<p>The Election commission of India Wednesday set up a high-level committee headed by a deputy election commissioner to hold talks with protestors seeking ouster of the Mizoram poll panel chief.</p>

<p>In a statement, the ECI said it has accepted the broad contours of the resolution passed by the Mizoram's NGOs coordination committee, spearheading the protest, after its delegation's deliberations with the EC.</p>

<p>"The Election Commission has also decided to depute a high-level team led by Mizoram Deputy election Commissioner Sudeep Jain to hold further deliberations on their resolution," the statement said.</p>

<p>Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte, who is also a Mizo, has been included in the EC panel.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The ECI set up the panel hours after the protests demanding the ouster of Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S B Shashank were called off in Aizawl by the NGO Coordination Committee Wednesday.</p>

<p>The protests were called off at 1 pm after the state election officials, including the Mizoram CEO, summoned by the ECI, left for New Delhi, state NGOs coordination committee chairman Vanlalruata said.</p>

<p>The CEO left for New Delhi by an evening flight. Earlier in the day, Shashank said he has been summoned by the Election Commission and would meet the poll panel in the national capital Thursday.</p>

<p>The agitation demanding his removal was launched Tuesday. It was resumed Wednesday morning by a large number of Young Mizo Association members demonstrating in front of the CEO's office from 8 am. The protestors later dispersed.</p>

<p>The Mizoram is slated to go to polls November 28 to elect its new assembly.</p>

<p>Vanlalruata said the NGOs' coordination committee would wait and watch the decision taken by the Election Commission of India on the state CEO.</p>

<p>"If Shashank comes back, the agitation will be relaunched," Vanlalruata said.</p>

<p>The state NGOs coordination committee, the apex body of civil societies and students' organisations of the north-eastern state, has been demanding that Shashank be replaced and transferred outside the state.</p>

<p>It has also demanded that 11,232 Bru voters lodged in six Tripura relief camps be allowed to exercise their franchise at their respective polling stations in</p>

<p>Mizoram and not in Tripura as committed by the poll panel in 2014.</p>

<p>The committee had called for Shashank's exit from the state shortly after the Election Commission (EC) removed the state's Principal Secretary (Home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo.</p>

<p>He had allegedly sought deployment of additional central armed police forces (CAPF) in the state which did not go down well with the committee.</p>

<p>On Monday, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that "as people have lost faith in him (Shashank), the only solution for the smooth conduct of the 2008 assembly elections would be removal of CEO S B Shashank from office forthwith."</p>

<p>The meeting of a visiting three-member EC team, state government officials and the leaders of the NGOs coordination committee on the current standoff here Tuesday night had remained inconclusive as the team said the final call would be made by the commission.</p>

<p>The team members said they would submit their findings to the commission.</p>

<p>The agitators are also protesting against the removal of Chuaungo, a Mizoram native and Gujarat-cadre IAS officer.</p>

<p>Thousands of people from Bru community had fled Mizoram in 1997 following ethnic clashes. They have since been lodged in six relief camps in Tripura.</p>

<p>In the past too, the civil society organisations had opposed the Election Commission's decision to conduct electoral revision of Bru voters in Tripura relief camps.</p>

<p>They urged the EC to defranchise all Bru voters who chose to stay back in Tripura and did not return to Mizoram.</p>

<p>A 12-hour bandh was observed at Mamit town on Tuesday along the Mizoram-Tripura-Bangladesh border to support the agitation against the Mizoram CEO. Rallies and pickets were organised by the NGO Coordination Committee across the state.&nbsp;</p>


The Election commission of India Wednesday set up a high-level committee headed by a deputy election commissioner to hold talks with protestors seeking ouster of the Mizoram poll panel chief.

The Election commission of India Wednesday set up a high-level committee headed by a deputy election commissioner to hold talks with protestors seeking ouster of the Mizoram poll panel chief. In a statement, the ECI said it has accepted the broad contours of the resolution passed by the Mizoram's NGOs coordination committee, spearheading the protest, after its delegation's deliberations with the EC. "The Election Commission has also decided to depute a high-level team led by Mizoram Deputy election Commissioner Sudeep Jain to hold further deliberations on their resolution," the statement said. Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte, who is also a Mizo, has been included in the EC panel. The ECI set up the panel hours after the protests demanding the ouster of Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S B Shashank were called off in Aizawl by the NGO Coordination Committee Wednesday. The protests were called off at 1 pm after the state election officials, including the Mizoram CEO, summoned by the ECI, left for New Delhi, state NGOs coordination committee chairman Vanlalruata said. The CEO left for New Delhi by an evening flight. Earlier in the day, Shashank said he has been summoned by the Election Commission and would meet the poll panel in the national capital Thursday. The agitation demanding his removal was launched Tuesday. It was resumed Wednesday morning by a large number of Young Mizo Association members demonstrating in front of the CEO's office from 8 am. The protestors later dispersed. The Mizoram is slated to go to polls November 28 to elect its new assembly. Vanlalruata said the NGOs' coordination committee would wait and watch the decision taken by the Election Commission of India on the state CEO. "If Shashank comes back, the agitation will be relaunched," Vanlalruata said. The state NGOs coordination committee, the apex body of civil societies and students' organisations of the north-eastern state, has been demanding that Shashank be replaced and transferred outside the state. It has also demanded that 11,232 Bru voters lodged in six Tripura relief camps be allowed to exercise their franchise at their respective polling stations in Mizoram and not in Tripura as committed by the poll panel in 2014. The committee had called for Shashank's exit from the state shortly after the Election Commission (EC) removed the state's Principal Secretary (Home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo. He had allegedly sought deployment of additional central armed police forces (CAPF) in the state which did not go down well with the committee. On Monday, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that "as people have lost faith in him (Shashank), the only solution for the smooth conduct of the 2008 assembly elections would be removal of CEO S B Shashank from office forthwith." The meeting of a visiting three-member EC team, state government officials and the leaders of the NGOs coordination committee on the current standoff here Tuesday night had remained inconclusive as the team said the final call would be made by the commission. The team members said they would submit their findings to the commission. The agitators are also protesting against the removal of Chuaungo, a Mizoram native and Gujarat-cadre IAS officer. Thousands of people from Bru community had fled Mizoram in 1997 following ethnic clashes. They have since been lodged in six relief camps in Tripura. In the past too, the civil society organisations had opposed the Election Commission's decision to conduct electoral revision of Bru voters in Tripura relief camps. They urged the EC to defranchise all Bru voters who chose to stay back in Tripura and did not return to Mizoram. A 12-hour bandh was observed at Mamit town on Tuesday along the Mizoram-Tripura-Bangladesh border to support the agitation against the Mizoram CEO. Rallies and pickets were organised by the NGO Coordination Committee across the state.

EC sets up panel to look into Mizos' demand for ouster of state poll panel chief

<p>The Election Commission does not have any "material information" on the number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) needed to conduct simultaneous elections, the panel has said in a reply to an RTI query.</p>

<p>Pune-based Vihar Durve, through his RTI application, had approached the Commission seeking to know the availability and need of EVMs and VVPAT to carry out elections across the country in 'one nation, one poll' mode.</p>

<p>In his response, Election Commission undersecretary Madhusudan Gupta said, "The information sought by you is not available in any material form as mentioned under Section 2 (f) of the Right to Information Act."</p>

<p>The section defines information as "any material in any form, including records, documents, emails, opinions, advices, press releases, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force".</p>

<p>In their discussions on holding simultaneous elections in the country, the EC officials had said they would need around Rs 4,500 crore to buy nearly 12 lakh additional EVMs and an equal number VVPAT machines.</p>

<p>The estimate was based on the current cost to procure the devices.</p>

<p>BJP president Amit Shah had written to the Law Commission on August 13 supporting holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously.</p>

<p>A paper by the Law Commission had recommended holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in two phases beginning 2019.</p>

<p>Political parties are divided on the issue.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Besides, NDA constituent Shiromani Akali Dal, AIADMK, Samajwadi Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti have supported it.</p>

<p>The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, DMK, Telugu Desam Party, Left parties and the JD(S) have opposed the proposal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"On the issue of 'one nation, one poll', the Election Commission had given inputs and suggestions in 2015 itself...Other requirements of additional police force, polling personnel would also be needed," Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat had said.</p>

<p>The Election Commission had told the Law Commission that in case of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2019, they will require nearly 24 lakh EVMs, double the number required to hold only the Parliamentary polls.</p>

<p>In case simultaneous polls are held, two separate sets of EVMs and VVPAT machines will have to be placed in separate compartments for those contesting the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections respectively.</p>

<p>"There are nearly 10 lakh polling stations across the country. Since EVMs and paper-trail machines are deployed in every polling station, the requirement is for 10 lakh EVMs and an equal number of paper-trail machines. "In addition, 20 per cent of the machines are kept in the reserve. That comes to two lakh. Therefore, to hold the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the EC needs 12 lakh EVMs and an equal number of VVPAT machines," a functionary had explained.&nbsp;</p>


The Election Commission does not have any "material information" on the number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) needed to conduct simultaneous elections, the panel has said in a reply to an RTI query.

The Election Commission does not have any "material information" on the number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) needed to conduct simultaneous elections, the panel has said in a reply to an RTI query. Pune-based Vihar Durve, through his RTI application, had approached the Commission seeking to know the availability and need of EVMs and VVPAT to carry out elections across the country in 'one nation, one poll' mode. In his response, Election Commission undersecretary Madhusudan Gupta said, "The information sought by you is not available in any material form as mentioned under Section 2 (f) of the Right to Information Act." The section defines information as "any material in any form, including records, documents, emails, opinions, advices, press releases, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force". In their discussions on holding simultaneous elections in the country, the EC officials had said they would need around Rs 4,500 crore to buy nearly 12 lakh additional EVMs and an equal number VVPAT machines. The estimate was based on the current cost to procure the devices. BJP president Amit Shah had written to the Law Commission on August 13 supporting holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously. A paper by the Law Commission had recommended holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in two phases beginning 2019. Political parties are divided on the issue. Besides, NDA constituent Shiromani Akali Dal, AIADMK, Samajwadi Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti have supported it. The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, DMK, Telugu Desam Party, Left parties and the JD(S) have opposed the proposal. "On the issue of 'one nation, one poll', the Election Commission had given inputs and suggestions in 2015 itself...Other requirements of additional police force, polling personnel would also be needed," Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat had said. The Election Commission had told the Law Commission that in case of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2019, they will require nearly 24 lakh EVMs, double the number required to hold only the Parliamentary polls. In case simultaneous polls are held, two separate sets of EVMs and VVPAT machines will have to be placed in separate compartments for those contesting the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections respectively. "There are nearly 10 lakh polling stations across the country. Since EVMs and paper-trail machines are deployed in every polling station, the requirement is for 10 lakh EVMs and an equal number of paper-trail machines. "In addition, 20 per cent of the machines are kept in the reserve. That comes to two lakh. Therefore, to hold the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the EC needs 12 lakh EVMs and an equal number of VVPAT machines," a functionary had explained.

No material information on number of EVMs, VVPAT needed for simultaneous polls: EC

<p>Internet major Google and social media giants Twitter and Facebook have assured the Election Commission that they will not allow their platforms to be used for anything which effects the purity of polls during campaign period, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat has said.</p>

<p>He said it was tested during the Karnataka elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Small pilot was there. That was the beginning. Now we will have a bigger pilot before Lok Sabha elections in these four states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram," the CEC told PTI.</p>

<p>Assembly polls are due in the four state later this year.</p>

<p>Rawat said a committee under Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha had called regional and local heads of Google, Facebook and Twitter and had asked them as to what they can do for ensuring purity of Indian elections such as avoiding adverse impact of fake news and targeted communication to voters.</p>

<p>"They have all committed that during campaign period, they will not allow anything which is adversely effecting level playing field be allowed on their platforms... During the last 48 hours before the close of poll, they have committed that nothing of elections will be allowed on their platforms," he said.</p>

<p>The last 48 hours before the elections come to a close is called 'silence period' so that voter can calmly decide on as to whom to vote.</p>

<p>The companies have also assured the poll watchdog that political advertisements will be flagged, including the amount spent, so that expenditure can also be accounted for during campaign period, the Chief Election Commissioner said.</p>

<p>Google will establish a system that will allow it to share with the EC details about the expenditure incurred on its platforms.</p>

<p>The panel under Sinha was set up to explore possible changes in section 126 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 in view of the expansion and diversity of media platforms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The section "prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency".</p>


Internet major Google and social media giants Twitter and Facebook have assured the Election Commission that they will not allow their platforms to be used for anything which effects the purity of polls during campaign period, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat has said.

Internet major Google and social media giants Twitter and Facebook have assured the Election Commission that they will not allow their platforms to be used for anything which effects the purity of polls during campaign period, Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat has said. He said it was tested during the Karnataka elections. "Small pilot was there. That was the beginning. Now we will have a bigger pilot before Lok Sabha elections in these four states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram," the CEC told PTI. Assembly polls are due in the four state later this year. Rawat said a committee under Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha had called regional and local heads of Google, Facebook and Twitter and had asked them as to what they can do for ensuring purity of Indian elections such as avoiding adverse impact of fake news and targeted communication to voters. "They have all committed that during campaign period, they will not allow anything which is adversely effecting level playing field be allowed on their platforms... During the last 48 hours before the close of poll, they have committed that nothing of elections will be allowed on their platforms," he said. The last 48 hours before the elections come to a close is called 'silence period' so that voter can calmly decide on as to whom to vote. The companies have also assured the poll watchdog that political advertisements will be flagged, including the amount spent, so that expenditure can also be accounted for during campaign period, the Chief Election Commissioner said. Google will establish a system that will allow it to share with the EC details about the expenditure incurred on its platforms. The panel under Sinha was set up to explore possible changes in section 126 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 in view of the expansion and diversity of media platforms. The section "prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency".

Facebook, Twitter to help EC check fake news, targeted communication

<p>The Elections Commission of Maldives on Saturday officially declared opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih winner of the country's national election, defeating president Abdulla Yameen who had sought a delay in publication of the final results.</p>

<p>The Election Commission Secretary-General Salah Rasheed said Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party had won by a 16.8 percentage margin, with an 89.2 per cent voter turnout.</p>

<p>Ahmed Shareef said the commission had received 423 complaints about the election by Thursday, of which 194 were outstanding.</p>

<p>"The Complaints Bureau and the Commission have decided that none of the complaints filed with the commission will affect the outcome of the election," Shareef told reporters in the capital Male.</p>

<p>He said all five election commissioners had received threatening telephone calls after Sunday's election.</p>

<p>"We also received several phone calls in which we (the commissioners) were threatened with physical harm. We did not respond to it because the state's security services were providing security arrangements for all the commissioners."</p>

<p>The police and military have said they will uphold the result of the election.</p>

<p>Yameen conceded defeat on Monday, but his party later requested a delay in announcing the official result, which some in the opposition believed may have been an attempt to have the election resulted annulled.</p>

<p>Yameen, who will be president until Nov. 17 according to the constitution, has jailed political opponents and cracked down on dissent.</p>

<p>The Maldives is best known as a luxury holiday destination and is key to a battle for influence between India and China.</p>

<p>It has faced political upheaval since February when Yameen imposed a state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader.</p>


The Elections Commission of Maldives on Saturday officially declared opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih winner of the country's national election, defeating president Abdulla Yameen who had sought a delay in publication of the final results.

The Elections Commission of Maldives on Saturday officially declared opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih winner of the country's national election, defeating president Abdulla Yameen who had sought a delay in publication of the final results. The Election Commission Secretary-General Salah Rasheed said Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party had won by a 16.8 percentage margin, with an 89.2 per cent voter turnout. Ahmed Shareef said the commission had received 423 complaints about the election by Thursday, of which 194 were outstanding. "The Complaints Bureau and the Commission have decided that none of the complaints filed with the commission will affect the outcome of the election," Shareef told reporters in the capital Male. He said all five election commissioners had received threatening telephone calls after Sunday's election. "We also received several phone calls in which we (the commissioners) were threatened with physical harm. We did not respond to it because the state's security services were providing security arrangements for all the commissioners." The police and military have said they will uphold the result of the election. Yameen conceded defeat on Monday, but his party later requested a delay in announcing the official result, which some in the opposition believed may have been an attempt to have the election resulted annulled. Yameen, who will be president until Nov. 17 according to the constitution, has jailed political opponents and cracked down on dissent. The Maldives is best known as a luxury holiday destination and is key to a battle for influence between India and China. It has faced political upheaval since February when Yameen imposed a state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader.

Maldives election body endorses opposition leader Solih's victory amid threats

<p>BJP&rsquo;s incessant attempts to check the feasibility to hold simultaneous state and general elections are worrisome. Modi has a knack of catching the opposition napping. More than the Congress and other opposition parties, it&rsquo;s the voters who should be worried about it since this is an attack on the fundamentals of our Constitution and voting rights.</p>

<p>If an Idea saves the government hundreds of thousands public exchequer and makes the process easier, save time and energy of those participating in election preparations, wouldn&rsquo;t it be a great one? Well, not really if it curtails the fundamental rights of the voters and the elected state assembly.</p>

<p>The Election commission of India&rsquo;s (ECI) assurance on Oct 5 to the Modi government that it was ready to hold simultaneous state and national polls by September 2018, may have come as a surprise to many but Prime Minister Modi and his government had given enough indications of this in last year or so. So much so, Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy.</p>

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<p><strong>Modi&rsquo;s incessant pitch for simultaneous polls</strong></p>

<p>A month before ECI&rsquo;s assurance, on August 27, the NITI Ayog &mdash;India&rsquo;s planning commission released a report summarizing that all elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronized manner to ensure minimum &quot;campaign mode&quot; disruption to governance. Calling it in the &ldquo;National Interest,&quot; the commission had recommended forming an experts committee to work out an appropriate model and had urged Election Commission to set up the timeline for achieving this. Interestingly, within days of this report, the Vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had resigned from the commission.</p>

<p>But NITI Ayog&rsquo;s report was totally in line with Prime minister Modi&rsquo;s pitch for holding the state and national elections together. Speaking in the Parliament in February in response to President Mukherjee&rsquo;s address, Mr Modi had spoken how the election expenditure of Rs 1,100 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha shot up four-fold to Rs 4,000 crore in 2014. While agreeing that the process may not be easy, Mr Modi had said, &ldquo;Few will lose some and others will lose more, but parties will have to come together to achieve this.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Ex-President Mr Pranab Mukherjee too, who Mr Modi fondly called a father figure, had supported the demand that the elections be held simultaneously. It appears that the Modi government has been doing extensive groundwork with various constitutional bodies to check the feasibility.</p>

<p><strong>Arguments in </strong><strong>favour</strong><strong> of the simultaneous polls</strong></p>

<p>The votaries of this idea have given two major advantages of making a &lsquo;one-time&rsquo; change in the process to synchronize the polls.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One, the huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together &mdash;since some of the state and national polls are just months apart. And two, there will be a continued focus on governance from the politicians than the &ldquo;disruptions of election campaigns&rdquo; and thereby reduced the time of model code of conduct that restricts the government schemes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Take for instance the Maharashtra Assembly elections that took place in September 2014 right after the General elections of May 2014. The four-month gap, it is being argued that, resulted in huge loss of state exchequer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Even former election commission Mr S. Y. Quraishi - was for this idea except that he thought the Constitutional amendment to effect this would not come easy.</p>

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<p><strong>Why joint election is a serious threat to Federalism and Voting rights</strong></p>

<p>Although the so-called benefits of simultaneous polls look extremely lucrative, a close look at the electoral process and democracy reveals that this is only a grave danger subtly served with sugar of convenience and cost saving.<br />
The election commission mentioned that six states including Gujarat are going to Poll next year. The simultaneous elections are possible only if the Loksabha Polls, due in 2019, are advanced by a year to 2018. Or Alternatively, terms of assemblies like Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh are extended by one year (The term expires in March) and also to curtail the assemblies of the states such as Maharashtra and Haryana by few months in order to have joint elections along with Loksabha polls.</p>

<p>Renowned Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy cautions against the curtailment of state assembly terms. &ldquo;There are state Governments whose term will extend beyond 2019. Those cannot be dissolved to align the State and Union elections unless this government and Parliament jump through some very unlikely constitutional hoops. For this reason, I don&#39;t believe this will happen, it&#39;ll be too strong a strike against federalism.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Ms Nundy&rsquo;s fear of strong strike against federalism is not unfounded. Although the center can use Article 356 to dismiss the elected state governments and impose President&#39;s rule under rare circumstances, curtailing the term for convenience would be very difficult to get across the parliament and legal hurdles.</p>

<p><strong>But what if the amendment gets passed? Will the common voter gain anything by using his voting rights </strong><strong>fewer</strong><strong> number of times? What about his choice of two different parties for state and national level?&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>In the Delhi Assembly elections of Feb 2015, it was reported that many BJP voters who voted for Modi in 2014 chose Aam Admi party to take care of Delhi. In a simultaneous election, Delhi would have seen BJP government both at the state and the center. Thus, restricting Voters changing choices based on performance.</p>

<p>Payal Gaikwad, Constitutional Expert and Supreme Court lawyer stresses on the right of voters to get multiple chances to decide best options. She says, &ldquo;Elections have always been a turning point in this country. The Constitution mentions that elections are to be held in every 5 years, in both, the centre and the state but was silent over that it should happen simultaneously. Periodical elections give chance to people, to assess the performance of the candidate as well as the party. In Bihar assembly polls in 2015, wherein people changed the mandate and voted BJP out of the state despite giving it full mandate in 2014 Loksabha elections&rdquo;</p>

<p>If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave. But the local issues, voters basic amenities would have been sidelined in presence of strong nationwide waves.</p>

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<p>Bihar and Delhi election debacles did help in giving a break to BJP&rsquo;s ambitious plan of an opposition-free country. It forced them to rethink their strategies.</p>

<p>Nitin Meshram, Supreme Court advocate strongly opposes any such move and criticisms the much-touted cost saving. He says, &ldquo;We are in a shared federalism. Expenses on state exchequer is a malicious propaganda to prevent the enrolling of democracy in the society. More mature voters who are difficult to be emotionally fooled.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram famously called for elections frequently. He maintained that he prefers majbur sarkar (weak government) and not a majboot sarkar (strong government) since he thought a weak government will do more for the people if it sees that elections are round the corner.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nitin Meshram tends to agree to this. He says &ldquo; if the elections are held at once for both &nbsp;Parliament &amp; Assemblies, the political parties, their leaders &amp; elected representatives would become absolutely arrogant, unresponsive &amp; hostile to the common public. It will also ensure widespread &amp; massive corruption by the political parties, its leaders &amp; by government agents.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Is India the only democracy where separate elections happen in general elections and state elections? The United States, often juxtaposed with Indian Democracy, have mid-term elections for Senate and Congress. The elections take place for many Senators and Congressmen two years after the Presidential elections are done. This significantly changes the majority in Senate and house halfway through the President&#39;s term. An election setback helps the President review its policies and pay more attention to the internal issues. During his first term, President Obama lost the control of Senate and House but this acted as a reality check and the President and his party worked hard to get re-elected for the second term.</p>

<p>Whether its L.K. Advani asking people to vote for only National parties (even if it meant voting Congress), Mr Vajpayee setting up Constitution review committee or the party repeatedly asking to fix the five-year term for the state assemblies and Parliament, BJP has long wanted to do away with established Constitutional norms. But BJP&rsquo;s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy.</p>

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<h5>The simultaneous elections amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments.</h5>
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<p><strong>But why is BJP hell-bent on doing it this time?</strong></p>

<p>Well, the party has the majority in Loksabha and secured majority with regional parties so this is the best for it to go for any legislation. Also, after demonetisation, the BJP is best placed financially to fight elections at any time.</p>

<p>But the effects of anti-incumbency are now widely seen, with social media slowly turning against BJP and opposition trying to make a slow comeback, BJP may not want to give sufficient time for them to recover and may announce early general elections by &ldquo;sacrificing&rdquo; his coveted post for few months in the &ldquo;National Interest&rdquo;.</p>

<p>The simultaneous elections amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments. India&rsquo;s opposition parties must rise to this occasion and fight this inevitable attack on the fundamentals of the Constitution, Federalism and the basic rights of the voters. Their failure will lead India to a Political Autocracy in the guise of stability and maximum governance.</p>


Modi government persistent to hold General and State elections together to secure a five-year term

BJP’s incessant attempts to check the feasibility to hold simultaneous state and general elections are worrisome. Modi has a knack of catching the opposition napping. More than the Congress and other opposition parties, it’s the voters who should be worried about it since this is an attack on the fundamentals of our Constitution and voting rights. If an Idea saves the government hundreds of thousands public exchequer and makes the process easier, save time and energy of those participating in election preparations, wouldn’t it be a great one? Well, not really if it curtails the fundamental rights of the voters and the elected state assembly. The Election commission of India’s (ECI) assurance on Oct 5 to the Modi government that it was ready to hold simultaneous state and national polls by September 2018, may have come as a surprise to many but Prime Minister Modi and his government had given enough indications of this in last year or so. So much so, Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy. Prime minister Modi pitch for holding the state and national elections together. × Modi’s incessant pitch for simultaneous polls A month before ECI’s assurance, on August 27, the NITI Ayog —India’s planning commission released a report summarizing that all elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronized manner to ensure minimum "campaign mode" disruption to governance. Calling it in the “National Interest," the commission had recommended forming an experts committee to work out an appropriate model and had urged Election Commission to set up the timeline for achieving this. Interestingly, within days of this report, the Vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had resigned from the commission. But NITI Ayog’s report was totally in line with Prime minister Modi’s pitch for holding the state and national elections together. Speaking in the Parliament in February in response to President Mukherjee’s address, Mr Modi had spoken how the election expenditure of Rs 1,100 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha shot up four-fold to Rs 4,000 crore in 2014. While agreeing that the process may not be easy, Mr Modi had said, “Few will lose some and others will lose more, but parties will have to come together to achieve this.” Ex-President Mr Pranab Mukherjee too, who Mr Modi fondly called a father figure, had supported the demand that the elections be held simultaneously. It appears that the Modi government has been doing extensive groundwork with various constitutional bodies to check the feasibility. Arguments in favour of the simultaneous polls The votaries of this idea have given two major advantages of making a ‘one-time’ change in the process to synchronize the polls. One, the huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together —since some of the state and national polls are just months apart. And two, there will be a continued focus on governance from the politicians than the “disruptions of election campaigns” and thereby reduced the time of model code of conduct that restricts the government schemes. Take for instance the Maharashtra Assembly elections that took place in September 2014 right after the General elections of May 2014. The four-month gap, it is being argued that, resulted in huge loss of state exchequer. Even former election commission Mr S. Y. Quraishi - was for this idea except that he thought the Constitutional amendment to effect this would not come easy. The center can use Article 356 to dismiss the elected state governments and impose President's rule under rare circumstances. × Why joint election is a serious threat to Federalism and Voting rights Although the so-called benefits of simultaneous polls look extremely lucrative, a close look at the electoral process and democracy reveals that this is only a grave danger subtly served with sugar of convenience and cost saving. The election commission mentioned that six states including Gujarat are going to Poll next year. The simultaneous elections are possible only if the Loksabha Polls, due in 2019, are advanced by a year to 2018. Or Alternatively, terms of assemblies like Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh are extended by one year (The term expires in March) and also to curtail the assemblies of the states such as Maharashtra and Haryana by few months in order to have joint elections along with Loksabha polls. Renowned Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy cautions against the curtailment of state assembly terms. “There are state Governments whose term will extend beyond 2019. Those cannot be dissolved to align the State and Union elections unless this government and Parliament jump through some very unlikely constitutional hoops. For this reason, I don't believe this will happen, it'll be too strong a strike against federalism.” Ms Nundy’s fear of strong strike against federalism is not unfounded. Although the center can use Article 356 to dismiss the elected state governments and impose President's rule under rare circumstances, curtailing the term for convenience would be very difficult to get across the parliament and legal hurdles. But what if the amendment gets passed? Will the common voter gain anything by using his voting rights fewer number of times? What about his choice of two different parties for state and national level? In the Delhi Assembly elections of Feb 2015, it was reported that many BJP voters who voted for Modi in 2014 chose Aam Admi party to take care of Delhi. In a simultaneous election, Delhi would have seen BJP government both at the state and the center. Thus, restricting Voters changing choices based on performance. Payal Gaikwad, Constitutional Expert and Supreme Court lawyer stresses on the right of voters to get multiple chances to decide best options. She says, “Elections have always been a turning point in this country. The Constitution mentions that elections are to be held in every 5 years, in both, the centre and the state but was silent over that it should happen simultaneously. Periodical elections give chance to people, to assess the performance of the candidate as well as the party. In Bihar assembly polls in 2015, wherein people changed the mandate and voted BJP out of the state despite giving it full mandate in 2014 Loksabha elections” If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave. But the local issues, voters basic amenities would have been sidelined in presence of strong nationwide waves. BJP’s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy. × Bihar and Delhi election debacles did help in giving a break to BJP’s ambitious plan of an opposition-free country. It forced them to rethink their strategies. Nitin Meshram, Supreme Court advocate strongly opposes any such move and criticisms the much-touted cost saving. He says, “We are in a shared federalism. Expenses on state exchequer is a malicious propaganda to prevent the enrolling of democracy in the society. More mature voters who are difficult to be emotionally fooled.” Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram famously called for elections frequently. He maintained that he prefers majbur sarkar (weak government) and not a majboot sarkar (strong government) since he thought a weak government will do more for the people if it sees that elections are round the corner. Nitin Meshram tends to agree to this. He says “ if the elections are held at once for both Parliament & Assemblies, the political parties, their leaders & elected representatives would become absolutely arrogant, unresponsive & hostile to the common public. It will also ensure widespread & massive corruption by the political parties, its leaders & by government agents.” Is India the only democracy where separate elections happen in general elections and state elections? The United States, often juxtaposed with Indian Democracy, have mid-term elections for Senate and Congress. The elections take place for many Senators and Congressmen two years after the Presidential elections are done. This significantly changes the majority in Senate and house halfway through the President's term. An election setback helps the President review its policies and pay more attention to the internal issues. During his first term, President Obama lost the control of Senate and House but this acted as a reality check and the President and his party worked hard to get re-elected for the second term. Whether its L.K. Advani asking people to vote for only National parties (even if it meant voting Congress), Mr Vajpayee setting up Constitution review committee or the party repeatedly asking to fix the five-year term for the state assemblies and Parliament, BJP has long wanted to do away with established Constitutional norms. But BJP’s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy. The simultaneous elections amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments. × But why is BJP hell-bent on doing it this time? Well, the party has the majority in Loksabha and secured majority with regional parties so this is the best for it to go for any legislation. Also, after demonetisation, the BJP is best placed financially to fight elections at any time. But the effects of anti-incumbency are now widely seen, with social media slowly turning against BJP and opposition trying to make a slow comeback, BJP may not want to give sufficient time for them to recover and may announce early general elections by “sacrificing” his coveted post for few months in the “National Interest”. The simultaneous elections amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments. India’s opposition parties must rise to this occasion and fight this inevitable attack on the fundamentals of the Constitution, Federalism and the basic rights of the voters. Their failure will lead India to a Political Autocracy in the guise of stability and maximum governance.

Simultaneous elections: New reform or an inescapable attack on the constitution and basic voting rights?

<p>BJP&rsquo;s incessant attempts to check the feasibility to hold simultaneous state and general elections are worrisome. Prime Minister Modi has a knack of catching the Opposition napping. More than the Congress and other Opposition parties, it&rsquo;s the voters who should be worried about it since this is an attack on the fundamentals of our Constitution and voting rights.</p>

<p>If an idea saves the government hundreds of thousands public exchequer and makes the process easier, save time and energy of those participating in election preparations, wouldn&rsquo;t it be a great one?</p>

<p>Well, not really if it curtails the fundamental rights of the voters and the elected state assembly.</p>

<p>The Election Commission of India&rsquo;s (ECI) assurance on October 5 to the Modi government that it was ready to hold simultaneous state and national polls by September 2018 may have come as a surprise to many. However, Prime Minister Modi and his government had given enough indications of this in last year or so. So much so, Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy.Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy.</p>

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<h5>Prime minister Modi pitch for holding the state and national elections together.</h5>
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<p><strong>Modi&rsquo;s incessant pitch for simultaneous polls</strong></p>

<p>A month before ECI&rsquo;s assurance, on August 27, the NITI Ayog &mdash;India&rsquo;s planning commission released a report summarising that all elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronised manner to ensure minimum &quot;campaign mode&quot; disruption to governance. Calling it in the &ldquo;national interest,&quot; the commission had recommended forming an experts committee to work out an appropriate model and had urged Election Commission to set up the timeline for achieving this. Interestingly, within days of this report, the Vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had resigned from the commission.</p>

<p>But NITI Ayog&rsquo;s report was totally in line with Prime minister Modi&rsquo;s pitch for holding the state and national elections together. Speaking in the Parliament in February in response to President Mukherjee&rsquo;s address, Mr Modi had spoken how the election expenditure of Rs 1,100 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha shot up four-fold to Rs 4,000 crore in 2014. While agreeing that the process may not be easy, Mr Modi had said, &ldquo;Few will lose some and others will lose more, but parties will have to come together to achieve this.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Ex-President Mr Pranab Mukherjee too, who Mr Modi fondly called a father figure, had supported the demand that the elections be held simultaneously. It appears that the Modi government has been doing extensive groundwork with various constitutional bodies to check the feasibility.</p>

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<h5>The huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together</h5>
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<p><strong>Arguments in favour</strong><strong> of the simultaneous polls</strong></p>

<p>The votaries of this idea have given two major advantages of making a &lsquo;one-time&rsquo; change in the process to synchronise the polls.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One, the huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together &mdash;since some of the state and national polls are just months apart. And two, there will be a continued focus on governance from the politicians rather than the &ldquo;disruptions of election campaigns&rdquo;. Also, it will reduce&nbsp;the time of model code of conduct that restricts the government schemes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Take for instance the Maharashtra Assembly elections that took place in September 2014 right after the General elections of May 2014. The four-month gap, arguably, resulted in a huge loss of state exchequer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Even former Election Commissioner&nbsp;Mr S. Y. Quraishi was in support of this idea except that he thought the constitutional amendment to effect this would not come easy.</p>

<p><strong>Why joint election is a serious threat to federalism and voting rights</strong></p>

<p>Although the so-called benefits of simultaneous polls look extremely lucrative, a close look at the electoral process and democracy reveals that this is only a grave danger subtly served with sugar of convenience and cost saving.</p>

<p>The Election Commission mentioned that six states, including Gujarat are going to the poll next year. The simultaneous elections are possible only if the Loksabha polls, due in 2019, are advanced by a year to 2018. Or alternatively, terms of assemblies in states like Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh are extended by one year (The term expires in March) and also to curtail the assemblies of the states, such as Maharashtra and Haryana by few months in order to have joint elections along with Loksabha polls.</p>

<p>Renowned Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy cautions against the curtailment of state assembly terms. &ldquo;There are state governments whose term will extend beyond 2019. Those cannot be dissolved to align the State and Union elections unless this government and Parliament jump through some very unlikely constitutional hoops. For this reason, I don&#39;t believe this will happen, it&#39;ll be too strong a strike against federalism.&rdquo;</p>

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<h5>If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

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<p>Ms Nundy&rsquo;s fear of strong strike against federalism is not unfounded. Although the center can use Article 356 to dismiss the elected state governments and impose President&#39;s rule under rare circumstances, curtailing the term for convenience would be very difficult to get across the parliament and legal hurdles.</p>

<p><strong>But what if the amendment gets passed? </strong></p>

<p>Will the common voter gain anything by using his voting rights a&nbsp;fewer number of times? What about his choice of two different parties for state and national level?&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the Delhi Assembly elections of February 2015, it was reported that many BJP voters who voted for Modi in 2014 chose Aam Admi party to take care of Delhi. In case of a simultaneous election, Delhi would have seen BJP government both at the state and the center. Thus, restricting voters changing choices based on performance.</p>

<p>Payal Gaikwad, constitutional expert and Supreme Court lawyer stresses on the right of voters to get multiple chances to decide best options. She says, &ldquo;Elections have always been a turning point in this country. The Constitution mentions that elections are to be held in every 5 years, in both, the centre and the state but was silent over that it should happen simultaneously. Periodical elections give chance to people, to assess the performance of the candidate as well as the party. In Bihar assembly polls in 2015, wherein people changed the mandate and voted BJP out of the state despite giving it full mandate in 2014 Loksabha elections&rdquo;</p>

<p>If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave. But the local issues and voters basic amenities would have been sidelined in presence of strong nationwide waves.</p>

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<h5>BJP&rsquo;s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy.</h5>
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<p>Bihar and Delhi election debacles did help in giving a break to BJP&rsquo;s ambitious plan of an opposition-free country. It forced them to rethink their strategies.</p>

<p>Nitin Meshram, Supreme Court advocate strongly opposes any such move and criticise the much-touted cost saving. He says, &ldquo;We are in a shared federalism. Expenses on state exchequer is a malicious propaganda to prevent the enrolling of democracy in the society. More mature voters who are difficult to be emotionally fooled.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram famously called for elections frequently. He maintained that he prefers majbur sarkar (weak government) and not a majboot sarkar (strong government) since he thought a weak government will do more for the people if it sees that elections are round the corner.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nitin Meshram tends to agree to this. He says &ldquo; if the elections are held at once for both &nbsp;Parliament &amp; Assemblies, the political parties, their leaders &amp; elected representatives would become absolutely arrogant, unresponsive &amp; hostile to the common public. It will also ensure widespread and massive corruption by the political parties, its leaders and by government agents.&rdquo;</p>

<p><strong>Is India the only democracy where separate elections happen? </strong></p>

<p>The United States, often juxtaposed with Indian Democracy, have mid-term elections for Senate and Congress. The elections take place for many Senators and Congressmen two years after the Presidential elections are done. This significantly changes the majority in Senate and Congress halfway through the president&#39;s term. An election setback helps the president review its policies and pay more attention to the internal issues. During his first term, President Obama lost the control of Senate and House but this acted as a reality check and the president and his party worked hard to get re-elected for the second term.</p>

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<h5>BJP&rsquo;s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

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<p>Whether its L.K. Advani asking people to vote for only national parties (even if it meant voting Congress), Mr Vajpayee setting up constitution review committee or the party repeatedly asking to fix the five-year term for the state assemblies and Parliament, BJP has long wanted to do away with established constitutional norms. But BJP&rsquo;s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy.</p>

<p><strong>But why is BJP hell-bent on doing it this time?</strong></p>

<p>Well, the party has the majority in Loksabha, so this is the best time for it to go for any legislation. Also, after demonetisation, the BJP is best placed financially to fight elections at any time.</p>

<p>But the effects of anti-incumbency are now widely seen, with social media slowly turning against BJP and the Opposition trying to make a slow comeback. BJP may not want to give sufficient time for them to recover and may announce early general elections.</p>

<p>The simultaneous election&nbsp;amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments. India&rsquo;s Opposition parties must rise to this occasion and fight this inevitable attack on the fundamentals of the Constitution, Federalism and the basic rights of the voters. Their failure will lead India to a political autocracy in the guise of stability and maximum governance.</p>


Periodical elections, rather than simultaneous elections in the center and the state, give chance to people to assess the performance of the candidate as well as the party.

BJP’s incessant attempts to check the feasibility to hold simultaneous state and general elections are worrisome. Prime Minister Modi has a knack of catching the Opposition napping. More than the Congress and other Opposition parties, it’s the voters who should be worried about it since this is an attack on the fundamentals of our Constitution and voting rights. If an idea saves the government hundreds of thousands public exchequer and makes the process easier, save time and energy of those participating in election preparations, wouldn’t it be a great one? Well, not really if it curtails the fundamental rights of the voters and the elected state assembly. The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) assurance on October 5 to the Modi government that it was ready to hold simultaneous state and national polls by September 2018 may have come as a surprise to many. However, Prime Minister Modi and his government had given enough indications of this in last year or so. So much so, Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy.Mr Modi and BJP, along with the institutions, seems to have made up their mind to bring the idea into reality, much to the chagrin of the essential idea of democracy. Prime minister Modi pitch for holding the state and national elections together. × Modi’s incessant pitch for simultaneous polls A month before ECI’s assurance, on August 27, the NITI Ayog —India’s planning commission released a report summarising that all elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronised manner to ensure minimum "campaign mode" disruption to governance. Calling it in the “national interest," the commission had recommended forming an experts committee to work out an appropriate model and had urged Election Commission to set up the timeline for achieving this. Interestingly, within days of this report, the Vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had resigned from the commission. But NITI Ayog’s report was totally in line with Prime minister Modi’s pitch for holding the state and national elections together. Speaking in the Parliament in February in response to President Mukherjee’s address, Mr Modi had spoken how the election expenditure of Rs 1,100 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha shot up four-fold to Rs 4,000 crore in 2014. While agreeing that the process may not be easy, Mr Modi had said, “Few will lose some and others will lose more, but parties will have to come together to achieve this.” Ex-President Mr Pranab Mukherjee too, who Mr Modi fondly called a father figure, had supported the demand that the elections be held simultaneously. It appears that the Modi government has been doing extensive groundwork with various constitutional bodies to check the feasibility. The huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together × Arguments in favour of the simultaneous polls The votaries of this idea have given two major advantages of making a ‘one-time’ change in the process to synchronise the polls. One, the huge cost of holding elections can be saved by holding polls together —since some of the state and national polls are just months apart. And two, there will be a continued focus on governance from the politicians rather than the “disruptions of election campaigns”. Also, it will reduce the time of model code of conduct that restricts the government schemes. Take for instance the Maharashtra Assembly elections that took place in September 2014 right after the General elections of May 2014. The four-month gap, arguably, resulted in a huge loss of state exchequer. Even former Election Commissioner Mr S. Y. Quraishi was in support of this idea except that he thought the constitutional amendment to effect this would not come easy. Why joint election is a serious threat to federalism and voting rights Although the so-called benefits of simultaneous polls look extremely lucrative, a close look at the electoral process and democracy reveals that this is only a grave danger subtly served with sugar of convenience and cost saving. The Election Commission mentioned that six states, including Gujarat are going to the poll next year. The simultaneous elections are possible only if the Loksabha polls, due in 2019, are advanced by a year to 2018. Or alternatively, terms of assemblies in states like Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh are extended by one year (The term expires in March) and also to curtail the assemblies of the states, such as Maharashtra and Haryana by few months in order to have joint elections along with Loksabha polls. Renowned Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy cautions against the curtailment of state assembly terms. “There are state governments whose term will extend beyond 2019. Those cannot be dissolved to align the State and Union elections unless this government and Parliament jump through some very unlikely constitutional hoops. For this reason, I don't believe this will happen, it'll be too strong a strike against federalism.” If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave. × Ms Nundy’s fear of strong strike against federalism is not unfounded. Although the center can use Article 356 to dismiss the elected state governments and impose President's rule under rare circumstances, curtailing the term for convenience would be very difficult to get across the parliament and legal hurdles. But what if the amendment gets passed? Will the common voter gain anything by using his voting rights a fewer number of times? What about his choice of two different parties for state and national level? In the Delhi Assembly elections of February 2015, it was reported that many BJP voters who voted for Modi in 2014 chose Aam Admi party to take care of Delhi. In case of a simultaneous election, Delhi would have seen BJP government both at the state and the center. Thus, restricting voters changing choices based on performance. Payal Gaikwad, constitutional expert and Supreme Court lawyer stresses on the right of voters to get multiple chances to decide best options. She says, “Elections have always been a turning point in this country. The Constitution mentions that elections are to be held in every 5 years, in both, the centre and the state but was silent over that it should happen simultaneously. Periodical elections give chance to people, to assess the performance of the candidate as well as the party. In Bihar assembly polls in 2015, wherein people changed the mandate and voted BJP out of the state despite giving it full mandate in 2014 Loksabha elections” If it was not for separate elections, both Delhi, Bihar and Karnataka would have seen BJP governments in the state as well, given that Modi was riding on a strong wave. But the local issues and voters basic amenities would have been sidelined in presence of strong nationwide waves. BJP’s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy. × Bihar and Delhi election debacles did help in giving a break to BJP’s ambitious plan of an opposition-free country. It forced them to rethink their strategies. Nitin Meshram, Supreme Court advocate strongly opposes any such move and criticise the much-touted cost saving. He says, “We are in a shared federalism. Expenses on state exchequer is a malicious propaganda to prevent the enrolling of democracy in the society. More mature voters who are difficult to be emotionally fooled.” Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram famously called for elections frequently. He maintained that he prefers majbur sarkar (weak government) and not a majboot sarkar (strong government) since he thought a weak government will do more for the people if it sees that elections are round the corner. Nitin Meshram tends to agree to this. He says “ if the elections are held at once for both Parliament & Assemblies, the political parties, their leaders & elected representatives would become absolutely arrogant, unresponsive & hostile to the common public. It will also ensure widespread and massive corruption by the political parties, its leaders and by government agents.” Is India the only democracy where separate elections happen? The United States, often juxtaposed with Indian Democracy, have mid-term elections for Senate and Congress. The elections take place for many Senators and Congressmen two years after the Presidential elections are done. This significantly changes the majority in Senate and Congress halfway through the president's term. An election setback helps the president review its policies and pay more attention to the internal issues. During his first term, President Obama lost the control of Senate and House but this acted as a reality check and the president and his party worked hard to get re-elected for the second term. BJP’s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy. × Whether its L.K. Advani asking people to vote for only national parties (even if it meant voting Congress), Mr Vajpayee setting up constitution review committee or the party repeatedly asking to fix the five-year term for the state assemblies and Parliament, BJP has long wanted to do away with established constitutional norms. But BJP’s seriousness in taking the simultaneous elections idea to significant actionable level should worry the supporters of democracy. But why is BJP hell-bent on doing it this time? Well, the party has the majority in Loksabha, so this is the best time for it to go for any legislation. Also, after demonetisation, the BJP is best placed financially to fight elections at any time. But the effects of anti-incumbency are now widely seen, with social media slowly turning against BJP and the Opposition trying to make a slow comeback. BJP may not want to give sufficient time for them to recover and may announce early general elections. The simultaneous election amendment will in effect mean fixing a five-year term for the governments. India’s Opposition parties must rise to this occasion and fight this inevitable attack on the fundamentals of the Constitution, Federalism and the basic rights of the voters. Their failure will lead India to a political autocracy in the guise of stability and maximum governance.

Simultaneous elections: Reform or an attack on Constitution?

<p>Sri Lanka&#39;s Election Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the General Elections Commission (KPU) of Indonesia on cooperation in the management of elections, according to local media reports&nbsp;<br />
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The signing&nbsp;ceremony was held on Wednesday during the Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum III in Bali, a report in The Jakarta Post said.&nbsp;<br />
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According to the Jakarta Post, KPU chairman Juri Ardiantoro and Sri Lankan Election Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya signed&nbsp;the MoU &quot;to promote democratic values through cooperation in information exchange and other issues in the field of electoral management.&quot;</p>

<p>The Jakarta Post quoted Juri saying that&nbsp;the MoU was the first step in electoral cooperation between both countries and&nbsp;Indonesia hopes this kind of coordination will strengthen democracy in the two Asian countries.</p>

<p>&ldquo;We hope this agreement will be followed up with real action, in ways that will be determined later after the signing of the MoU,&rdquo; Juri said.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Mahinda hopes that with the MoU which is valid for five years, Sri Lanka will benefit from Indonesia&rsquo;s experience in successfully implementing democracy.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(WION)</p>


The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is valid for five years and will focus on promoting 'democratic values' in the two countries

Sri Lanka's Election Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the General Elections Commission (KPU) of Indonesia on cooperation in the management of elections, according to local media reports The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday during the Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum III in Bali, a report in The Jakarta Post said. According to the Jakarta Post, KPU chairman Juri Ardiantoro and Sri Lankan Election Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya signed the MoU "to promote democratic values through cooperation in information exchange and other issues in the field of electoral management." The Jakarta Post quoted Juri saying that the MoU was the first step in electoral cooperation between both countries and Indonesia hopes this kind of coordination will strengthen democracy in the two Asian countries. “We hope this agreement will be followed up with real action, in ways that will be determined later after the signing of the MoU,” Juri said. Meanwhile, Mahinda hopes that with the MoU which is valid for five years, Sri Lanka will benefit from Indonesia’s experience in successfully implementing democracy. (WION)

Sri Lanka, Indonesia sign MoU on election management: Reports

Candidates in Hong Kong&#39;s September elections must by law pledge that the city is an &quot;inalienable&quot; part of China and advocating independence could end their candidacy, the head of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) said.<br />
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The comments come after the EAC and the Hong Kong government sparked anger by saying candidates for the legislative council, which includes pro-democracy and independence activists, are required to declare in a new Confirmation Form that the city falls directly under the central government in Beijing.<br />
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The Hong Kong government also said that advocating and promoting independence was &quot;contrary&quot; to that declaration and could render a candidate ineligible. The EAC said anyone making a false declaration was &quot;liable to criminal sanction.&quot;<br />
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&quot;The introduction of the Confirmation Form has sound legal basis. The measure (is) entirely based on legal and procedural considerations,&quot; EAC chairman Justice Barnabas Fung Wah told lawmakers on Tuesday, according to a printed version of the remarks.<br />
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Hong Kong is part of China but governed by separate laws under a &quot;one country, two systems&quot; framework agreed with the British when it was handed back from colonial rule in 1997.<br />
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Relations between&nbsp;Hong Kong and Beijing have frayed in recent years amid pro-democracy protests, a failed bid for electoral reform and instances where Hong Kong residents say Beijing is breaking the &quot;one country, two systems&quot; agreement, such as the alleged abduction of five Hong Kong booksellers known for their gossipy books about China&#39;s leaders.<br />
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There is also a small but vocal minority of activists calling for outright independence.&nbsp;<br />
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&quot;There have been comments and proposals in the public arena which have deviated from &#39;one country, two systems&#39; and the constitutional status of Hong Kong as prescribed in the Basic Law. In this regard, there are public concerns on whether candidates fully understand the Basic Law,&quot; Fung said.&nbsp;<br />
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A candidate who fails to submit the confirmation form may be asked for further information and election officers, with input from the Justice Department, may declare the candidacy invalid, according to the EAC.<br />
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The EAC is an independent statutory body that oversees elections in Hong Kong. Legislative Council elections are on September 4.<br />
<br />
(Reuters)<br />
&nbsp;

Relations between?Hong Kong and Beijing have frayed in recent years amid pro-democracy protests and a failed bid for electoral reform

Candidates in Hong Kong's September elections must by law pledge that the city is an "inalienable" part of China and advocating independence could end their candidacy, the head of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) said. The comments come after the EAC and the Hong Kong government sparked anger by saying candidates for the legislative council, which includes pro-democracy and independence activists, are required to declare in a new Confirmation Form that the city falls directly under the central government in Beijing. The Hong Kong government also said that advocating and promoting independence was "contrary" to that declaration and could render a candidate ineligible. The EAC said anyone making a false declaration was "liable to criminal sanction." "The introduction of the Confirmation Form has sound legal basis. The measure (is) entirely based on legal and procedural considerations," EAC chairman Justice Barnabas Fung Wah told lawmakers on Tuesday, according to a printed version of the remarks. Hong Kong is part of China but governed by separate laws under a "one country, two systems" framework agreed with the British when it was handed back from colonial rule in 1997. Relations between Hong Kong and Beijing have frayed in recent years amid pro-democracy protests, a failed bid for electoral reform and instances where Hong Kong residents say Beijing is breaking the "one country, two systems" agreement, such as the alleged abduction of five Hong Kong booksellers known for their gossipy books about China's leaders. There is also a small but vocal minority of activists calling for outright independence. "There have been comments and proposals in the public arena which have deviated from 'one country, two systems' and the constitutional status of Hong Kong as prescribed in the Basic Law. In this regard, there are public concerns on whether candidates fully understand the Basic Law," Fung said. A candidate who fails to submit the confirmation form may be asked for further information and election officers, with input from the Justice Department, may declare the candidacy invalid, according to the EAC. The EAC is an independent statutory body that oversees elections in Hong Kong. Legislative Council elections are on September 4. (Reuters)

Hong Kong election candidates must issue China pledge by law: Electoral commission