By Kartik Lokhande
To
do or not to do. This is the dilemma that political class in India is
facing for quite some time, as far as making voting compulsory is
concerned. The recent decision of Gujarat Government to make voting
compulsory has brought the issue into public discourse once again.
Gujarat
Government has drawn flak from ‘elites’ and ‘liberals’, who have called
the move as ‘anti-poor’, ‘a step towards authoritarianism’,
‘illiberal’, ‘infringement of fundamental freedom’ etc. But, there are
supporters too, who view the move as ‘much-needed reform’ to add more
vibrance to democracy in India. The debate may take many twists and
turns in days to come and it remains to be seen if voting is made
compulsory throughout the country. But, the issue definitely merits
attention.
Across the world, there are at least 22 countries that
have made voting compulsory. Eleven of the countries are conducting
elections with voting made compulsory. These countries include
Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Greece, Singapore etc. Compulsory voting
system in Belgium dates back to 1892. Even in the US, churning is on
whether to make voting compulsory. Though there is no recorded evidence,
a US study points out that turnout in nine elections after Australia
adopted compulsory voting was 94.6 per cent on an average, compared to
64.2 per cent average for nine elections before that.
There are
countries that have not stopped only at making voting compulsory. They
have even introduced restrictions on obtaining driver’s licence or
passport, or drawing salary from banks, and have fixed monetary
penalties for those not voting.
If compulsory voting can work in
other countries, why not in India? The idea of making voting compulsory
in India has been in discussion for quite some years. What provoked the
thought process in this direction was low voter turnout during
successive general elections to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies.
After
trying out all kinds of voter awareness drives, appeals, publicity
campaigns, providing ‘None of The Above’ option on electronic voting
machines for discontented voters, voting percentage still is not too
impressive, especially in urban areas. Many voters do not bother even to
check if their name is in electoral rolls, till the eve of polling
date. At the last moment, nothing can be done if a name is missing from
electoral rolls. In this case, it will have to be the State’s
fundamental responsibility and duty to ensure that the voters’ lists are
absolutely flawless, and without omission of a single name. For, such
citizens whose names are not on the voters’ lists will not be covered by
the law for compulsory voting.
Further, in many pockets, people who
vote on caste, religion, or such parameters form the majority of voters
who exercise their franchise. On the contrary, ironically those aware
of developmental needs, economic policies, and political vision, prefer
to stay away from voting, and waste their time discussing so-called
deterioration of electoral politics.
One would be surprised and
shocked to know that no Government in India so far has been able to
secure more than 50 per cent of valid votes polled. This is because
India has adopted ‘First Past the Post’ system of elections. Whosoever
secures more number of votes and seats out of total valid votes polled,
can form the Government. The best-ever polling has been 66.44 per cent
(in Lok Sabha-2014). The average polling percentage has been below 60
per cent. If between 35-40 per cent of enrolled voters stay away from
voting, is it not time to make voting compulsory?
Of course, in a
country as big as India, many voters may have their own genuine reasons
for not being able to vote. Some may be bed-ridden, some may be
attending to their ailing family members, some may be abroad, some may
be in some kind of emergency, etc. Still, they may not be more than 10
per cent, even by a liberal estimate. This leaves one wondering what
stops other 90 per cent from turning up for voting. Then, it it not
natural to think in favour of making voting compulsory?
As has been
referred to earlier, voting percentage is lower mostly in urban areas.
In many rural areas, voting percentage is quite high. When voters in
urban areas demanded a choice to express their dissent by rejecting all
candidates in the fray, Election Commission of India made available the
option of ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA). Still, in recently held
Legislative Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Maoist-affected
Gadchiroli district topped in exercise of NOTA option. Whether they
should have opted for NOTA, may be debated, but one thing is clear that
even to exercise that option they went to respective polling booths.
Even to express dissent, one has to vote.
These facts underline the
need for making voting mandatory. The exercise of making voting
compulsory will increase civic sense and awareness about Government
policies and governance issues. At present, Civics is taught as a
subject at school level. Most forget the study of Civics, as they grow
up.
As a result, most of the debates right from those at paan-kiosks
to television channels are uninformed ones. A reflection can be seen on
social media also. There are more protests on social media than on
streets. There are more debates than action. There are more ‘enjoying
holidays’ on polling day than ‘exercising the right’. Hence, it
surprises one when the same insensitive lot dubs the move to make voting
mandatory as ‘illiberal’ and ‘infringement of fundamental freedom’.
Is
it not the duty of a citizen, who enjoys fundamental rights, to devote
at least some time after a period of five years to exercise his
franchise?
Whether to impose penalties, as has been done by some
countries, while making voting compulsory, may be debatable at this
juncture. But, for now, there is no harm in trying out the idea of
making voting compulsory.
May be, after implementing ‘compulsory
voting’ system for years, if a level of civic awareness is achieved, it
may be abolished. Till then, if every citizen is not voting, the
Government is right in making voting compulsory to make every vote
count.
(16-11-2014)
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