Conference on defects of Electoral System
- Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI) -

Imphal: 4 June 2009

Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI)
State Conference
Imphal, Manipur
25-26 May 2009

The Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI) has successfully conducted a stimulating two day state conference at Hotel Imphal on 25th-26th May 2009 which provided a platform to deliberate upon the structural defects of the present electoral system with specific thrust on the issue of effective representation of indigenous concerns.

Among the eminent contributors to the conference was Mr. MC Raj of CERI, Dr. M. Nara, Former Minister; MLA R.K. Anand; Professor Ksh. Bimola Devi, Manipur University; Mr. Yambem Laba ex-member Manipur Human Rights Commission; Mr. Irengbam Arun, Editor Ireibak; Mr. A.K. Sethajit, Imphal College; Dr. Vijaylakshmi Brara, Manipur University; Dr. A.K. Bimol, Jawaharlal Nehru University and senior citizen Dr. L. Sadananda.

More than 30 participants pledged to constitute a Manipur state committee of CERI to take the campaign forward. Ten senior citizens, veteran politicians, renowned academicians and social workers have constituted a group of advisors to guide the campaign and an executive committee consisting of 12 (5 men and 7 women) social and political activists from all districts of Manipur to plan and execute the campaign. Mr. Babloo Loitongbam and Ms. Narengbam Nonibala will function as convenor and co-convenor respectively.

The convener on behalf of the members of the executive committee will participate in the National Consultation of CERI scheduled to be held in Tumkur, Karnataka on the 13 and 14 of June 2009, to work out the nation wide plan to pave a way forward. Three other members of the executive committee will also be participating in the State conferences in Tamil Nadu (June), Maharashtra (August) and Andhra Pradesh (September).

CERI will also be conducting international research on different models of electoral system. The research team studying the Norway and New Zealand models will be accompanied by a researcher from Manipur.

India follows a Plurality Electoral System, which is also known as the First Past The Post (FPTP). This system leaves a vast majority of voters unrepresented both in the Parliament and in the State Assemblies. The ruling party is determined by a simple majority, which at times have been determined by as small a percentage of votes as 27. This means that there is a legitimacy in Indian democracy for 73% of voters to be left unrepresented. This can be interpreted as a gross violation of the very ethos of democracy. It is common knowledge that in Indian democracy the governing order gets elected with woeful minority of votes.

In contrast to this many countries in contemporary world have adapted the Proportionate Electoral System, which takes care to give representation to all voters in the Parliament and in State Assembly. There are many variants of the PES in different countries of the world. There are countries which have integrated counting systems of votes that are apportioned to winning candidates to guarantee that not even a single voter will be left unrepresented. There are also many variants of counting of votes in the PES.

There are many noble endeavors going on in India for electoral reforms. Unfortunately most such efforts are focused on reforming the existing electoral system of India from within. They seem to lend credence to the criticism that such effort at electoral reform spring from a moralistic change and not a systemic change in the democratic praxis of India. Any success in such reform will maintain the purity of the present pluralistic electoral system in India with the glorious exclusion of large sections of Dalits, Adivasis/Tribals, minorities and women of these sections.

India with her multi-ethnic, multicultural, multilingual composition cannot afford to have a democracy that will give representation to a minority of voters. Such representation to minority of voters in democratic institutions will effectively sideline the minority communities of people. A Proportionate Electoral System is a viable option for India to give legitimate representation to all communities of people in the country. It will augur well to expand the democratic space in the instruments and mechanisms of governance so that all communities get integrated into Indian nationalism, which should be based on the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. This was one of the dreams of the Constitution makers of India.

In order to explore the possibilities of ushering in the most appropriate electoral system for India and also to exert considerable pressure on the powers that be, a ten years Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI) has been launched by some concerned citizens of India who have been exercising themselves on this issue through their research, discussions and conferences.

The State Conference that was held in Imphal concentrated on an intensive analysis and explosion into the future. Asia in general and India in particular are mature for such a democratic explosion. Academic and theoretical input by scholars from different places in India on the cognitive and pragmatic dimensions of the Proportionate Electoral System added as a valuable resource in the Conference.

Miss Archana
National Coordinator, CERI

Mr. Babloo Loitongbam
Convenor, CERI, Manipur

See a photo gallery on this conference here.

---

This information is sent to e-pao.net by Longjam Jyotilal (Human Rights Alert). The sender can be contacted at Jyotinova(at)gmail(dot)com
This PR was webcasted on June 4th 2009 .

---