III
India’s Elections and Electoral Reforms at Seventy
S.Y. Quraishi
A thriving and vibrant electoral democracy has been India’s distinct and durable identity, long before it asserted itself as an economic, nuclear or information technology (IT) major. This institution, which was founded by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution, has been nurtured by the Parliament, judiciary, political parties, media and above all by the people of India, with some distinct contribution from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Despite doubts and fears from many quarters, the founders of modern India adopted universal adult suffrage from day one, thus reposing faith in the wisdom of the common Indian to elect his/her representative to the seats of power. The choice of electoral democracy was variously termed: ‘a giant leap forward’, ‘a bold enterprise’, ‘an unparalleled adventure’. The common people in India were politically empowered to vote at a time when 84 per cent of Indians were illiterate and poor, living in an unequal society fractured by a caste-based hierarchical system.1 The poor masses of India had voted in many elections before Switzerland allowed its women to vote in 1971 and Australia did so for its aborigines in 1967. The United Kingdom, the ‘mother’ of modern democracies, granted equal voting rights to women only in 1932, about 100 years after its first elections. On the other hand, the United States of America had its first presidential elections in 1789, but its women had to wait till 1920, till the nineteenth amendment of the Constitution, before being able to vote. France and Italy did so only in 1944 and 1945 respectively. Indeed, in this regard it is worth iterating Nobel laureate Amartya Sen—‘A country does not become fit for democracy, it becomes fit through democracy.’2
Over the past sixty-seven years, the Election Commission has delivered sixteen elections to the Lok Sabha and over 400 elections to state legislative assemblies and has facilitated peaceful, orderly and democratic transfer of power. In India, the rise of leaders belonging to the marginalized sections of the society, farmers, women and minorities to head national and state governments, and to other important Constitutional positions has been a direct outcome of the practice of electoral democracy. Heterogeneity of political parties and multiple instances of government formation through coalition of different political parties reflect a bouquet of diverse aspirations. The upward trend of participation of women, backward castes, tribal communities and the economically marginal in India’s politics and governance can be traced to elections. It is a matter of pride and satisfaction that secular India has had Muslim and Dalit presidents and vice-presidents, a Sikh prime minister and a Christian defence minister.
India is large, perhaps ‘extra-large’, in many respects, but the significance of its size would not dawn upon many without some elaboration. There were around 835 million electors on the electoral roll of India, as on 1 January 2014, which is more than the voting population of every continent. The elections to the Indian Parliament held in 2014 were described as the biggest management event in the world involving 835 million voters, 932,000 polling stations, 1.18 million electronic voting machines (EVMs) and 11 million polling personnel. While these are the statistics for the general elections to the Lok Sabha, corresponding statistics for many state elections would exceed those for national elections in several countries.
India’s mind-boggling electoral statistics should not obliterate the painstaking administrative efforts for reaching voters. Some of these are remarkable, like having a stand-alone polling station for a lone voter from the Gir Forest area in the state of Gujarat, and twelve electoral staff trekking forty-five kilometres in knee-deep snow to reach a polling station for only thirty-seven voters in the Ladakh region in the Himalayas. All modes of transportation, including elephants, camels, boats, bicycles, helicopters, trains and aeroplanes have been used to move men and material during Indian elections.
India is a country of great diversities, be it geographical—deserts, mountains, plains, forests, islands, coastal areas—or in being multireligious, multicultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic. It has been a great challenge for the Indian state to meet the demands of this diversity. Equally difficult have been the challenges of fighting terrorism, external and internal security threats, adjusting to the impact of economic globalization and the rapidly rising expectations of an information-savvy, growing middle class. It is a daunting task to ensure the neutrality and credibility of elections for all stakeholders amidst conflicting claims, particularly when each political actor in a multiparty parliamentary system devotes full energy and prime time to demonstrating the inability of other parties to govern. And the methods used in this respect are not always above board. It, therefore, becomes the key responsibility of the election management body to deliver free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections, ensuring inclusiveness and participation. Indian elections are invariably marked by rivalry and revelry, serious and melodramatic campaigns, adherence and violation of codes but, finally, by happy acceptance of the verdict.
Electoral Reforms through the Years
The Election Commission’s journey has witnessed change in both the quality and the quantity of its operations. The management of elections in India has continually evolved and still does, matching the colossal proportions and ever-increasing complexity of task. In the first general elections held in India in 1952, there were separate ballot boxes used for candidates. In 1962, the marking system of voting was introduced. Multi-member constituencies have given way to single-member constituencies. Computerized photo-electoral rolls have now substituted printed electoral rolls. The Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is by now a cherished possession of all citizens. By 2014, the coverage of both had already reached over 99 per cent of the electors.
In 1982, EVMs were used on an experimental basis. Since 1998, these have been used for all state elections and since 2004 in all general elections. During this period, EVMs have withstood judicial, administrative and technical scrutiny. Continuous improvements in EVMs have been taken up through an independent committee of technical experts and in consultation with political parties. Manufactured by the public sector in India, EVMs are simple, voter-friendly and cost-effective and give faster and error-free voting and quick counting. At every stage of handling of EVMs, candidates of all political parties are present. Use of the Braille strip on EVMs has made them popular with the visually challenged. EVMs are increasingly catching the attention of election management agencies across the world. In 2013, the EVMs incorporated a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) as an additional feature to enhance transparency and public confidence. The next general elections in 2019 will be held entirely with VVPAT.
Year after year, through engagement of technology and a sense of innovation, and, more importantly, matching with the dynamics of the sociopolitical and economic processes of the Indian society, the art and craft of election management has been chiselled further. In the highly charged arena of competitive elections, where distrust is the best guarantor of fair-play, the Election Commission spares no effort in election tracking, preventing intimidation, ensuring security of voters and facilitating votes. The latest effort in this regard is to have webcasting from polling stations at the time of polling for public view of the proceedings.
One major instrument that contributes to peaceful, free and fair elections in India is the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which the Indian political class, particularly candidates in elections, is in awe of. The MCC ensures a level playing field and is a unique instrument that has evolved with the consensus of political parties in India and is a singular significant contribution to the cause of democracy. With the seal of approval put by the Supreme Court on the MCC, the Election Commission enforces it from the day it announces any election schedule, whether for a general election or bye-election. Provisions of the MCC facilitate the Election Commission in preventing misuse of state resources. While the MCC has no statutory backing and many of its provisions are not legally enforceable, public opinion is the moral sanction for its enforcement and, hence, it has evolved into a ‘moral’ code of conduct. Neutrality is the soul of any election management body and the fierce neutrality of the Election Commission constitutes the core of its strength, compounded by the MCC.
In its evolution, the ECI is presently at a new crossroads. While India’s election management apparatus has quite effectively neutralized the challenges of muscle power and incumbency power, the Commission is aware of the battles that remain to be won. Foremost among these is corruption that can and does pollute the electoral process. It is a striking coincidence that when an agitated debate on corruption was raging across India, the Commission stepped up its efforts with some determined measures to curb the use of black money during elections. This also covers the new menace of ‘paid news’—a corrupt nexus between political parties, candidates and media houses that seeks to hoodwink the expenditure rules and causes undue influence on electors. It warrants mentioning a few instruments for transparency in campaign finance, some of which already existed but required serious enforcement and some others that were introduced with the new resolve to fight money power. There is a prescribed ceiling on expenditure for the elections to the Parliament as well as the legislatures of the provinces/states. The candidates are required to maintain their day-to-day account of election expenses and lodge the same with the district election officer within thirty days of declaration of results. They are also required to file an affidavit declaring their assets and liabilities, along with affidavits about their educational and criminal antecedents at the time of filing their nomination. Such affidavits are displayed on the ECI’s website. Expenditure observers are appointed to keep a check on the expenditure incurred by the candidates and the political parties.
For curbing corruption and use of black money in elections, the Commission has also issued directions that candidates must open a separate bank account for all their election expenses and should make payment for major expenses by cheques. It also directed its managers to maintain a ‘shadow observation register’ of election expenses for each candidate, which is compared with the candidate’s statement of election expenses and the statement of expenditure provided by the political parties, for checking unmentioned excesses, if any. This is in line with the ECI’s efforts to promote stringent auditing of the accounts of all political parties and publishing of their annual accounts. Starting from 2010, it set up district-level committees to operate 24/7 during the election period to account for the acts of paid news, while all the time walking on the razor’s edge of not encroaching on press freedom.
Excessive money power has led to the clamour for state funding of elections, which is not desirable simply for the reason that it does not guarantee an end to the inflow of black money to the election arena. It might result in double jeopardy of both the honest taxpayer’s money and black money getting mixed up in financing electoral campaigns. However, since democracy cannot run without funds being spent on election campaigns, state funding of political parties (not elections) based on the votes obtained by them can be seriously considered. If all parties were to get Rs 100 for every vote obtained, based on the last election turnout of 55 crore votes, they would get Rs 5500 crores without resorting to private fund collection using force or foul means. Awareness campaign for ethical voting without falling for bribes and inducements is a new dimension of the Election Commission’s efforts, for which civil society has come forward with exemplary support.
Another issue that has engaged the serious attention of the Commission starting from 2010 is voter participation in elections. Elections have to be not only free and fair, but also socially just and more participative. Otherwise there may remain a democracy deficit despite a correctly conducted election. From the first general election onwards, India’s voter participation, measured by the voter turnout has remained close to 55–60 per cent. While this might be a reasonably good figure compared to the declining voter interest in several other countries and societies, it is definitely far less than the country’s aspirations. The theme that the ECI adopted in celebration of its diamond jubilee in 2010 was ‘greater participation for a stronger democracy’. All elections ever since have registered record turnouts—states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have jumped from approximately 30 per cent to 55–60 per cent, whereas the northeastern states that were already high have crossed 80–90 per cent.3
The Indian Constitution from its very inception provided every twenty-one-year-old the right to vote in direct recognition of the role of the youth in the democratic process. The voting age was further reduced to eighteen years in 1989 through a Constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, the potential of the wide-ranging revolutionary step is far from being realized. This is evident from the low registration and turnout of young voters. Apart from the problems of youth enrolment and participation there is also the issue of a visible apathy among the Indian urban middle class that prevents many young voters from casting votes. Moreover, women voters also lag behind their male counterparts in certain parts of the country. Weaker sections, vulnerable groups, people in difficult situations of life, and voters from the defence forces are particularly in need of special facilitation.
The ECI’s response to the above predicament, while a bit late, has been decisive enough. Replacing token gestures on voters’ education in the past, a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) wing was set up that rolls out comprehensive community outreach and multimedia campaigns for increasing electoral participation of all citizens. The attempt aimed at filling up all possible gaps in information, motivation and facilitation. In every election now, the ECI carries out a scientific survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Practices (KABP) of voters before launching targeted interventions in partnership with a host of governmental and civil society organizations. In a very short time, these efforts have become a central part of the election management operations. This initiative has returned impressive dividends in terms of higher registration and higher turnout in each of the recent state elections, including record turnouts in some states.
In a historic measure, the Commission declared 25 January, its foundation day, as the National Voters Day (NVD) from 2011 with the avowed purpose to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. In five NVDs, nearly 120 million new voters have been added. Each year, around 800,000 functions were organized at the polling booth level to give new voters their voter cards. All the participants took a pledge to vote without fail and without any bribe or inducement. It is heartening to note that several countries of the world are adopting this model of National Voters Day.
It does not require any explanation that aspiring democracies around the world look forward to sharing the knowledge, skills and expertise at the ECI’s disposal. Responding to increasing global demands, especially from Afro-Asian nations, the Commission launched the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in 2011. IIIDEM serves as a training and resource centre in the critical sector of elections and democratic processes for both national and international participants. In the first year itself, the institute hosted over forty courses and had enthusiastic funding and technical partners joining in. Within five years, nearly seventy-five countries sent their election officials to get training here. The institute receives calls from developing democracies in Asia and Africa and also from countries that have witnessed the Arab Spring for capacity development and sharing of knowledge and skills. Teams from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, etc., have received training and guidance from the ECI. The Commission is rising to this new role with conviction and humility.
Electoral Reforms: Emerging Concerns
With the type of constitutional mandate that the Commission has, it cannot afford to sit on its laurels. There are several long-pending reform proposals and some recent ones from the Commission that aim at cleaning up the electoral process, so that the foundation can be laid for good governance and a corruption-free polity. The ECI in association with the law ministry organized countrywide consultations on these reforms, paving the way for adoption of due legislation. Some of these proposals deal with criminalization of politics and regulation of campaign finance, publicity and opinion polls, etc. Groups from civil society have vociferously come out in support of early electoral reforms.
The electoral reforms being demanded can be grouped into three categories:
- a) Ones that will reinforce the independence of the Election Commission.
- b) Those that will help cleanse politics.
- c) Those that will make the working of the political parties more transparent.
a) Reinforcing independence of the ECI: The proposal is that the appointment of the commissioners should not be done unilaterally by the government of the day, but by a collegium just like all other Constitutional and statutory bodies. The elevation of the chief election commissioner of India should be automatic—by seniority. The two other election commissioners should be removable only by the process of impeachment like the chief election commissioner.
b) Cleansing of politics: Though the law of the land provides for disqualification of convicted individuals from contesting, the ECI has been demanding that the persons against whom heinous criminal cases are pending should be debarred from contesting—provided the court has framed the charges.
c) Enhancing transparency of political parties: The ECI must be given the power to deregister a political party for violation of the terms of registration and any gross indiscipline. Inner party democracy must be honestly followed. The funds of the political parties must be audited by an independent auditor and must be put on a website for the public to see. An act should be passed to ban hate speech that can arouse communal tensions, especially during elections. Funding of elections must be made transparent both in terms of fund collection and expenditure. Paid news must be made an electoral and a criminal offence. Government promotional advertisements must be banned six months before the elections. These are some of the suggestions that the Election Commission has been sending to the governments for over two decades. But the governments have been sitting over them.
Several national-level committees have given a number of suggestions on electoral reforms during the past four decades. These should be examined without further delay and implemented if the declining faith of the people in democracy is to be restored.
If the largest democracy on the planet wishes to become the greatest, the electoral reforms are the way to achieve it.