of a contesting candidate. If the deceased candidate, however, was set up by a recognized national or state party, then the party concerned will be given an option to nominate another candidate within 7 days of the issue of a notice to that effect to the party concerned by the Election Commission.
- It is prohibited by law to go to or near a polling booth bearing arms. This is punishable by imprisonment for up to 2 years.
- On poll days, employees of organisations get a paid holiday and violation of this is punishable by a fine.
- Prohibition on sale of liquor: No liquor or other intoxicants shall be sold or given or distributed at any shop, eating place, or any other place, whether private or public, within a polling area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of poll.
- Time limit for bye-elections: Bye-elections to any House of Parliament or a State Legislature will now be held within six months of the occurrence of the vacancy in that House. (Read about Parliament & State Legislature in the linked article.)
- The period of campaigning has been reduced.
Electoral Reforms Post 2000
The electoral reforms target the election process in the country. The list of such electoral reforms are given below:
- Ceiling on election expenditure: At present, there is no limit on the amount a political party can spend in an election or on a candidate. But, the Commission has put a cap on individual candidates’ spending. For the Lok Sabha elections, it is Rs. 50 – 70 lakh (depending on the state they are contesting the Lok Sabha seat from), and Rs. 20 – 28 lakh for an assembly election.
- Restriction on exit polls: The EC issued a statement before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections saying that exit poll results could be broadcast only after the final phase of the elections were over. This was done to avoid prospective voters being misguided or prejudiced in any manner.
- Voting through postal ballot: In 2013, the EC decided to expand the ambit of postal ballot voting in the country. Previously, only Indian staff in missions abroad and defence personnel in a limited way, could vote via postal ballots. Now, there are 6 categories of voters who can use the postal ballot: service voters; special voters; wives of service voters and special voters; voters subjected to preventive detention; voters on election duty and Notified voters.
- Awareness Creation: The government decided to observe January 25th as ‘National Voters Day’ to mark the EC’s founding day.
- Political parties need to report any contribution in excess of Rs 20000 to the EC for claiming income tax benefit.
- Declaring of criminal antecedents, assets, etc. by the candidates is required and declaring false information in the affidavit is now an electoral offence punishable with imprisonment up to 6 months or fine or both.
FAQs
What do you mean by Article 324?
Article 324 provides for the Election Commission of India. It states that the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the President and the office of the Vice President of India shall be vested in the EC.
Which committee is related to electoral reforms in India?
There have been many committees in India for electoral reforms. In 2014, the Law Commission headed by Justice AP Shah examined issues concerning the disqualification of candidates with a criminal background and the consequences of filing false affidavits.