Tag: the electoral process

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. India’s Upper House election (Rajya Sabha) is actually based on Proportional Representation System. In Separate Electorate System, the community to which the electorate belongs would choose their own leaders via an election in which the candidates of only their community would be allowed to contest and only their community members would vote. In Reservation of Seats, the candidates in the election can belong only to a particular community for which it is reserved.

He was not eligible to vote as he was not yet 21 years of age. In 1980, a minimum age for voting was 21 years.

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act i.e. Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament. This act gave the provision for separate electorates for Anglo-Indians and Indian Christians.

Republic is a type of state. In republic state, supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. It has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

According to our election law, no party or candidate can:

 i) Bribe or threaten voters; 

 ii) Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;

iii) Use government resources for election campaign; and

 iv) Spend more than Rs. 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or Rs. 10 lakh in a constituency in an Assembly election.

The voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States was lowered from 21 years to 18 years through the Sixty-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988. Article 326 of the Constitution, which concerns to elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, was amended to effect this change.

Democracy is a system in which the citizens elect their representatives who rule them. The ultimate power in a democracy lies with the people. It can be direct or representative. In a direct democracy, people directly vote for the issues which concern the nation whereas, in a representative form, people choose their representatives who deliberate over the issues.

The Lower house of Indian Parliament is known as Lok Sabha. The members of Lok Sabha are elected directly by the people. It is held in every 5 years and is called the general elections. The entire country is divided into 543 constituencies. Upto 530 members represent the territorial constituencies in States and upto 20 members represent the Union Territories. Any person living in that constituency whose age is above 18 years can vote for the Lok Sabha elections. From each constituency a member is elected. Thus, the Lok Sabha is formed.

Following are the essential conditions of democratic elections: 

1. Everyone should have one vote and each vote should have equal value.
2. Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
3. Elections must be held regularly after few years.
4. The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
5. Elections should be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.

An election is a formal and organized process by which a population chooses through voting an individual to hold political office. Elections are the integral part and foundation of modern representative democracy since the 17th century.