Electoral Reforms

Kushwant Singh had an interesting editorial here on the need for electoral reforms in India. He was voicing some of the thoughts I had last years when India went to the polls, of course, my thoughts werent as clear!

I begin to doubt whether our electoral system does in fact reflect what the people think is best for their country, state or themselves. One must bear in mind that more than half of those who actually go to the polling booths to cast their votes are illiterate and cannot read the election manifestos issued by different parties, nor can they read newspapers. Whatever information they get comes from the electronic media: radio and television, or from what their elders tell them.

They also do not pay taxes of any kind and therefore have no personal involvement in the administration of the country. They have strong religious, clan, caste and family loyalties, which candidates exploit to the full. They are swayed by the charisma and oratory skills of those who ask them for their votes. They succumb to bullying by hired armed gundas; their votes are often purchasable, so they often vote for the corrupt as well as for those charged with crimes.

It is time we had a closer look at our electoral system. Let us ask ourselves two questions: Should we not make some sort of minimum educational qualification obligatory for voters as well as for candidates before we extend franchise to them? Should we continue to extend voting rights to those who do not contribute to the running of the administration by paying taxes of some kind or the other?

I think this is a tall order. I am completely for imposing minimum education qualifications on electoral candidates *and* a *strict enforcement* of banning candidates with criminal records. As for the voters, if we impose minimum educational qualifications (for example 10th or 12th grade), how much percentage of India's population will really meet this requirement? Given the huge (~70%?) percentage of India's voter base being uneducated, what will wbe accomplish by this?

So, what do you all think?