A Solution Against Corrupt And Tainted Candidates
In our Parliament, as well as the Vidhan Sabhas, all over India, the percentage of criminals and shady characters is pretty high. Lot of us have been complaining that parties are giving tickets to criminal elements, and there is nothing we can do about it. Well please read below an extract from an editorial in the TOI. "It drew attention to a little-used provision in the Conduct of Election Rules Rule 49(O) which says that a voter could refuse to vote after he had identified himself and registered his name. Of course, this does not amount to casting a negative vote but is merely a refusal to exercise the right to vote. A negative vote, however, is quite another thing. It allows a voter to declare that none of the election candidates deserves his vote. The Supreme Court has now decided that the right to cast a negative vote should be taken up by a five-judge constitution bench. While delivering a judgment on a PIL, a two-judge bench felt the matter was important enough to be heard by a constitution bench. This is welcome. The court felt that the right to cast a negative vote follows from earlier rulings recognising the voter's right to know about a candidate's antecedents and assets. Based on this information, a voter can decide whom to vote for. Or if he prefers, to cast a negative vote which would in effect mean registering his unhappiness with the candidates. This has become necessary with so many election candidates having corruption charges and criminal cases, including murder and rape, against them. A substantial number of negative votes would serve as a mark of protest by voters against the quality of candidates nominated by political parties. The Election Commission has already given its support to the demand for a negative vote. It has asked for an amendment to existing laws to enable a voter to "reject all the candidates, if he chooses to do", while maintaining secrecy of the ballot. This would mean putting a `None of the above' option in electronic voting machines, which shouldn't be too difficult. Unsurprisingly, most political parties are against this move. But if the right to cast negative votes can shake up political parties and make them nominate better candidates, it would have served its purpose". A good number of these protest votes will certainly let the Parties and the Authorities know what Aam Aadmi thinks of their nominated candidates and hence force them to refrain from giving Party Tickets to undesirable elements. This is a tool, that we, as general public can use to our advantage in keeping our Vidhan Sabas and Parliament clean and civil. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes -------------------------------------------------------- The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system. -------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________
