Election and Representation Part 2

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ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY
DIRECT AND INDIRECT DEMOCRACY
ELECTION SYSTEM IN INDIA
FIRST PAST THE POST SYSTEM
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN ISRAEL
COMPARISON OF FPTP AND PR SYSTEM OF ELECTION

Proportional
Representation in India
In Limited scale in India
Used only for elections of President, Vice-President,

Rajya Sabha & Vidhan Parishad
System of Proportional Representation along with

single transferable votes is adapted.
Permanent house How does PR work in
Rajya Sabha elections
6 years
1/3 members retire

every 2nd year
245/250 members Every State has a specific quota of seats in the Rajya
Sabha.
The members are elected by the respective State

legislative assemblies.
The voters are the MLAs in that State.
Vidhayak Ji
State assembly
Every voter is required to rank candidates
according to her or his preference.
Party preference list

like BJP gov. gives a
list to their MLAs and
ask them to fill
accordingly
To be declared the winner, a candidate must
secure a minimum quota of votes, which is
determined by a formula:
EXAMPLE
if 4 Rajya Sabha members have to be

elected by the 200 MLAs in Rajasthan,
Then the winner must secure minimum

quota (number) of votes
(200/4+1= 40+1) 41 votes.

A B C D E
First Round
Second Round
..................
.................
Why did India adopt the
FPTP system?
The reason for the popularity and success
of the FPTP system is its simplicity.
The entire election system is extremely simple to

understand even for common voters who may have
no specialised knowledge about politics and elections.
There is also a clear choice presented to

the voters at the time of elections.
The FPTP system offers voters a
choice not simply between parties but
specific candidates.
In other electoral systems, especially PR systems,

voters are often asked to choose a party and the
representatives are elected on the basis of party
lists.
In constituency based system like the FPTP, the

voters know who their own representative is and
can hold him or her accountable.
PR based election may not be suitable for giving
a stable government in a parliamentary system.
The FPTP system generally gives the largest party

or coalition some extra bonus seats, more than their
share of votes would allow.
This was done to ensure smooth functioning of
government
The FTPT system encourages voters from
different social groups to come together to win
an election in a locality.
In a diverse country like India, a PR system

would encourage each community to form its
own nation-wide party.
Will led to polarisation of country

The system has also discouraged political parties
that get all their votes only from one caste or
community.
Community will be given more

importance than whole nation
Why FPTP is adapted in India ?
The FPTP system has proved to be simple and

familiar to ordinary voters.
It has helped larger parties to win clear

majorities at the centre and the State level.
It offers voters a choice not simply between

parties but specific candidates.
It encourages voters from different social groups

to come together to win an election in a locality.
It has also discouraged political parties that get

all their votes only from one caste or community
The working of the FPTP system
results in a two-party system.
This means that there are two major competitors for

power and power is often shared by these two parties
alternately.
It is difficult for new parties or the third party to enter
the competition and share power.
In this respect, the experience of
FPTP in India is slightly different.
After independence, though we adopted the FPTP system, there

emerged a one party dominance and along with it, there existed
many smaller parties.
After 1989, India is witnessing the functioning of the multi- party
coalitions. At the same time, gradually, in many States, a two
party competition is emerging.
But the distinguishing feature of India’s party system is that the
rise of coalitions has made it possible for new and smaller parties
to enter into electoral competition in spite of the FPTP system.
RESERVATION OF
CONSTITUENCIES
We have noticed that in the FPTP election system,
the candidate who secures the highest votes in a
particular constituency is declared elected.
This often works to the disadvantage of the

smaller social groups.
This is even more significant in the Indian social

context.
Reason for Reservation
We have had a history of caste based discrimination.
In such a social system, the FPTP electoral system can

mean that the dominant social groups and castes can win
everywhere and the oppressed social groups may
continue to remain unrepresented.
Our Constitution makers were aware of this
difficulty and the need to provide a way to
ensure fair and just representation to the
oppressed social groups.
This issue was debated even before

independence and the British government
had introduced ‘separate electorates’.
‘SEPARATE ELECTORATES’
For electing a representative from a particular

community, only those voters would be eligible
who belong to that community.
In the constituent assembly, many members

expressed a fear that this will not suit our
purposes.
RESERVED CONSTITUENCIES
Reservation in a
constituentcy is
not permanent
In this system, all voters in a constituency are
eligible to vote
But the candidates must belong to only a particular

community or social section for which the seat is
reserved.
There are certain social groups which may be
spread across the country.
In a particular constituency, their numbers
may not be sufficient to be able to influence a
victory of a candidate.
However, taken across the country they are
a significantly sizeable group.
To ensure their proper representation, a
system of reservation becomes necessary.
The Constitution provides for reservation of
seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative
Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.
This provision was made initially for a period of
10 years
Successive constitutional amendments, has been
extended up to 2020.
Today, of the 543 elected seats
in the Lok Sabha, 84 are reserved for
Scheduled Castes and 47 are
reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Who decides which constituency is
to be reserved?
This decision is taken by an independent body called

the Delimitation Commission.
Delimitation Commission
The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the
President of India and works in collaboration with
the Election Commission of India.
It is appointed for the purpose of drawing up the

boundaries of constituencies all over the country.
On what basis the contituencies are
reserved by Delimitation Commission
.........
A quota of constituencies to be reserved in each State is

fixed depending on the proportion of SC or ST in that State.
After drawing the boundaries, the Delimitation Commission

looks at the composition of population in each constituency.
Those constituencies that have the highest proportion of
Scheduled Tribe population are reserved for ST.
In the case of Scheduled Castes, the Delimitation

Commission looks at two things.
1. It picks constituencies that have higher proportion of

This is done because the Scheduled Caste population.
Scheduled Caste 2. It also spreads these constituencies in different regions
population is generally of the State.
spread evenly throughout
the country
These reserved constituencies can be rotated each

time the Delimitation exercise is undertaken.
The Constitution does not make
similar reservation for other
disadvantaged groups.
Reservation for Women
There has been a strong demand seeking

reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and
State Assemblies for women.
The demand for reserving one-third seats for

women is increasingly being articulated.
Reservation of seats for women has been

provided for in rural and urban local bodies.
A similar provision for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas
would require an amendment to the Constitution.
Such an amendment has been proposed several times
in the Parliament but has not yet been passed.
FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
The true test of any election system is its ability to
ensure a free and fair electoral process.
If we want democracy to be translated into reality
on the ground, it is important that the election
system is impartial and transparent.
The system of election must also allow the
aspirations of the voter to find legitimate expression
through the electoral results.

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ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY

DIRECT AND INDIRECT DEMOCRACY

ELECTION SYSTEM IN INDIA

FIRST PAST THE POST SYSTEM

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN ISRAEL

COMPARISON OF FPTP AND PR SYSTEM OF ELECTION

Used only for elections of President, Vice-President,

System of Proportional Representation along with

1/3 members retire

The members are elected by the respective State

The voters are the MLAs in that State.

Party preference list

if 4 Rajya Sabha members have to be

Then the winner must secure minimum

(200/4+1= 40+1) 41 votes.

The entire election system is extremely simple to

There is also a clear choice presented to

In other electoral systems, especially PR systems,

In constituency based system like the FPTP, the

The FPTP system generally gives the largest party

In a diverse country like India, a PR system

Will led to polarisation of country

Community will be given more

The FPTP system has proved to be simple and

It has helped larger parties to win clear

It offers voters a choice not simply between

It encourages voters from different social groups

It has also discouraged political parties that get

This means that there are two major competitors for

After independence, though we adopted the FPTP system, there

This often works to the disadvantage of the

This is even more significant in the Indian social

We have had a history of caste based discrimination.

In such a social system, the FPTP electoral system can

This issue was debated even before

For electing a representative from a particular

In the constituent assembly, many members

But the candidates must belong to only a particular

This decision is taken by an independent body called

It is appointed for the purpose of drawing up the

A quota of constituencies to be reserved in each State is

After drawing the boundaries, the Delimitation Commission

In the case of Scheduled Castes, the Delimitation

1. It picks constituencies that have higher proportion of

These reserved constituencies can be rotated each

There has been a strong demand seeking

The demand for reserving one-third seats for

Reservation of seats for women has been

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