Class 11th Political Science : Election and Representation

Election and Democracy 

→ There are two types of democracy . 

Direct democracy and indirect democracy . 

→ Direct democracy - Democracy where the citizens directly participate in the day - to- day decision making and in the running of the government . 

- The ancient city states in Greece were considered examples of direct democracy . Many would consider local govts the closest examples of direct democracy → = 

Indirect democracy - Democracy in which citizens choose their representatives who govern and administer the country . 

- The method followed to choose the representatives to govern a region is called election.

-The citizens have a limited role in taking major decisions , running the administration and in making policies . 

- The citizens are involved only indirectly through their elected representative

-Can we have democracy without holding elections ? No. 

- Can we hold elections without having democracy ? yes because

 -Not all elections are democratic . Many non democratic countries also hold elections . 

-Can you think of some examples of such non - democratic elections ? 

-What do you think would distinguish democratic from a non-democratic election? 

The constitution of a democratic country lays down some basic rules about election 

> These basic rules are- 

* Who is eligible to vote ?

* Who is eligible to contest ? 

* Who is to supervise elections? about 

* How do the voters choose their representatives?

* How are the votes to be counted and repre- sentatives elected?

 Election system in India .

 India follows a representative democracy -

 > There are two types of election . They are- 

1- Direct Election - People elect their Representatives directly e.g. MLAs .

2. Indirect Election - Directly elected members elect the representatives . e.g. MLAs elect the Rajya Sabha MPs . 

Different Election Methods in India

 - India follows two election methods.They are-

1- First Past the Post System ( FPTP )

 -It is the direct election which prevails in India.

 . 

-It is known as simple majority or Relative majority system or Plurality system.

 Features of the FPTP system .

 * Easily understandable . 

→ voters get choice based on their interest ,

 - Form single member constituencies .

 → Constituencies are small territorial areas .

 - voters vote for the candidates . 

→ A Party may get more seats than its actual vote share . 

→ It is not necessary that the winning candidates get majority votes .

- It prevails in the UK and India .

 2- Proportional Representation ( PR ) System

 -It is to ensure adequate representation for the minorities . 

It's aim is to give representation to all 

communities proportionate to their voting strength .

 - Features of PR system 

- Form multi member constituencies .

 → Constituencies are large in size .

 → voters vote for Political parties .

 → Each party gets seats Proportionate to their voting strength .

 -the elected candidates get majority votes . 

→ It prevails in Israel Netherland Argentina , Portugal etc. 

- PR can be implemented either by a single Transferable vote system or by List System.

Why did India adopt the FPTP system?

 It is a simple electoral system without

 any complication . 

→ It is best suited for large countries like India . 

-The voters get the freedom to elect their favorite candidate . 

→ Elected person represents a particular constituency .

 -It unites and coordinates different sections of the society .

 It promotes national interests . 

-It helps to form a stable govt .

Reservation of constituencies . 

> India has had a history of caste based discrimination . 

In such a social System the FPTP electoral System can mean that the dominant social groups and castes can win everywhere and the oppressed social groups may continue to remain unrepresented . 

> there was a need to provide a way to ensure fair and just representation to the oppressed social groups . this issue was debated long before independence and the British government had introduced separate electorates which meant that for electing a representative from a particular community , only those voters would be eligible who belong to that community . 

→ But after Puna Pact It was decided to adopt the system of reserved constituencies which means that all voters in a constituencies are eligible to vote but the candidates must belong to a particular communityity / social section for which the seat is reserved .

 → the system of reservation is necessary to ensure proper representation of certain social groups which may be spread across the country but in a particular constituency their numbers may nat be sufficient to be able to influence a victory of a candidate .

 - the constitution provides for reservation of seats in the lok Sabha and state Legislative assemblies for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes . 

- this provision was initially made for 10 years and after successive amendments it has been extended up to 2030.

the Parliament can take a decision to extend it further when the period of reservation expires 

of the 543 elected seats in the Lok Sabha 84 are reserved for scheduled castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes .

 the Delimitation Commission decides which constituency is to be reserved and on what basis . 

= ) the Delimitation commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election commission of India.

-One third Reservation for women has been provided in Lok Sabha , stute Legislative assemblies , rural and urban local bodies. 

Free and Fair Election 

the true test of any election system is its ability to ensure a free and fair electoral process . 

→ For a democratic country it is important that the election system must be impartial and transparent . 

→ The system of election must allow the aspirations of voters to find legitimate expression through the electoral systems .

Universal Adult Franchise

 > It is a political right of the citizens . It is right to vote without any kinds of discrimination . 

• Right to vote is the foundation stone of a democratic System .

 - Article 326 deals with Right to vote .

 - the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 by the 61st constitutional amendment in 1989 . 

the following categories of citizens have no right to exercise their franchise- 

1- citizens who have not completed the stipulated age . 

2- Citizens with mental illness . 

3- citizens who are not included in the voters list 

4- Non - residing Indians . 

Right to contest • 

Right to contest is equally important with the right to vote . 

All citizens enjoy the Right to contest and to become a representative of the people . 

A candidate must be at least 25 years old to stand for the Lok Sabha election or Assembly elections .

 A person who has been imprisoned for two or more years cannot contest the election . 

- there are no restrictions of income , education or class or gender on the right to contest elections .

 Independent Election commission . 

→ Article 324 of the Indian constitution deals with the election commission . 

" It is an independent body" 

It supervises , directs and controls preparation of electoral roll and the conduct of elections .

 - It consists of the chief election commissioner and two other election commissioners . 

- > They are appointed by the President of India.

Their tenure is 6 years or till the age of 65 whichever comes first is considered . 

Functions of Election Commission . 

→ It conducts and supervises the election of the President, Vice President ,MPs and MLAs . 

→ It supervises the preparation of voters list 

- Prepares the election schedules .

 → To ensure a free and fair poll . 

→ Implements model code of conduct .

 → It gives recognition to political parties and allots symbols to each of them . 

- Supervises the machineries of elections . 

- To appoint the officials for conducting elections . 

→counting the votes . 

→ Announcement of final Result . 

Proposals for reforming the Election System-

- To prevent money power and muscle power .

-the state should bear the election expenses . 

- There must be a limit for election expenses .

 The candidates and the parties should submit the audited account of election expenses . 

→ Criminals should be barred from contesting elections . 

→ All criminal activities should be suppressed . 

→ Democratic values should be included in political parties .

→ office bearers of the political parties should be elected periodically .

→Should be Adequate Representation of women 

→ Photo identity coord should be made compulsory . 

→ voters List should be renewed. 

- Voting is to be made compulsory .