Say NO to NOTA " NONE OF THE ABOVE"
NOTA or 'None of the Above' has been provided as an option to the voters of India in most elections. Through the usage of NOTA, a citizen can choose not to vote for any candidates who are contesting the elections.
NOTA was introduced as an option by the Supreme Court in October 2013, ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
However, NOTA in India does not guarantee dismissal of the winning candidate. Therefore, it’s only a method to give negative feedback.
NOTA does not hold any electoral value i.e. even if the maximum votes are for NOTA, the candidate with maximum vote share will still be the winner.
Since it's the introduction, NOTA has gained increasing popularity amongst the Indian electorate, securing more votes than the victory margin, for instance, in the Assembly Elections in Gujarat 2017 Karnataka (2018), Madhya Pradesh (2018) and Rajasthan (2018). NOTA enables the voter to show his inacceptence for the fielded candidates.
What does NOTA mean?
NOTA empowers a voter to register their ‘right to a negative opinion’ and reject the candidates participating in the election. While passing the ruling, the SC bench comprising of Chief Justice P Sadsivam and Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi said that NOTA option would motivate political parties to nominate clean candidates. Further, not allowing a voter to exercise the NOTA option would defeat the purpose of freedom of expression and right to liberty, they said.
However, a high percentage of NOTA polled does not mean that the election will be invalidated; instead the highest polled candidate will be declared elected. NOTA only gives the voters the option to express their dissatisfaction with the candidates fielded from their constituency.
It was introduced with the intent to reduce the incidence of bogus voters, by encouraging voters to turn up for the elections, even if it is only to vote in favour of NOTA. Thus, the NOTA option will not really affect the result of the election, as NOTA votes would merely be counted as invalid votes.
Why not invalidate elections?
However, what is considered to be one major drawback with the NOTA is the inability of the option to invalidate the elections conducted. A petition addressing this issue was filed by Tharangambadi Duraisamy in the Madras High Court, in April.
In the petition, Duraisamy has requested the High Court to consider a re-election in the constituencies that record a NOTA count higher than the votes received by any other candidate. He also requested that the candidates who stood in the election be de-barred from subsequent elections for a stipulated period of time.
In response to his petition, a High Court bench headed by Judges M.Kirupakaran and MV Muralidharan said that the lawyer representing EC had reportedly objected to re-election being declared; and reinstated that the highest-polled candidate would come to power. However, the High Court has ordered a second hearing regarding the petition in July.
Supreme Court Judgment on NOTA
A writ petition was filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The Supreme Court of India judgment said, "We direct the Election Commission to provide necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs and another button called “None of the Above” (NOTA) may be provided in EVMs so that the voters, who come to the polling booth and decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray, are able to exercise their right not to vote while maintaining their right of secrecy." The Supreme Court also observed that it is essential that people of high moral and ethical values are chosen as people's representatives for proper governance of the country, and NOTA button can compel political parties to nominate a sound candidate.
Election Commission of India (ECI) and NOTA
1. ECI has stated that "...even if, in any extreme case, the number of votes against
NOTA is more than the number of votes secured by the candidates, the candidate who
secures the largest number of votes among the contesting candidates shall be declared
to be elected..."
2.In a clarification released in 2013, ECI has stated that votes polled for NOTA cannot be
considered for determining the forfeiture of security deposit.
3.In 2014, ECI introduced NOTA in Rajya Sabha elections.
4.In 2015, Election Commission of India announced the symbol for 'None of the Above'
option, with the design being done
Do leave your comments down below.
Do leave your comments down below.
Don't forget to Subscribe & Share
Instagram:-
Youtube:-
Facebook:-
E mail:-
Thank You
I am very much motivated by work of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi jii with his initiative of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. and request all of you to keep the environment clean and nature green.
Comments
Post a Comment