The Electoral Process

• Elections have played a major role in the working of India’s democracy.
• Elections and representation are two very important processes in democracy.
• People’s representatives are selected through elections.
• Elections help to bring a change in power through peaceful means.
• Different political parties get an opportunity to rule.
• Policies of the government and life of society also changes after elections.
• The representatives we elect should be efficient, honest, and trustworthy and should respect the opinion of people.
• The electoral process should also be free, fair and reliable.
• The Constitution of India has made provision for an independent Election Commission to administer the election process in India.
• The Election Commission of India and the State level State Election Commissions conduct all important elections in our country.
• The entire process of elections from declaring the date of elections to the declaration of results is carried out under the direction and control of Election Commission.
• Election Commission is an inseparable component of a comprehensive democratic process.
• In India, the Election Commission is central to the process of elections.
• Article 324 of the Indian Constitution has established the autonomous body which consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two other commissioners.
• Modern democracy is a representative democracy.
• In a democracy it is not possible to involve the entire population in the decision-making process.
• This resulted in the starting of the practice of electing some people on behalf of entire population as representatives who would run the government.
• Some candidates contest the elections independently without the support of any political party.
• The Election Commission also has a right to derecognise any political party.
• Some constituencies are kept reserved for Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribes.
• The Election Commission also allots election symbols to the political parties.
• The total number of members in Loksabha is 543 and these members are elected from 543 constituencies.
• After the election dates are declared, every political party selects the candidates to contest elections.
• Every Indian citizen who has completed 18 years of age has a right to vote and it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to prepare the list of eligible voters, update the existing voter’s list and include the names of new voters.
• We have a multiparty system in our country and new parties continue to be formed.
• The Election Commission decides when to conduct elections and in how many stages to hold elections in every state.
• At the time of voting and counting of votes, the official representatives of political parties remain present.
• The Election Commission scrutinises all the applications and allows the eligible candidates to contest the elections.
• Candidates of political parties as well as independent candidates have to fill the applications which include the information about their own self.
• Recognised parties have equal opportunity to present their side before media such as television and radio.
• The Election Commission is responsible for resolving any disputes relating to elections.
• Creating constituencies is the responsibility of the Delimitation Commission of Election Commission.
• The Election Commission of India has adopted several measures to ensure free and fair elections in India, including the Code of Conduct.
• The Election Commission has the authority to issue identity cards to the voters.
• Violence during elections is a major challenge.
• The Government, political parties and voters are not allowed to violate these rules.
• The Election Commission has to work in accordance with the law while dealing with these challenges.
• The Election Commission has to take several measures to stop such a misuse of money.
• Conducting elections in a country as large as India with a large number of voters is a challenging task.
• Many political parties give election tickets to the candidates with criminal background.