Honorable Supreme Court of India, in a judgement has directed the Election Commission to give Indian voters the Right to Reject all the contesting candidate if voter finds none of them "worthy".
"NOTA" : None of the Above , an additional button would be installed in electronic voting machines to facilitate the process.
How do you think this decision can revolutionize Indian Political scenario ?
Pen Down your thoughts!!
Pen down your thoughts on the above post before the next class on 3rd Oct 2013.
ReplyDeleteThe decision made by Honorable Chief Justice is said to be a Historic one:
ReplyDelete1. It would strengthen people's confidence in democracy.The Supreme Court has given this great right to the people and if people don't like any candidate they can now reject that candidate or all of them:(Article in ANI news)
2. If we go by the views of honourable Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Ranjan Gogoi “Negative voting would foster purity and vibrancy in elections. Negative voting would lead to systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates”.
3) According to me there would be transparency in the voting system and the number of votes against the candidates would come into picture since each vote against all the candidates would be counted in the EVM.
4) Whenever the polls will be conducted if the NOTA votes are more than the votes for the candidates,it would generate a negative impact in the minds of the candidates and their morality to a certain extent would be lost which will give rise to self analysis by each candidate and political party and corrective actions might be taken by them or it might lead them to change to a certain level.(a little slower but they'll work towards the benefit of people) and in this NOTA process people would come to know that the candidates are not worthy enough to be elected as their representatives and are not trustworthy.
6) Likewise more and more amendments would be made and eventually it will lead to a better political environment.
I agree with what urvashi is saying.
ReplyDeleteNot giving Indians the right to NOTA is not allowing a person to cast a negative vote which would defeat the very freedom of expression and the right to liberty.
I feel this is a step towards a brighter tomorrow , where the present set of ministers running the country or the ones viewing the 2014 elections would know what awaits them.
If we as responsible citizens of the country use this right wisely it would force the various democratic parties to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.
The Supreme court is doing their bit to bring about a change in the current corrupt political scenario by bringing in laws like barring jailed politicians from contesting polls other than the most recent NOTA
I think the decision made by Honorable Chief Justice has evoked great public enthsiasm. Negative voting can bring a systemic change in the election process as major political parties will be forced to project clean candidates in polls. And minor ones will fight across the country with creative campaigns.
ReplyDeleteBut if the right to reject is to be interpreted as the right to reject all the candidates and to force a re-election with a fresh list of candidates, it can give rise to certain problems like if the electors may find the fresh list of candidates even worse than the first list and they also get rejected, then for how long we can go for conducting elections. Secondly, The Election Commission uses government officials, teachers, staff from public sector organisations and bank employees for conducting elections. Re-elections would mean calling them back again and again, which will affect their regular work. Since teachers constitute the largest section of the poll staff, and the polling stations are in schools, the students will suffer the most.
Giving a voter the right to reject has its pros and cons. Reluctant voters could turn up at the booth and now press the NOTA button in the electronic voting machine. This further would help in explaining the strength of Indian democracy. The provision for negative voting will also send clear signals to political parties and their candidates as to what the electorate and voters thought about them. It will also help curb impersonation to some extent during polls. What if all the candidates get less votes than the NOTA votes. What would be its further implication? As Urvashi said that if the number of negative votes are more than normal votes, it might make the politician and the party reflect upon its morality. But what if NOTA votes are less than normal votes but there are NOTA votes? Does not it show that a certain section thinks that the politician is not deserving to be there if not the majority section?
ReplyDeleteSome of these explanations would be sought.
The decision by Supreme Court of India has given a right to the citizens to reject a candidate by casting their vote on NOTA button. Earlier there was Rule 49(O) in which elector had this right to refuse to cast vote after being identified and marked in all the records of Government. But in that case or in case of being absent from voting there was always a chance of proxy voting.
ReplyDeleteHence, Supreme Court has now amended that rule and has come up with a NOTA button on EVMs and Ballot Papers which will avoid any kind of proxy and electors will possess the RIGHT TO REJECT.
With the coming up of NOTA all the political parties will be pressurized to work on moral grounds. But every coin has 2 sides. If out of 100 electors, 90 pressed NOTA, than the winning party will be decided out of the party getting maximum votes out of the remaining 10 votes which will not be a fair result.
The judgement given by Supreme Court to allow voters to reject all candidates in the Election is a Historic one."Negative voting would lead to systematic change in polls and Political Parties will be forced to project clean candidates, "the bench added.(Arcticle in Zee News).The SC while reading out the operative portions of the judgement,didnot light on the situation in case the votes cast under no option head outnumber the votes got by the candidates.Those in favour of negative voting have been demanding that re-election should be ordered in the constitution where 50% of the voters reject all candidates.At present the Law doesn't allow that.The court has stated that secrecy of votes undre the no option category must be maintained by the Election Commission.As per present rule,the voter can choose to cast a "negative vote" by going to the pooling booth,sign on the register,but not vote.Democracy is all about chice and significance of right of citizens to cast negative voting.With Supreme court coming up with the NOTA button on EVMs and Ballot Papers will avoiud any kind of proxy or error .
ReplyDelete'Better late than never. Very good decision taken by the supreme court in my view. Voters of largest democracy should have the right to reject all the candidates. By this, original stand from voters will be reflected more prominently and political party will be careful about candidate selection. It will be considered as a landmark day in the largest democracy of the world.
ReplyDeletei feel the most important is to "R-Call" system. If an election member weasther MLA or MP is not discharging his duties and responsibilities, they can re-call him, Such provisons may add more flexible right to voters and would prove a hanging sword on tinted leaders.
This Judgement given by Supreme course is something to cheer about. This is a step to restore people's confidence in the democracy. Also a step to make parties work more for votes more. They now have to select a candidate who will work for the people and also is acceptable to them.
ReplyDeleteI feel the decision has come late but it has come... and is a welcoming one. Joining the league of only few countries who provide their citizens the "RIGHT TO REJECT". Apart from this like Harshdeep the candidate will now have to work hard for every single vote. The number of voters coming in to vote will also increase as they will feel more empowered. Being a citizen of India and having a right to vote i definitely feel that i have been heard and this is a great addition in the voting system of India. But on the otherside of this is that, the voters who have voted for a certain candidates will be counted and the candidate getting the maximum number of votes among them will be the winner, like even if 99% have pressed NOTA So the rest 1% of the votes will be counted, which is unfair. But i think the politicians will now gear up now as they are on a strict watch and need to work hard and harder... But is this a real weapon we have against the candidates or not is the question that will be answered in the coming election.
Right to reject is democracy in its true sense. Democracy is all about choice and significance of right of citizens to cast a vote.we are often forced tochoose between the corrupt or otherwise undesirable candidates and we end up settling for the lesser evil.right to reject will not only fulfill our fundamental rights but also our fundamental duties as a citizens because we will then have an incentive to vote and can reject a candidate who we think is undeserving. It is a drastic step towards progressive change and a big jolt to the corrupt candidates.
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ReplyDeleteThe decision taken by Supreme Court is very good. Earlier when people felt that candidate is corrupt they did not cast their votes but now they can express themselves through Right to Reject if candidate is corrupt. So there will be more transparency and number of votes against the candidate will come into picture and political parties will choose their candidate wisely.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree to the decision made by the supreme court of India. The parties would now be forced to project the clean candidates and as such this will lead to a change in our society. Negative voting will empower the citizens of India. Effective political participation would lead to a transparency in the system.
ReplyDeleteUsing 'NOTA', voters disapprove the candidates fielded by political parties. This would force parties to choose candidates having better credentials in the eyes of voters .This would restrict use of money and muscle power and reverse the trend of criminalization of politics. It's a wonderful and much-needed decision by the apex court which would certainly go a long way to bring about political reform in India. In fact the supreme court today has been the last resort of the faith of the people in democracy and hence the court must go one step further to direct the government to bring a law to provide voters the right to reject in an election. This and the NOTA would ensure the real
acceptability of a candidate by the voters and which in turn reflect the real representative democracy playing out itself.
The Supreme Court has empowered voters of India by providing them THE RIGHT TO REJECT. It is yet another attempt by Supreme Court to clean up the murky political process in the country. The stated advantage of “NOTA” option would be that it would put pressure on political parties to field clean candidates broadly acceptable to people. It will gradually lead to systematic changes which are much more required in country like ours where every third politician has some criminal background or is involved in some scam. I believe changes in laws will also be required to make negative voting truly effective.
ReplyDeleteIt is a landmark judgement considering the fact that we have to choose often between a badmash & a mahabadmash as our political representative. The NOTA will force parties to project a positive image of their candidate but in case of majority of votes being voted NOTA candidates will be chosen from the minority of votes polled, which again leaves us at the risk of choosing the wrong person, so some amendments in this provision are required. Overall this will be a very positive change in the political scenario of our country.Also there should be minimum qualification required for the politician's job & also a retirement age.
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ReplyDeleteI think the direction given by SC to election commission to give the Indian voters the right to reject the contesting candidate is very apt. The decision can be supported by the fact that in the existing system a dis satisfied voter ordinarily does not go for voting which in turn provides a chance to the undeserving candidate to win by unfair means i.e. by casting the votes on the behalf of absentees voters. But in new system it gives the chance to dissatisfied voter to reject all candidates by pressing “none of the above” button and if the NOTA votes will be more than no of votes of winning candidate then re-poll would be call. When the political parties will realize that a large number of people are expressing their disapproval with the candidates, there will be a drastic change and the political parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and represent the deserving candidates who are known for their honesty and decency. It also promotes democracy and right to freedom of expression under the article 21 of the constitution.
ReplyDeleteEvaluating the decision of the Supreme Court to include 'NOTA' option for the voters, I would say that it will revolutionize the Indian political system to a great extent. People will have the option to reject the contesting candidates, if none of them is capable of winning the seat. This will insist the parties to bring forward their best and the most suitable candidates, having the positive influence on the people. As we have seen recently in the case of BJP, who announced Narendra Modi as their candidate for the post of Prime Minister for the upcoming elections. This will give way to a clean and influential political system in a country.
ReplyDeleteBut talking about the other aspect, people can misuse this power and can create a mockery out of this, by majority of votes not going in favor of any candidate, which will leave the government with a few votes to decide from, which is not fair, if we talk about the fact that democracy is by the people ( a country as a whole ).
Evaluating the decision of the supreme court to include NOTA options for the voters i would like to say that it would not make a huge impact because going to polling booth and not voting to anyone is equivalent to simply not going to the polling booth on the day of polling which generally happens .Moreover the voters may simply misuse the power of voting by intentionally(just for fun) not giving vote to any of the concerned party
ReplyDeleteThe decision has been called landmark, but I`m not sure what change it will bring. Even if several voters reject all candidates, the one who gets more votes that others will be declared elected. So the voters gain is naught. So far as claims that il will foster purity in elections and `clean` the candidates are concerned, they are vague and beyond assessment. What voters want is something tangible, which remains denied. In effect, voters have nothing in their hands. They caste their vote and then bear the consequences until the next term when the process is repeated.
ReplyDeleteThe decision given by honorable Supreme Court of India is a revolutionary one. With the concept of negative voting, the voters who are dissatisfied with the candidates in the fray would turn up in large number to express their opinion which would put unscrupulous elements and impersonators out of the polls.As per SC verdict "Negative voting would foster purity and vibrancy in elections. " This would bring transparency and flexibility in the voting system. It will strengthen our democratic system. This revolutionary judgement also has a dark side. These negative votes will be useless, unless the law mandates that if this category wins in any constituency, then all the other candidates are debarred in a re-election in that constituency.
ReplyDeleteA decision which can be treated as one of those which if would have been taken some years back then may be the country would have been far different from what it is today. I completely support the directions given by the honorable SC of India to the Election Commission to give Indian voters the Right to Reject all the contesting candidate if voter finds none of them "worthy".
ReplyDeletePeople who are not satisfied with the leaders they choose opt to not to vote which somehow sometimes helps the candidate to win who is not worthy. This decision will surely create a sense of fear from the voters to the political parties and the politicians which would create some positive effects and changes to the so called dirty Indian politics.
It’s not just one more button on our electronic voting machine. For, the new gift of the Supreme Court may trigger changes that can make today’s smug politicos a much endangered tribe in near future.
ReplyDeletethe new generation could now take a step further in removing dirty politics
Atish, has rightly said that it would create a sense of fear for politicians whivh is very much required in today's scenario
The Supreme Court judgment that would now allow voters to cast negative vote by pressing the ‘none of the above’ option is a welcome move aimed at empowering the citizens of India and boosting the existing right to speech and expression.
ReplyDeleteBeing prevalent in 13 countries, the negative voting would foster purity of the election and at increasing the number of voters. A candidate choosing to reject all the candidates would also feel important to cast his/her vote and would help to increase the turn-up on the day of the polls. Although it highlights the existing electoral law in India as there was already a provision for 'None-Vote' under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of the Election Rule-1961, the move would still be effective as the provision was not exercised much. It would also force the political party to project a candidate with no criminal record. The image of the party hence has even a larger role to play now. This could also backfire as the parties might think of “appointing” ideal representatives without giving the actual power from their hands. But still the judgment has a lot to celebrate upon.
Now we have a new choice when we go to the polls: None of the above.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea, rejecting all what are on offered on the ballet paper - voter turn out will be far better an now most do not bother to vote because of the choices they have. Any sitting government will not do it nor any political party will try to push it threw the current government.
I believe the fear of NOTA winning will force parties to be more broad-based. Currently, candidates can win on a narrow base, much like the AAAA party in the DELHI whose candidates win despite getting just about 110 of the popular vote.
By giving voters the option of NOTA, and the fear of their candidate or all candidates getting rejected will force parties to push a positive agenda of development.
The historic move made by the honorable chief justice of india to give the citizens the right to reject a contesting candidate would empower and even fill the citizens with enthusiasm .this change was a need of hour for a long time.This decision would would a have huge impact on the system as there would much more transparency than before and from now the parties will have no option but to put forward names of clean. candidates.
ReplyDeleteBut every move has its own pros and cons. if wee see it as right to reject all candidates and going for re elections with new list would create some barriers as next time even the worse list would come forward and so on . even if we see that if the NOTA votes are more than the votes for the candidate ,it would leave a negative impact in he minds of people and even on morality ground. so some amendments are needed which would change the present scenario to a much extent in a positive way and benefit the largest democracy .
The directions given by honorable SC of India to the Election Commission to give Indian voters the Right to Reject all the contesting candidate is a confidant move. Though it is a negative approach towards electing our candidate as citizens are expected to vote and choose from among the candidates available under the given system , but keeping in mind our system in which corruption as well as the number of cases against our leaders are increasing, the "none of the above" (NOTA) is a positive and a brave move. This will definitely change the scenario of our coming elections as now we can have a other option to choose.
ReplyDeleteBut what would happen in the situation when more than 50% votes polled are accounted for NOTA? Will it represent the entire rejection of the panel and a fresh candidate, fresh elections would be held? This will be practically a challenge for the election commission. So we hope whatever would be the case, it should benefit the democracy and the future of our country.
I believe that this system will be beneficial for both govt and people.People can show their what they want by noting voting for any party...This would force the parties to improve in their ways to convince people.......On the other hand if those people who don't cast their votes just because they don't like any of the candidates go and choose vote for noone then the parties will come to know the reasons for their defeat.....Next tym they can improve and target those who didn't favour anyone...Suppose BJP knows that 20% of people are with them and 30% with congress and 40 % are favouring no one.Then BJP can improve and target to convince those 40% people..
ReplyDeleteThus i believe that this will improve political system in INDIA
this option will give following advantages:
ReplyDelete1.It if taken properly and in right spirit by people will turn out to be an eye opener for political parties who forget their duties after elections.
2. Citizens wouldn't feel so compelled to shirk their voting right.
3.It might also be pointed out that in states where ballot access requirements are particularly difficult for third-party and independent parties, and their subsequent candidates, a NOTA voting option offers an alternative to casting a ballot for Democrats and Republicans. After all, why should voters be given only two candidates who often are ideologically very similar?
4 The vote will become a more accurate reflection of the will of the engaged element of the community
5.AS most of our political leaders are facing criminal charges but still holding power in their hand with which people are not happy . this will be a first step for bringing a change in system
people will realize their duty of right to vote and it will be proper utilization of our right.
but again the question comes how this change will be implemented in our system .will the aftersteps taken by government properly is a very big question
No doubt the none-of-the-above option will increase the much needed voter participation in the election process, but it will also overburden the election commission with a new set of proceedings in the form of re-election. If majority of the voters go for the no-vote option, the re-poll will only open the doors of litigation, inreasing the pendency of cases.
ReplyDeleteAgreed that this action by honorable Supreme Court is a step forward towards improving the Election system of India, but to say that this would spark a revolution in system is 'over-estimation' according to me. It is true that this act would enable the voters to freely reject the unworthy candidates. Also it would encourage various political parties to put forward their best representative instead of any random candidate. Hence, definitely some improvement is expected.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this action is not once-and-for-all solution to all the problems faced by our Election system. This act will prove fruitful only when it is combined with aggressive awareness campaigns and spreading knowledge among the voters so that they could make a sound decision.
So all we can do as educated people is to spread the awareness as much as we can and be a part of this wind of change.
The recent NOTA order of the Supreme Court makes for a hat trick of decisions by the judiciary, striking a blow for electoral reforms. The attempt to reverse one of them to save MPs found guilty of offences that would instantaneously unseat them was thwarted because of public pressure and the President’s reported reluctance to sign the Representation of the People Ordinance.Basically there are two aspects, First is that this verdict will encourage those people to vote who think that there is no deserving candidate and also due to this reason parties will choose their candidates rightly... Secondly those people who are obsessed with their particular candidate like on the basis of caste, community and region etc. will misuse this. So for a change it is a good action as they say every good thing has its own consequences.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with the intervention by court should be carried forward to it's logical conclusion. As politics practiced by all parties in India doesn't believe in ethics & propriety for candidates imposed by them, the common man should be given the right to exhibit their pain in a democratic way. Going forward those having ambitions of political career will know what are the rules of the game and that they are only servants of their true master- Public.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great decision of the Supreme Court! It will be a boon in wiping out the dirty politics and politicians prevailing in political parties!.
ReplyDeleteNegative voting will lead to a systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates. If the right to vote is a statutory right, then the right to reject candidate is a fundamental right of speech and expression under the Constitution.
This move will bring a change leading to an opportunity for deserving candidates to contest polls. The right to vote and right not to vote has to stand on the same pedestal.
I agree to the decision made by the supreme court of India, by giving indian voters the Right to Reject all the contesting candidate if voter finds none of them worthy.
ReplyDeleteIt will bring a systemic change in the election process as the political parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field clean candidates when a large number of people express their disapproval with the candidates being put up by them.
"RIGHT TO REJECT",another landmark decision by the supreme court.But will it really help Indian voters to express their discord with all the candidates or is it just another sop for the people of our country from the Supreme court!!
ReplyDeleteIt is a button that would be present on every voting machine.This is incorporated in order to give an additional choice to the voter in case he is not satisfied with any of the candidates.
Let's first discuss the potential benefits and disadvantages of this button.
The advantages include that the voters can select best candidate contesting in the election in their constituency but if they dont feel any one as a right candidate they can express that through negative voting or choosing the NOTA option. Though gradual but it may lead to improvement of the system. The Political parties will select good candidates in long run to prove their acceptibility among voters.(NOTA-None of the above)
The biggest disadvantage is that the value of negative voting has not been clarified.Now if in any contituency 30% is negative voting 25% for one contestant, 20% for 2nd and 25% for all the rest, still the candidate getting 25% votes will be elected inspite of the fact that maximum voters have done negative voting and had rejected all the candidates.
Thus in true sense negative voting is as good as not voting or bycotting the election and none of the contestents will be affected at all if there is few voting in their favor.