ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES

INTRODUCTION…

 The future of democracy and the destiny of our

country lie in the way we elect our political
leaders.
 Ifdemocracy is to be accepted as the form of
Government “of the people, for the people, by
the people”,
 itwill only be possible when the electorates are
given freehand to exercise their voting rights
without coercion.
CONTD..
 Wealready have laws to check electoral
malpractices in the form of THE
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT,
1951, Election Code of Conduct etc.,

 Successful implementation of these Acts and

codes has remained illusive in spite of the best
efforts by the Election Commission of India.
THE 3 “M” POWERS

Money
 Use of Money Power starts right from the distribution of
tickets by the political parties.

 Most political parties will ignore the personal qualities

of prospective candidates.

 Importance is given to candidates who can contribute

maximum (Money) to the party corpus and who has fat
bank balance to purchase votes.
THE WAYS….
 In some states, most of the candidates spent many times above
the expenditure specified in the Peoples Representation Act.
 Booth-wise agents are appointed to purchase floating votes.
 Per voter budget is Rs. 500-1000/- and cores of rupees are
spent few days before the poll date.
 The other methods like…
 Handsome donations to Clubs and organizations, rented
crowds for party meetings,
 Mad shows,
 Rally and campaigns with purchasable crowds.
CONTD..
 The impact of money on election is so great that one
cannot dream of becoming a political leader unless he
has adequate funds to purchase votes to win elections.
 Political parties in their struggle to capture power ignore
public morality
 Political parties encourage party candidates in using
money power and even allocate party funds to
candidates.
Muscle :
o Use of muscle power in elections has become one
of the biggest challenges.

o Muscle power dictates selection of candidates and party,

forcing people against voting freely.

o The armed groups in invigilation remain powerless..

CONTD..
 The nexus between politicians and armed groups is a reality for
political survival of most of the candidates and political parties
in some states.

 Use of muscle power is rampant in the form of heavy

monetary demands to candidates, imposing ban on filing
nominations, ban on election campaigns, and even forcing
people whom to vote for or not to vote.

 Many candidates are capitalizing the deteriorating law and

order to their advantage to win elections.
CONTD..
 Election related violence erupted where muscle power
was employed freely.

 Some political parties have forgotten political ethics and

openly took support from banned armed groups.
Media:

o Yet another trend in election malpractices are committed by

electronic and print media.
o Media is supposed to play neutral role in a democratic
society.
o It is more so in democratic elections where media reporting,
publication of political views, projection of the party and
candidates images have direct impact on the voting pattern in
any election.
CONTD..
 Now a days media instances…

• favoritism
• wrong projection of images of party/candidates partisan views
are tantamount to sabotaging democratic principles
• Misquoting, misreporting, publication of misleading news and
views are some of the malpractices committed by media
persons.
 OTHER MALPRACTICES…
Freebies

Rigging booth capturing

Proxy voting
Unfair mean to conduct elections
Hate speeches against other contesting parties and candidates
Tampering with electronic voting machines
Vote Bank Politics
Attacks on polling places
Violence or the threat of violence
Legal threats
Economic threats
Vote buying
Misinformation

Misleading or confusing ballot papers

Misrecording of votes
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 As long as the electoral malpractices continue, the
democracy will never be the government of the people and
wishes of the people will remain a distant dream.
We have to do
 Public awareness of democratic rights,
 political awareness of the voters
 The voters have to act individually and collectively to protect their
democratic rights.

All Election malpractices could be minimized and totally eradicated if these

machineries perform their duties with democratic spirit.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS…
Curb black money circulation
Impose President’s rule three months before the general elections
Fine tune the RTI Act
Importance to negative votes
Need for fast track court for election disputes
Deny permission for more than two terms
Curb family interests
Conduct knowledge test for candidates
Bring Down cost of election campaign
Educate the voters
Give security to Election Commissioners / Electoral Officers
Need for interaction between Election Commission and people
belonging to lower income group
THANK YOU