Administration Show submenu for “Administration””.So their strengths need to be utilised," Savita took a dig at the launch. They are highly skilled and people with great networking. "With every party claiming to target corruption, we are wondering where the corrupt will go? So we have decided that our party will offer a platform to only the corrupt. Bhatti said the party was inspired by the NOTA option given to voters. Having withdrawn from the contest for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat as the AAP candidate Savita Bhatti, comedian Jaspal Bhatti's widow and actor, recently floated the 'NOTA Party' with a wad of currency notes being its election symbol. "I hold, therefore, that a negative vote would become really meaningful if it is accompanied also by the introduction of mandatory voting," he added. "Voters, who without any legitimate justification, have not been exercising the valuable right of franchise the Indian Constitution has conferred on them have, unwittingly thus, been casting a negative vote against all the contesting candidates without intending to do so," Advani wrote in a blog. Both leaders said voting should be made mandatory. They, however, asked for another 'electoral reform'. ![]() ![]() Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Narendra Modi and LK Advani, welcomed the NOTA provision. NOTA cleared, politicians want compulsory voting now The option, however, has faced opposition there. The state of Texas in the US permits the provision since 1975. Moreover, it protects the identity of a voter, thus keeping the concept of secret balloting intact.Ĭolombia, Ukraine, Brazil, Bangladesh, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Chile, France, Belgium and Greece allow their voters to cast NOTA votes. Through NOTA, the officials cannot find out the reason for the rejection. It gave the poll officials a chance to find out the reason behind the rejection of a candidate through the voter's remarks in Form 17A. The Section 49 (O) stood annulled after the SC cleared the NOTA provision. Even in Parliament, the MPs have the option to abstain during a vote. The bench also pointed out that the system of negative voting existed in several other countries. If the right to vote is a statutory right, then the right to reject a candidate is a fundamental right of speech and expression under the Constitution," said a bench headed by then Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam. "Negative voting will lead to a systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates. The SC said negative voting would even encourage people who are not satisfied with any of the candidates to turn up to express their opinion and reject all contestants. Why have NOTA if there's 'no electoral value'? Even if the maximum number of votes cast is for NOTA, the candidate getting the most of the remaining votes would be declared winner," the EC official told HT. "The NOTA option on EVMs has no electoral value. This provision was, however, deemed unconstitutional by the SC as it did not protect the identity of the voter.Ī senior EC official said the NOTA option would not impact the results of the elections. This was done to prevent fraud or misuse of votes. The presiding officer would then put a remark in the form and get it signed by the voter. Under Section 49 (O) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, a voter could enter his electoral serial number in Form 17A and cast a negative vote. What was it?īefore the NOTA option came in existence, people casting negative votes were required to enter their names in a register and cast their vote on a separate paper ballot. There was a similar provision before NOTA. Around 50,000 voters opted for NOTA in Delhi 3.56 lakh in Chhattisgarh 5.9 lakh in Madhya Pradesh and 5.67 lakh in Rajasthan. The figure, however, was lower than 1.5% of the total voters. More than 15 lakh people exercised the option in the states polls. The NOTA option was first used in the assembly elections held in five states last year. When was NOTA first used in India how did it fare? A NOTA vote doesn't require the involvement of the presiding officer. Earlier, in order to cast a negative ballot, a voter had to inform the presiding officer at the polling booth. The EVMs have the NOTA option at the end of the candidates' list. The apex court directed the Election Commission to have an option of 'None Of The Above' (NOTA) on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and ballot papers in a major electoral reform. The Supreme Court, in September last year, upheld the right of voters to reject all candidates contesting the elections, saying it would go a long way in cleansing the political system of the country.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |