Elections – Micro
[no_toc]Parliamentary Supremacy
Article 327 vests in parliament the supreme power to make laws relating to elections- at central as well as state levels. However, Article 328 gives the states also certain limited powers of legislation with respect to elections to the Legislative Assemblies. The sole idea to give these limited powers to states was to avert the fear from the mind of minorities in the states of being discriminated against by the majority.
Voting Age and 61st Amendment
Article 326 of the Constitution had originally granted electoral franchise to every Indian citizen who has attained 21 years of age and who has not been declared a bankrupt, criminal, insane or a non-resident. In 1988 the 61st amendment was passed by parliament whereby voting age has been reduced to 18 years.
Basic Unit of Voting
Single-member territorial constituency has been declared the basic unit of voting and all national and state elections are held on this basis.
Original court for Election Petition
The electoral system permits poll petitions for resolving election feuds. The high court is declared as the original court and the Supreme Court has the appellate jurisdiction. Poll petitions can be filed for the violation of electoral procedure, the ineligibility of the candidate, communal and monetary traps laid down to affect public opinion and he misuse of the official machinery.
Only single member constituencies
India has ONLY single member constituencies. There used to be double member constituencies initially but these are abolished now. There are some reserved constituencies. They are also single member constituents.
Meaning of General Elections
First general election in India on the basis of adult franchise was held in 1952. This was a simultaneous election both for the Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies. Second general election held in 1957 was also a simultaneous election. Thereafter, elections to some of the state assemblies could not be held along with election to the Lok Sabha. The meaning of the General Election was initially the combined elections of the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies. In 1971, elections to the parliament were de-linked from elections to the state assemblies. Today, this term is used for Lok Sabha elections only.
Bye-Election
Bye-election is held to choose a member of the Lok Sabha or that of state legislature “to replace a previous member who has resigned suddenly or died. At times certain seats may fall vacant because the members have become seats falling vacant in this manner are also filled through bye-elections. A member elected in a bye-election holds membership only for the unexpired term of the house.
Mid-Term Polls
The Lok Sabha or the state assembly may be dissolved before its term is over. The election is that case is mid-term election. This is also called a General Election.
Power of delimitation of Constituencies
In India, Delimitation Commission has right to determine constituencies in general. However, there are a few exceptions where Election Commission has been given this right. These are as follows:
- States of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
- ST areas of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura
National Party Definition
The National Party is defined as per the constitutional protocol as:
- The party securing at least 6% of the valid votes (this means total votes polled) in favor of more than 4 states in Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections.
- It has to win at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha in one or more states
- 2% of seats in Lok Sabha are elected from at least 3 different states.
Similarly, a state party should have secured 6% of valid votes in a state and win one out of every 30 assembly seats in the state, and 1 out of every 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Declaration of Assets by Elected Candidates
An elected candidate needs to submit the declaration of his assets and liabilities within 90 days from taking oath.
The Election Ink
Indelible ink which is applied to fingers of voters during elections to prevent double voting contains Silver nitrate (AgNO3), which make it stain the skin, very difficult to wash off. The ink has been produced by Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MPVL). When the indelible ink is applied to skin, the Silver Nitrate present in it reacts with the salt present on skin to form silver Chloride, which clings to skin and is not soluble in cold or hot water, alcohol, bleach, nail polish remover etc. The ink automatically disappears when old skin cells die and are replaced with new cells.
Implications of NOTA on Voting Results
The NOTA does not affect the election results even if the NOTA votes exceed 50% of the total votes cast, because winner will be selected on the basis of rest of votes on the basis of first past the post system.
Submission of Election Expenditure Accounts to Election Commission
All Political parties sponsoring candidates for the elections are required to maintain day to day accounts for all election campaign expenses and submit the accounts to the Commission within 90 days of Lok Sabha Elections and 75 days of Assembly Elections.
Notable Facts About Electoral Trusts
An approved electoral trust can receive voluntary contributions and distribute the same to the political parties. Thus, the work of the trust is only two fold. Receive it and donate it to political parties. No other work or business is allowed. One trust cannot donate to other.
- Come under the Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013
- Non-profit company established for orderly receipt of donations to political parties.
- Should be a registered company for the purpose of Companies Act. Further, once its application to work as trust is applicable, it needs to be registered under Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951.
- Such companies should be registered only on or after 1 April 2012. Its name should end with electoral trust.
- Its objective is not to earn profit but the sole objective is to distribute the contributions received by it to the registered political party
- Each electoral trust has to have a permanent account number.
- Who can donate?
- Individual citizens, HUF, Association of persons.
- Who cannot donate?
- Non-citizens, foreigners and other electoral trusts.
Constitutional and Legal Basis of Right to Vote
The Constitution and the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 provides the right to vote for all individuals, who are above the age of 18 and has their name mentioned in the electoral rolls, subject to the condition that they do not attract any of the disqualifications mentioned in the Act. This is a voluntary and non discriminatory system of voting.
Article 326 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen above the age of 18, the right to vote.
Section 62 of the Representation of Peoples Act (RoPA), 1951 provides that every person whose name is in the electoral roll of that constituency will be entitled to vote.
