We have had conducted general elections – more than a dozen times to the State Assemblies and Lok Sabha. It is an open secret that almost all the political parties spend very lavishly on the eve of elections and file a moderate return of expenses to the Returning Officers. Lakhs and crores of rupees are collected by them and donated by business men and industrialists willingly or forcibly on the basis of assumption or an unwritten convention that they would be shown favours and adequately compensated after assuming power. The dishonesty starts right there at the hustings and it is anybody’s imagination as to how the government will be run and the public interests of the voters protected. The very first reform has therefore to be in the area of elections.
The general elections to the sixteenth Lok Sabha can be fought by a leading national level party or its national alliance as a referendum for electoral reforms as suggested in the ensuing paragraphs with a promise to amend the constitutional provisions suitably soon after the elections for the introduction of Presidential form of government in the country. No doubt we can never think of a democracy sans elections. It is also a must that it should be free, fair and peaceful. If it can be less expensive it is all the more better. The best way of achieving this objective is to have the top-most executive of the nation and of the state viz the President and the Governor directly elected for an uninterrupted tenure of six years and Lok Sabha and the Assemblies nominated through a scientific and systematic process of selection from among the elected representatives at the gross roots for the purpose of making legislation and policy-decisions to guide the ministries and departments in their day-to-day administration. The Cabinet or the so-called Council of Ministers will not be dependent on the majority strength of the ruling party or its coalition in the legislature for its survival.
At the end of every six years one or two full months can be devoted for the conduct of direct and indirect elections to all the public institutions – President and Governors, Panchayats and Municipalities. Mandis (Regulated markets) and Co-operatives, Janpad Panchayats (Panchayat Unions) and District councils, Assemblies and the Parliament. The highest institution viz. the President at the centre and the Governor in the state and the lowest institutions via the Panchayat in the village and Municipality in the urban area are to be given due importance, strength and authority through direct elections and all other bodies to be nominated by these elected representatives with a view to tendering advice and participating in decision making without any fear or favour towards the voters.
The entire government and the whole nation would devote the particular month/months for elections and that too only once in six years and no other elections or by-elections in between. In the first week of the month the President and the Governors are to be elected directly on the basis of adult franchise. Along with them the vice-president and the Deputy Governors already nominated and declared so by the contesting candidates on the eve of elections will get automatically elected without a separate ballot paper. In the second or third week the elections will be held for the Panchayats and Municipal bodies again on the basis of universal adult franchise (above 18 years of age). In the fourth week direct elections will be held for Mandis and co-operative organizations from amongst the members of those organizations. In the fifth or sixth week Sar-panchas (Panchayat Presidents) will be elected by Panchas (Panchayat members) and sent as the members of Janpad Panchayat (Panchayat Union).
In the sixth week the Janpads/Municipalities will elect two members each and send them to District Councils. In the seventh or eighth week the district councils will elect members of Parliament and the requisite number of MLAs from amongst them. On the fifth day of the following month Assemblies and the Lok Sabha will assemble and take oath under the Constitution. The President and the Governors will take over charge on the 10th day ie., five days after the parliament and assemblies are constituted. In such a system the public is supposed to elect a leader of their choice as the President and the Governor about whom they are likely to bear and read. Similarly they are also aware of the persons whom they elect as Panchayat or Municipal Members and consequently the other bodies in between are taken care of and composed by their elected representatives only on the basis of their talents – education and experience and the capacity to lead. General elections in the country should be fully supervised, controlled and coordinated by the Central Election Commission (CEC) at the Centre. It could be a three-member body headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court and appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice for a fixed tenure of six years. Other two members will be nominated by the President – one from the civil service and another a retired governor of a state – both for a fixed tenure of six years. They will be appointed in such a way that not more than one member retires in a gap of six months at a time. The majority view will prevail in taking policy decision. For a detailed functioning, there will be distribution of work amongst the three members prepared and approved by the President so that day-to-day work doesn’t suffer. If possible the whole country can be divided into three zones for field visits, supervision and detailed directions by the members. The Central Election Commission would hear the election petitions from among the candidates for the positions of Governor, Deputy Governor and the Members of Parliament. The CEC will be responsible for the proper functioning of State Election Commissions at the State Head Quarters. It will serve as an apex body as far as elections of any nomenclature being talked about and discussed in this paper are concerned and guide them as and when necessary.
In every State there will be one State Election Commission headed by a senior civil servant of the State nominated by Central Election Commission from out of a panel sent by the respective governors for a fixed tenure of six years. State Election Commission will be in charge of all elections taking place within the state. It would work under the guidance and supervision of Central Election Commission. It would hear election petitions from the candidates for the positions of MLAs, Members of District Councils & Janpad Panchayats.
State Election Commission will be assisted in its work by the District Collectors or the subordinate Dy.Collectors as Returning Officers. They will in turn conduct all elections on behalf of CEC & SEC with the usual staff already provided for such purposes in their offices. They will be in charge of panchayat & Municipal Elections directly in all respects under the supervision and guidance of SEC. They will hear all election petitions other than those maintainable before CEC or SEC.
Conduct of Elections
General elections to the posts of the President and Vice President or the Governor and the Deputy Governor will be conducted at the state expense. The candidates in the elections will be helped by the State for their canvassing and electioneering. Government media will be freely available to them for about a month. But all these facilities will be made available to the candidates from the ruling party as well as the main opposition party in their respective jurisdictions. In case there are more than two parties at the time of elections the respective commission will assess the strength of each party on the basis of absolute number of valid votes received by it in the immediately preceding elections and accordingly declare it as eligible for state help. No party or its candidate is supposed to spend any sum of money or receive any sum of money and election materials from any individual. group of individuals, agency, business or industrial houses as donations in case it receives state help for elections. Government presses or other public presses run by State budget will print election materials or propaganda materials of candidates in requisite quantities and supply them at least 20 days in advance.
Election Manifesto
It is one of the important weapons of a political party to win elections. The country’s experience is that many parties and their candidates commit a lot of promises on the eve of elections hardly realizing their gravity and feasibility. Sometimes such funny and damaging promises have had been made and attempted for execution with the result the citizens and economic/financial institutions have been badly affected with irreparable consequences. It is therefore in the interest of this nation and economy that all the proposed manifestos prepared by the respective political parties and their candidates are put to the test and a detailed examination before SECs & CEC in the presence of experts from the field. It would ensure at least that they don’t take up things very lightly and try to confuse or misguide the public and the voters for the victory in the hustings.
Qualifications for candidates
• President, Vice President, Governor and Dy.Governor should not be less than 40 years in age. All others should not be less than 25 years old
• Nobody should be above 65 years of age at the time of filing nomination for the first time to any position.
• No criminal or insolvency cases should be pending against them. In case of any doubt a clearance certificate should be obtained from the District and Sessions Judge.
• President, Vice President, Governor and Dy.Governor should not be less than a Graduate in formal education. All others should have passed at least the higher-secondary examination.
• No arrears or dues should be pending from them towards the central or state government, any financial institutions or local bodies.
• President, Vice President, Governor and Dy.Governor should have earned on annual income of atleast Rs.500,000 through his normal profession at the time of filing nomination – to be certified by the I.T.O. on the basis of the annual return filed by him. All others should have earned an annual income which keeps his/her family well above the poverty line.
• Nobody holds any post or position for more than two terms in his/her life-time.
• None of his/her close relative had won the election and occupied the same position for two terms ie., 12 years in the immediate past.
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