Unfree and unfair elections

Keeping aside their political differences, the ruling party and the main Opposition party are pushing for a Bill seeking to replace the existing secret ballot system with an open ballot in the elections to the Rajya Sabha.

The Upper House passed the Representation of the People Amendment Bill 2003 last month. The Lok Sabha, where the NDA is in majority, would have done the same last week but for the paucity of time which prevented the Bill from being taken up as scheduled for consideration and voting.

Whatever attention this far-reaching Bill has received in the media has been mostly for another major change it proposes to make by dispensing with the requirement of a Rajya Sabha candidate being a resident of the state from where he is contesting. But this amendment really does nothing more than legitimise an already prevalent malpractice, which has allowed many political leaders, including Law Minister Arun Jaitley who piloted the Bill, to enter the Rajya Sabha from states other than their own.

Once the residential requirement is scrapped, there may well be an upsurge in the trend of states being represented in the Rajya Sabha by outsiders. Thus, the worst that can happen is an aggravation of an existing problem.

The introduction of the open ballot, on the other hand, is going to create an altogether new problem. This is because it will compromise the Election Commission8217;s reputation for independence. It will be impossible for the Commission to hold a free and fair election when it comes to the Rajya Sabha.

After all, no election can be said to be genuine if the voter does not have the freedom to vote according to his conscience. The Rajya Sabha election envisaged by the Bill compels the MLA to act strictly according to the dictates of his party. As a corollary, the outcome of the election will become all the more predictable.

Given the convergence of views on this issue among the major parties, Jaitley has had little difficulty in justifying the proposed amendment as a measure to check cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections under the influence of money power.

Take, for instance, the manner in which Congress MP Kapil Sibal came out in support of Jaitley8217;s move. Sibal said: 8216;8216;The open ballot is for your party to know about it and your party should not be left in the lurch by somebody using secrecy of voting and selling his vote to somebody else.8217;8217; The entire discussion in the Rajya Sabha was focused on the need to strengthen the hold of the party leadership. Nobody spared a thought to the violence they were doing in the process to the very notion of election.

Come to think of it, the MPs passed the Bill without having the foggiest idea of how exactly the open ballot system will be worked out. The irony is Jaitley promised to consult the Election Commission before framing rules in this regard. It will be interesting to see what feedback the Commission will give about the idea of holding an election that is inherently farcical.

Whatever its justification, if the consensus is to have an open ballot, the least the political parties could have done was to relieve the Election Commission of holding such an election. One can8217;t expect the same organisation to enhance India8217;s democratic credentials in Kashmir and also hold an open ballot for the Rajya Sabha.

One cannot have it both ways without devaluing the standing of the Election Commission. When this constitutional body undertakes a job, it has to come with the guarantee of a free and fair election, whether it is to the Rajya Sabha or any other forum.

The damage that the intended legislation will do to the Election Commission is most evident from the proviso it proposes to add to Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Section 128 makes violation of the secrecy of voting an electoral offence punishable with imprisonment up to three months.

It enjoins upon 8216;8216;every officer, clerk, agent or other person8217;8217; who performs any duty in connection with the recording or counting of votes at an election to 8216;8216;maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting8217;8217;. It also forbids everybody connected with the election machinery to 8216;8216;communicate to any person any information calculated to violate such secrecy8217;8217;. The Bill subverts this secrecy measure by providing that it shall not apply to any of those who are engaged in a Rajya Sabha election. The Election Commission cannot be allowed to be party to such selective impunity.