KINDS OF DEMOCRACY

1.DIRECT DEMOCRACY
 Direct participation of people
 People themselves make laws
 Now days this is not prevalent except for some places in Switzerland
 Modern states with huge population it is not possible

2. INDIRECT DEMOCRACY: REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

 Voters elect their representatives
 Representatives work on the behalf of the people.
 Representatives are suppose to carry promises on the basis of which they fought elections.
 Thus ELECTIONS becomes very important aspect of DEMOCRACY
 ELECTIONS AND
DEMOCRARCY

Elections have today If Democracy is

become the most Two faces of incomplete without
Elections then Elections
visible symbol of the the same coin are unimportant without
democratic process. Democracy
 DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS

FOLLOWING ASPECTS MAKES ELECTIONS DEMOCRATIC:

1.There should be universal adult franchise where all adults

have right to vote
2.Choices should be given to people
3.Elections should be conducted regularly
4.Elections should be free and fair
5.Choices made by the people should be respected
6.One vote one value
 ELECTION
SYSTEMS

FPTP
OR PR SYSTEM
PLURALITY
SYSTEM
 ELECTION SYSYEM IN
INDIA: FIRST PAST THE
POST SYSTEM
OR
THE PLURALITY SYSTEM
•FEATURES OF FPTP SYSTEM:

1. It is there in countries like USA, INDIA, CANADA & BRITAIN

2. There are SINGLE MEMBER CONSITUENCIES
3. WINNER is the person with more votes than the other candidates
4. It might happen that winner may receive only a small proportion of the
total number of votes.
5. POST marks the finishing point on election racing track
6. The candidate who crosses the post first is the winner
EXAMPLE:
SUPPOSE THERE IS A CONSTITUENCY -X

CANDIDATES: A B C D
VOTES: 40 20 15 10

Candidate A will be elected as A has got the

maximum votes out of all candidates.
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

1.THE LIST SYSTEM

•2.SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE

SYSYTEM
1.THE LIST SYSYEM

• Parties draw up a list of their candidates for each

constituency
• Voters vote for the list
• No. of seats = proportion to the votes polled
• Suppose 1000 votes are required to win one seat. Particular
party obtains 5005.
• In that case the first 5 candidates in the list drawn up that
party will be declared elected.
• This is used in BELGIUM, SWEDEN, ITALY, PORTUGAL
• Each constituency elects several representatives.
2. SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE SYSTEM

• Voters mark all the candidates in order of preference

• They can express their first, second, third choice etc. on the ballot paper
• ELECTORAL QUOTA is established when the votes are counted
• Quota means THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF VOTES NEEDED BY A
CANDIDATE TO WIN ONE OF THE SEAT.
• Following is the formula is used:
Total Votes + 1 = Quota
Number of seats +1

Ex: If 5 Rajya Sabha members have to be elected by 90 MLAs in Haryana,

the Quota would be 16 votes ( 90/5+1=15+1)
 Why did India adopt the FPTP
system?

The entire
election system There is also a clear Voters have to simply
is choice endorse a candidate or
extremely simple a party whom they
presented to the voters know as their own
to understand. at the time of representative and can
elections. hold him or her
accountable.
 What makes an election democratic
• Everyone should be able to choose their own representative. One
person, one vote ,one value.
• Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should
offer some real choice to the voters.
• Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
• The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
• Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where
people can choose as they really wish.
Is it Good to have Political Competition?

• Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties

and leaders.
• Political parties know that if they raise issues that people want to be
raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next
elections. On the contrary, if they fail to satisfy the voters with their
work, they will not be able to win again
• If a political party is motivated only by the desire to be in power,
despite that, it will be forced to serve the people.
Model Code of Conduct for election
campaigns
• According to this, no party or candidate can:
• Bribe or threaten voters
• Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion
• Use government resources for election campaign
• Spend more than 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok
Sabha election or 10 lakh in a constituency in an
Assembly election
• Use any place of worship for election propaganda;
• Use government vehicles, aircraft and officials for
elections
• Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not
lay foundation stones of any projects, take any big
policy decisions or make any promises of providing
public facilities
Polling and counting of votes
BALLOT BOX EVM
 Election Commission
•An independent and powerful commission
appointed by the President of India to conduct
free and fair election is called Election
Commission.
•The commission once appointed, is not
answerable to the President or the government.
 ELECTION COMMISSION

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for an

independent Election Commission for the
‘superintendence, direction and control of the
electoral roll and the conduct of elections’ in India.
In 1993, the Commission became multi-member: A
Chief Election Commissioner and two Election
Commissioners
First CEC of India: Shr. Sukumar Sen.
 Features of Indian Election System

FREE AND FAIR UNIVERSAL

ELECTIONS
If we want democracy to
be translated
into reality on the ground,
it is important that
the election system be
impartial and transparent
FRANCHISE RIGHT TO CONTEST
Indian Constitution All citizens have the
was to guarantee right to stand for
every adult citizen in election and become
India, the right to the representative of
vote. (eligibility age is the people.
18.)
 Powers and functions of the Election
Commission of India.
• EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections
from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
• It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or
party that violates it.
• During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow
some guidelines, to prevent the use and misuse of governmental
power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some
government officials.
• When on election duty, government officers work under the control
of the EC and not the government.
RESERVATION OF CONSTITUENCIES
‘Separate Electorates’
• During British Govt. for electing
a representative from a
• particular community, only
those voters
• would be eligible who belong to
that community.
‘Reserved Constituencies’
• 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.
How elections are held in India
 Popular Participation
• In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger
proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections.
• Common people in India feel that through elections they can bring
pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programs favorable
to them.
• The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing
over the years.
Challenges to free and fair elections in India
• Candidates and parties with a lot of money enjoy a big and unfair
advantage over smaller parties.
• Candidates with criminal connections have been able to push others
out of the electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
• Tickets are distributed to relatives from their families.
• Elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens as major parties are
quite similar to each other, both in policies and practice.
• Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge
disadvantage compared to bigger parties.
 ELECTORAL REFORMS
•There should be stricter provisions to control the role of
money in electoral politics.
•There should be complete ban on the use of caste and
religious appeals in the campaign.
•There should be a law to regulate the functioning of political
parties and to ensure that they function in a transparent and
democratic manner
•There should be a special provision to ensure that at least one
third women are elected to the parliament and assemblies.
•Candidates with any criminal case should be barred from
contesting elections, even if their appeal is pending before a
court.
INDIAN ELECTION THROUGH PICTURES
VOTER IDs
CAMPAIGNING

VOTING