You Should Vote in The Elections or Else You Will be Punished!
by ‘You should vote compulsorily in the elections or else you will be punished’.It is the latest controversy sparked of by the Government of Gujarat. It was Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who set the ball of controversy in motion.
Image via Wikipedia
You should vote in the elections or else you will be punished!
Image via Wikipedia
‘You should vote compulsorily in the elections or else you will be punished.It is the latest controversy sparked of by the Government of Gujarat. It was Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who set the ball of controversy in motion.
The Gujarat state legislature has recently enacted and act, making voting compulsory in the local body elections to all the eligible voters in Gujarat. The act is not applicable to the elections held for the state legislature or for the parliament.
The act stipulates that all eligible voters should compulsorily exercise their right to vote in the local body elections held in Gujarat. Failures on the part of the voters to vote will invite penal provisions. The defaulting voters should explain their absence and if they are away from the constituency on the date of polling, they should explain their absence.
The said controversial act has also initiated a countrywide debate in India.
Eminent jurists are divided in their opinion about the impact created by the act on the electoral system in India. Ram Jethmalani, an eminent lawyer welcomes the act stating that such acts are necessary for the effective functioning of democracy in India and it is an innovative step in the right direction. However, a few other political experts also feel that such acts not suitable to a vast country like India whose bulk voters are illiterate. Besides, aged people and people who are bed-ridden cannot be harassed through such enactments.
The Chief Election Commissioner of India categorically opposed the act stating that just because a voter is unable to exercise his right to vote, he cannot be made into a criminal.
Eminent political experts and writers like Asoka Mitran opine that India being a democratic country, voters cannot be forced to exercise their vote and only communists countries will have such acts. But former Chief Election Commissioner Gopal Swamy supports the act, stating that he does not believe that illiteracy will be a handicap in implementing such laws. According to the available statistics, in the State of Uttar Pradesh, voters turn out from the rural areas was significantly higher than the voters turn out from the urban areas.
However, in the contemporary world, as many as 32 countries have made the right to vote in the elections compulsory. Of them only three states are implementing the act successfully and all the other countries have withdrawn their respective acts.
In Australia, the right to vote was made compulsory hundred years ago and till date it has been very successful there; almost 95 % voters have so far voted in each and every election they held, realizing voting as their constitutional right and duty.
From the history of those countries which have successfully implemented the right to vote compulsorily, countries with a lesser number of voters with a high degree of literacy alone are successful. But in the case of India, the largest democracy in the world, it is a moot question, whether such an act can be successfully implemented , whose voters are more than thrice the total population of US, besides being beset with a high degree of illiteracy.
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Post CommentNetty net
On December 28, 2009 at 11:54 am
Wow I didn’t know they could punish you for not voting. I learned something here.
ken bultman
On December 28, 2009 at 12:01 pm
The legislation in your country should come under debate. We hear it in the U.S. all the time. “Vote for whoever you please, but vote.” Hogwash!! Those who do not keep up with government and have little or no knowledge of the issues at hand should stay home on election day and not muddy up the waters. Yes, they have a right to vote and they have a right to be ignorant but those rights should not be combined at the polls.
wonder
On December 29, 2009 at 2:20 am
A reflective topic with good details.
Faith Hodge
On December 29, 2009 at 6:46 pm
People have outlawed themselves. It is never ending. Politics has grown into the biggest bag of bull chips that can ever be seen. I vote, but it has become much more difficult to choose whom to vote for. All of the parties are so split. The cycle is so vicious that it is near to impossible to break with destruction of the people and the government. I am just going to hold on and stick to my guns. Stand for what I believe in. Good article here. Well presented.
Phill Senters
On December 29, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I think no citizen should ever be forced to vote. What is free about that? Actually, I think the opposite should apply, if a person cannot answer a few basic questions about his/her country’s government, then they should not be allowed to cast a vote whether it be local, state, or federal. It is ridiculous that someone who can’t tell you the name of the sitting President of the country in which he/she lives should be voting for anything.
Ramalingam
On December 30, 2009 at 1:19 am
You are absolutely right Phill.In India, we have people who still believe that Mahatma is living (died in 1948), still MGR is living (died in 1984) and so on .To such an extent people are ignorant and illiterate.They vote only for the party or the party’s symbol, not even knowing for whom they are voting.Thanks for your inspiring comments.
Steven West
On January 2, 2010 at 12:31 am
Voting is always important, but should never be punishable if you do not choose to vote. Good article.
CutestPrincess
On January 15, 2010 at 6:14 am
i agree with steven west… i voted once in oneof the province here, since i moved to thecity, i did not vote again because im not a registered voter coz have no time to register… it’s up to people here if you want to vote or not…