Compulsory Voting: Try it Out

 

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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