Simultaneous Election: 129th Amendment Bill, 2024

Simultaneous Election

• Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, addressing simultaneous elections, has been introduced in Lok Sabha and will undergo review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Key Provisions of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024

• Insertion of Article 82A grants the Election Commission authority to conduct simultaneous general elections for the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies (SLA).
• All State Legislative Assemblies (SLA) will conclude their terms alongside the Lok Sabha.
• Article 83 defines Unexpired Term, Mid-term, and General Elections.
• If Lok Sabha dissolves before completing its full 5-year term, the period between dissolution and the original expiry date is considered an unexpired term.
• Dissolution leads to a mid-term election, with the newly formed Lok Sabha serving only the unexpired term.
• Article 172 defines unexpired and full terms for State Legislative Assemblies (SLA).
• Article 327 empowers Parliament to legislate on elections to State Legislative Assemblies.

About Simultaneous Elections

• One Nation, One Election, also known as simultaneous elections, refers to holding general elections for the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies concurrently.
• Simultaneous elections do not necessitate holding all elections across the country on a single day.
• India conducted simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas in 1951-52, 1957, 1962, and 1967.
• This practice ended due to the early dissolution of State Assemblies in 1968-69 and the Lok Sabha in 1970.

State Election Commission (SEC)

• The CAG's Karnataka report noted that the disempowerment of SECs causes delays in local government elections.
• The SEC is an independent constitutional body responsible for administering elections to Local Self Government, including Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies.
• The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts of 1992 established the SEC.
• The Gadgil Committee had previously recommended its creation.
• The SEC delimits constituencies for local body elections, ensuring fair representation.
• It oversees the preparation and revision of electoral rolls for local body elections.
• The SEC handles seat reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in local body elections.
• Authority rests with the SEC to resolve disputes related to local body elections, including candidate disqualifications.
• It advises the Governor on matters related to conducting local body elections.

Delimitation Commission

• In Kishorchandra Chhanganlal Rathod case (2024), the Supreme Court ruled that constitutional courts can review Delimitation Commission orders if manifestly arbitrary.
• Delimitation involves defining the number of seats and boundaries of territorial constituencies in each State for the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies.
• A high-power Delimitation Commission (Boundary Commission) is tasked with this responsibility.
• According to Article 82, delimitation is conducted by an authority and manner determined by Parliament's laws.
• India has constituted Delimitation Commissions four times: in 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002.
• It is a Statutory Body.
• Delimitation Commission decisions are final and cannot be challenged in any court.
• Orders are presented before the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, but modifications are not allowed.

EVM-VVPAT

• The Supreme Court dismissed requests for full cross-verification of EVM data with VVPAT records in Association for Democratic Reforms vs ECI and Another (2024).
• An EVM is a portable, microcontroller-based device designed to modernize the election process.
• Bharat Electronics Limited (under the Ministry of Defence) and Electronic Corporation of India Limited (under the Department of Atomic Energy) manufacture and supply EVMs to the ECI.
• Goa was the first state to use VVPATs with all EVMs in the 2017 Legislative Assembly Election.
• VVPATs were fully implemented in the 2019 Lok Sabha General Elections.
• An EVM consists of three units:
  • Ballot Unit: Functions as a keyboard with 16 buttons/keys.
  • Control Unit: Serves as the master unit, held by the polling/presiding officer.
  • VVPAT: Enables voters to confirm their votes were correctly cast.
• VVPAT was introduced to maximize transparency and restore voter confidence by ensuring voting system's accuracy.

Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

• The ECI issued directives to political parties and representatives to use social media platforms ethically, addressing MCC violations during Lok Sabha elections.
• In 1960, the MCC was first introduced in state assembly elections in Kerala.
• The MCC comprises guidelines set by the ECI with the consensus of political parties, governing the conduct of political parties and candidates to ensure free and fair elections.
• The Election Commission derives its authority from Article 324, granting it superintendence, direction, and control over elections to parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.
• The Constitution does not explicitly mention the MCC.
• The MCC applies to all political parties, their candidates, polling agents, the government in power, and all government employees.
• The MCC is active from the announcement of the election schedule until the results are announced, upheld by the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Harbans Singh Jalal v. Union of India & Others (1997).
• Violations of the MCC cannot be prosecuted under the Code since it lacks statutory backing.
• Some provisions are enforceable through related statutes like the BNS, RPA 1951:
  • Publishing false statements about a candidate's character is a corrupt practice under Section 123(4) of RPA 1951.
  • Impersonating voters is an electoral offense under Section 172 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Lok Sabha Elections

• The 2024 Lok Sabha Elections were recently conducted.
• The election system uses territorial representation, where each member of the legislature represents a specific geographical area or constituency.
• A single representative is elected from each constituency, known as a single-member constituency. The candidate who secures the majority of votes is elected.
• The Lok Sabha has a normal term of five years from its first meeting after general elections, after which it automatically gets dissolved.
• But the President can dissolve the Lok Sabha before five years, which cannot be challenged in court.
• The term can be extended by law of Parliament for one year at a time during a national emergency, but this extension cannot go beyond six months after the emergency ends.
• Articles 324 to 329 in Part XV deals with election provisions.

Article 329(B)

• The Election Commission of India invoked Article 329(b) of the Constitution before the Supreme Court to limit judicial intervention in the electoral process.
• As per Article 329(b), elections to Parliament or State Legislatures can only be challenged through an election petition as prescribed by law, made by the appropriate Legislature.
• The Supreme Court stated in N. P. Ponnuswami vs Returning Officer, Namakkal Constituency & Ors. (1952) that courts cannot intervene or interfere once the ECI officially announces the election process.
• Also, under Section 80 of RPA (1951), the validity of any election cannot be challenged or questioned except by filing an election petition.
  • Election petitions are filed in the concerned state's High Court, which has original jurisdiction.
  • Appeals lie with the Supreme Court of India.
  • Any candidate or elector personally related to the election can file an election petition.
    • An elector is someone entitled to vote in the election to which the election petition pertains.

Nomination in Election

• A candidate was recently elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha after the returning officer rejected the nomination papers of the opposing candidate.
• Section 33 of RPA, 1951, determines the requirements for a valid nomination:
  • A candidate from a recognized party needs one proposer for filing nomination in a constituency.
  • Candidates from independent and unrecognized parties must have ten proposers sign their nomination forms.
  • Proposers must be electors from the respective constituency.
• Section 33 also involves nominations for the election of candidates and presentation of valid information.
• The Supreme Court held that candidates have a right to privacy regarding matters irrelevant to voters or their public life.
• Section 36 of RPA 1951 empowers the returning officer to reject nominations due to any 'substantial character' defect after scrutiny.

Re-Polling

• The ECI conducted re-polling for Lok Sabha General Elections in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Re-polling can be needed under certain circumstances:
  • Due to a natural disaster or violence,
  • Damage or destruction of voting machines.
  • Countermanding of election due to booth capturing.
  • Death of candidate of recognised political party (National party/State party).

Silence Period

• A silence period was observed in states where Lok Sabha elections were held.
• It is a ban on political campaigning before voting, starting 48 hours before voting day and ending after polling.
• Certain prohibitions under RPA 1951 apply during this period but the Act does not use the term "silence period."
  • Section 126 (1) prohibits displaying any election matter through television or similar media or in any entertainment (musical concert).
  • Section 126A prohibits conducting exit polls and displaying results via print or electronic media.
  • Section 126(1)(b) prohibits displaying any Opinion Poll (in any electronic media).

One Candidate, Multiple Constituencies (OCMC)

• The Constitution empowers Parliament to regulate elections, and 'contesting from multiple constituencies' is addressed in RPA 1951.
• Until 1996, there was no limit on how many constituencies a candidate could contest.
• Sub-section 33 (7) of RPA, 1951, allows a candidate to contest from two seats:
  • Introduced in 1996, removing a bar on the number of constituencies a candidate could contest.
• Section 70 of RPA, 1951, stipulates that a candidate can hold only one seat, regardless of how many they won.
  • A by-election is necessary for any seat vacated if a candidate wins from two seats.

Home Voting

• The ECI provided home voting facilities for the first time in the 2024 election, aligning with the motto 'No voter left behind’.
• Voting from home involves postal ballots with polling staff and security personnel, maintaining voting secrecy.
• Home Voting is available to PwDs with 40% benchmark disability and senior citizens over 85 to beneficiaries.
• The Election Commission has taken other steps to make voting more inclusive:
  • Simplified voting by abolishing Form-M for Kashmiri migrants in Jammu and Udhampur.
  • SVEEP (Systematic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation) engages PwDs and sensitizes their friends, families, and polling officials.
  • Proposed Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) would enable migrant voters to vote from their current location.
  • Postal ballots enable voting by post, for special voters, service voters, voters on election duty, and those under preventive detention.
  • Proxy voting allows a registered elector to delegate his voting rights to a representative they nominate. Available for service voters.

Form 17 C

• The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that its rules do not allow sharing Form 17C data with anyone except polling officials.
• Form 17 C is associated with directions under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
  • Its first part includes figures of eligible voters assigned to the booth, electors in the register, voters who decided not to vote, and voters not allowed to vote.
  • The second part includes the candidate's name and total votes received.

Braille Signage

• The Election Department of Puducherry will provide Braille signage in English and Tamil in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at all 967 polling stations.
• Voters with visual impairments will be able to participate independently and confidentially in the electoral process.
• If voters desire, they can still bring a companion as provided in Rule 49N of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.