ELECTIONS IN INDIA

Overview

·         India is the largest democracy in the world (in terms of electorate).  

·         The first General Elections were held in 1951.

·         The control and conduct of all elections to the Parliament, to the state legislatures and to the offices of the President and Vice-President fall under the purview of the Election Commission of India.

·         Panchayat elections are conducted by respective State Election Commissions.

  

Constitutional provisions for elections

·         Article 324 stipulates that the superintendence, direction and control of elections shall be vested in the Election Commission.

·         Article 325 provides a single electoral roll for every constituency. Also stipulates that no person shall be eligible or ineligible for inclusion in electoral rolls on the basis of race, religion, caste or sex.

·         Article 326 stipulates that elections shall be held on the basis of adult suffrage. Every person who is a citizen of India and is not less than 18 years of age shall be eligible for inclusion.

Election process

·         The Election Commission announces the schedule of elections, but the election process only starts with the notification by the President (or Governors).

·         Model Code of Conduct comes into force the day election dates are announced.

·         No party is allowed to use government resources for campaigning. Campaigning to be stopped 48 hours prior to polling day.

·         The Collector of each district is in charge of polling.

·         The indelible ink used to mark fingers is produced by the Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd.

·         Currently, India does not have an absentee ballot system. To enroll as a voter, a person needs to be an ‘ordinary resident’ i.e. reside in a particular constituency for at least 6 months.

·         A period of eight days is allowed for filing nominations. Two days are allowed for withdrawal of candidature.

·         Candidates to a particular constituency can be from anywhere in the country. However, voters in the constituency must be residents of that constituency.

·         A candidate may contest from two constituencies at most.

Political parties

·         Registration of the People Act 1951 provides for registration of political parties with the Election Commission.

·         To be recognized as a National Party, a party must satisfy all the following criteria

                  o   secure 6% of votes polled in four or more states (in General Elections of Assembly Elections).

o   win at least 4 seats to the Lok Sabha.

o   win at least 2% of Lok Sabha seats from at least three different states (i.e. min of 11 MPs in the Lok Sabha).

·         To be recognised as a State Party, a party must satisfy all the following

o   Secure at least 6% of votes polled in that particular state.

o   Wins at least 3 seats to the Legislative Assembly or at least 3% of Assembly seats, whichever is higher.

Judicial Review of election disputes

·         Technically, the decisions of the Election Commission can be challenged in High Courts or the Supreme Court.

·         However, by tradition, the Judiciary does not intervene in the conduct of elections once the process of elections has begun.

·         After declaration of election results, the Election Commission cannot reverse the results on its own.

·         The results of the elections to Parliament and state legislatures can only be reviewed by filing election petitions at the High Courts.

·         For elections of President and Vice-President, election petitions can only be filed with the Supreme Court.