Law Commission Report on Electoral Reforms headed by A.P. Shah.
Wide Ranging Reforms Proposed- After extensive and in-depth analysis of various issues by the commission and due consideration and deliberations with the stake holders including of registered national and state political parties suggested a very comprehensive measures for changes in the law
The Main focus– (1) Curbing criminalization of politics and needed law reforms’; and
(2) Consequences and impact of candidates filing false affidavits and needed law reforms to check such practice’..
Some of the reforms suggested are as follows in brief-
1. Election Finance-
The Commission does not consider a system of complete state funding of elections or matching grants to be feasible, given the current conditions of the country. Instead, it supports the existing system of indirect in-kind subsidies, with section 78B of the RPA being possibly amended in the future to expand these subsidies
a. Regulating the election expenses incurred or authorized by candidates or their election agents- currently extends from the date of nomination to the date of declaration of results. This period should be extended from the date of notification of the elections to the date of declaration of results
b. Contribution from the company’s funds to a political party should be decided at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) instead of its Board of Directors.
c .Political parties should be required to maintain and submit annual accounts, duly audited by a qualified chartered accountant These accounts will fully and clearly disclose all the amounts received by the party and the expenditure incurred by it. The ECI will then upload these accounts online or keep them on file for public inspection on payment of fee.
d “statement of election expenditure” to be filed by every party with an EC ,contesting an election within 75 days of the Assembly elections and 90 days of the General elections election;
e. For a failure to lodge an account of election expenses -The disqualification of a candidate should be extended from the current three period up to a five year period,
2. Proportional Representation
It is also clear, from the experience of other countries that any changes in India’s electoral system will have to follow a hybrid pattern combining elements of both direct and indirect elections It is clear that both the electoral systems come with their own merits and demerits – proportional representation theoretically being more representative, while the FPTP system being more stable.
This, in turn will necessitate an increase in the number of seats in the Loksabha, which raises concerns regarding its effective functioning.
3. Anti Defection Law in India
The Law Commission recommends a suitable amendment to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which shall have the effect of vesting the power to decide on questions of disqualification on the ground of defection with the President or the Governor, as the case may be, (instead of the Speaker or the Chairman), who shall act on the advice of the ECI. This would help preserve the integrity of the Speaker’s office.
4.Strengthening the office of the Election Commission of India
The ECI should be strengthened by
1. By giving equal constitutional protection to all members of the Commission in matters of removability
2. making the appointment process of the Election Commissioners and the CEC consultative-made by the President in consultation with a three-member collegium or selection committee, consisting of the Prime Minister; the Leader of the Opposition of the Loksabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Loksabha in terms of numerical strength); and the Chief Justice of India.
3. Creating a permanent, independent Secretariat for the ECI-
5. Paid News and Political Advertisements
a. The definitions of “paying for news”, “receiving payment for news” and “political advertisement” should be inserted in section 2 of the RPA.
b. The consequences attached to those indulging in such practices should be delineated by creating an electoral offence of “paying for news” / “receiving payment for news” in a newly inserted section 127B of the RPA
c. In order to curb the practice of disguised political advertisement, disclosure provisions should be made mandatory for all forms of media.
6.Opinion Polls
At present EC prohibits the display of any election matter forty-eight hours before polling begins, is limited to display by means of “cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus”;has to be extended to the print media. And EC at present does not deal with the independence and robustness of the opinion polls.
The regulation of opinion polls is necessary to ensure that credentials of the organisations conducting the poll known to the public and to assess by the public about the validity of the methods used in conducting the opinion polls.
7. Compulsory Voting
The Law Commission does not recommend the introduction of compulsory voting in India and in fact, believes it to be highly undesirable for a variety of reasons described above such as being undemocratic, illegitimate, expensive, unable to improve quality political participation and awareness, and difficult to implement.
8. Election Petitions
a. The introduction of one or more “election benches” in each High Court, exercising jurisdiction over all election disputes under the RPA.
b. The procedure for presenting election petitions should be made simpler and less formalistic
c. The trial of election should be expediated-1.daily trial,
2. minimising adjournments
d. The trial should be concluded within six months from the date of presentation of the petition; pass its order under section 98 within ninety days from the conclusion of arguments.
(report should be sent to the Chief Justice of the High Court explaining the reasons for the delay of trial)
Appeals to the Supreme Court should now only be on the basis of a question of law, instead of the earlier provision permitting appeals on questions of fact or law as grounds for appeal
9. NOTA and the Right to Reject
The Law Commission currently rejects the extension of the NOTA principle to introduce a right to reject the candidate and invalidate the election in cases where a majority of the votes have been polled in favour of the NOTA option.
10.The Right to Recall
The Law Commission is not in favour of introducing the right to recall in any form because it can lead to an excess of democracy, undermines the independence of the elected candidates, ignores minority interests, increases instability and chaos, increases chances of misuse and abuse, is difficult and expensive to implement in practice, especially given that India follows the first past the post system.
11.Totaliser for Counting of Votes
Totaliser for the counting of votes recorded in EVMs to prevent the harassment of voters in areas where voting trends in each polling station can be determined. Using a totaliser would increase the secrecy of votes during counting, thus preventing the disclosure of voting patterns and countering fears of intimidation and victimisation.
Prior to the introduction of EVMs, ballot papers could be mixed under Rule 59A of the Election Rules, although this was not permitted for EVMs.
12.Restriction on Government Sponsored Advertisements
The Commission recommends regulating and restricting government sponsored advertisements six months prior to the date of expiry of the House/Assembly to maintain the purity of elections; prevent the use of public money for partisan
13. Restriction on the Number of Seats from which a Candidate May Contest
In view of the expenditure of time and effort; election fatigue; and the harassment caused to the voters, section 33(7) should be amended to permit candidates to stand from only one constituency .(now from up to two constituencies.).
14. Independent Candidates
provide for only political parties registered with the ECI under section 11(4) to contest Loksabha or Vidhansabha elections. The Law Commission recommends that independent candidates be disbarred from contesting elections because it allows a proliferation of independents, who are mostly dummy/non-serious candidates or those who stand (with the same name) only to increase the voters’ confusion.
15. Preparation and Use of Common Electoral Rolls– The Law Commission endorses the ECI’s suggestions regarding the introduction of common electoral rolls for Assembly, Parliamentary, and local body elections. However, require an amendment in the State laws pertaining to the conduct of local body elections
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