One Nation One Election is possible
There were debates on whether it is practically possible to
implement One Nation One Election because of the difficulties which may face
with the current voting system. The uncertainties in the duration of state
assemblies and the parliament make it tough to bring their elections together.
One Nation One Election through a two-tier representation
system
We can implement One Nation One Election by using an electoral college in a two-tier representation system.
Once every 5 years, the
people shall elect intermediary representatives to form an electoral college
and the electoral college shall elect the members for the respective state
assembly and parliament. This can reduce the election expenses drastically and
corruption in politics also will reduce considerably. For the voters there shall be elections once every five years, but that doesn't hinder them from calling back or replacing incompetent representatives.
How to make a two-tier representation system?
The lion's share of election expenses is for 'educating' the
voters, who the candidate is, and what his qualities are. If the candidate is
one among the voters, there is a lesser need for posters, banners, etc.
Moreover, the voters now have no say in the selection of candidates nor does
the public have a proper interface with their elected representatives, as the
ratio of voters to reps is very huge in India (An MP represents more than 25 lakh
people on an average). Ideologies and manifestos now get lesser importance once
the election process completes. All the voters can do now is to cast their
'precious' votes and wait for another election to do the same. It may be the
reason for lesser and lesser voters' turnout in the elections.
Can we reduce the election expenses for candidates?
We can achieve a significant reduction in election expenses
for candidates by adopting the two-tier approach. For the parliament or state
legislatures, each constituency may be divided into around 1000
sub-constituencies (or wards) depending on the size of the constituency. The
voters of each sub-constituency may elect a rep (primary rep/people's rep or
PR) for their sub-constituency. This PRs, who form an electoral college, shall
elect the rep for the constituency. Here a candidate will have to convince only
the PRs what he can do for the constituency and the country. The PRs can
consult their voters thereafter and elect a rep accordingly for their
constituency. The duty of a PR doesn't end with this election, instead can
double as Public Relations personnel for the elected rep.
Candidates use many crooked ways to win elections like
sponsoring rebels for opposing candidates (again increase in expense) thereby
splitting the opponent's votes. Some candidates intimidate the voters so that
the voters stay away from voting for their opponents. In the end, a candidate
gets declared as being elected just by obtaining 15% or less of total votes in
the constituency (The first-past-the-post system). It is very difficult to
enforce a minimum percentage votes rule under current circumstances, as the
re-elections will also be cumbersome and expensive.
Call back the representatives
The PRs shall assemble periodically to decide the future
course of action for the constituency and to assess the performance of their
elected representative. If the performance of their rep is not found
satisfactory, the PRs shall call back the rep and consequently elect a new rep
in his place. So, the reps will have to maintain a good relation or contact
with the PRs and the constituency whereas the reps used to dance to the tunes
of 'sponsors'.
The emergence of a new political culture
PRs shall not have many powers and shall just act as a
mediator between voters and their rep. PRs shall be from all walks of life (not
just full-time politicians) and shall utilize their tenure to acquire training
in democratic procedures and to prove their leadership qualities. A minimum
percentage rule can be enforced to make sure that the candidates who obtain a
minimum percentage (say, 51%) of the total votes in the constituency shall only
be declared as elected.
Advantages of the two-tier representation system
* Same electoral college can be used for a period (say, five
years) to elect members of the state assembly and parliament.
* Election expenses for each candidate will be reduced
significantly, thereby by the chance of corruption gets reduced.
* Voters will have more say on who should be their rep, not
the party chiefs or sponsoring beneficiaries.
* Elected reps will have more time to spend with the voters,
as the reps will be less bounded to sponsors.
* Better correlation between voters and their reps possible
through an intermediate layer of PRs.
* Voters will not have to wait for the next election to sack
their reps, if required they can call them back.
* Can enforce a minimum percentage rule for votes required
for getting elected.
* This approach can lead to better utilization of our
resources including money and manpower which otherwise goes waste.
The two-tier representation system can be used to implement
One Nation One Election for the state assemblies and Parliament even when the
durations of state assemblies and parliament may be staggered. It will
strengthen the democracy by better participation of people and with less
influence of money in the election process.
