Election and Representation

Class 11 Political Science

In countries where representative democracy is practiced, elections and the representative character of those elections are crucial factors in making democracy effective and trustworthy.

Elections and Democracy

All citizens cannot take direct part in making every decision. Therefore, representatives are elected by the people. This is how elections become important.

The method followed to choose these representatives is referred to as an election. Thus, the citizens have a limited role in taking major decisions and in running the administration. They are not very actively involved in making of the policies. Citizens are involved only indirectly, through their elected representatives.

Election System in India

First Past the Post System

The entire country is divided into 543 constituencies. Each constituency elects one representative. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in that constituency is declared elected.

The winning candidate need not secure a majority of the votes. This method is called the First Past the Post (FPTP) system. In the electoral race, the candidate who is ahead of others, who crosses the winning post first of all, is the winner. This method is also called the Plurality System. This is the method of election prescribed by the Constitution.

Universal adult franchise

Democratic elections require that all adult citizens of the country must be eligible to vote in the elections. This is known as universal adult franchise.

Till 1989, an adult Indian meant an Indian citizen above the age of 21. An amendment to the Constitution in 1989, reduced the eligibility age to 18. Adult franchise ensures that all citizens are able to participate in the process of selecting their representative. This is consistent with the principle of equality and non-discrimination.

Right to contest

All citizens have the right to stand for election and become the representative of the people. However, there are different minimum age requirements for contesting elections. For example, in order to stand for Lok Sabha or Assembly election, a candidate must be at least 25 years old.

There are some other restrictions also. For instance, there is a legal provision that a person who has undergone imprisonment for two or more years for some offence is disqualified from contesting 21 October 1951 elections. But there are no restrictions of income, education or class or gender on the right to contest elections.

Independent Election Commission

Several efforts have been made in India to ensure the free and fair election system and process. The most important among these is the creation of an independent Election Commission to ‘supervise and conduct’ elections.

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for an independent Election Commission for the ‘superintendence, direction and control of the electoral roll and the conduct of elections’ in India.