Electoral Reforms
Capsule : A Bitter Pill ?
If the disease is dreadful , a bitter
pill is must
Especially if the disease is eating into
body vitals and headed for a “ terminal illness “ !
Even as Punjab and Goa went to polls two
days ago , it seems all the organs of our Electoral System are failing . Not
one after another, but simultaneously !
Following is a brief listing of the PROBLEMS of our Electoral
Ailment and my SUGGESTIONS
, for each
PROBLEM :
Elections are taking place , all around
the country and almost every week
This costs crores of rupees and totally
disrupts administration – apart of a loss of billions
of man-hours of productive time
SOLUTION :
Conduct simultaneous elections for Lok
Sabha and ALL
State Assemblies , on a single day , once every 5 years
I suggest 02 Oct 2019 / 2024 / 2029 …. ( Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi )
Read its feasibility at :
How
to save Rs 5511 Crores
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2015/12/how-to-save-rs-5511-crores.html
}
One
Nation , One Vote ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/11/one-nation-one-vote.html
}
Reforming
Elections and Lok Sabha [ REaL ]
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/12/reforming-elections-and-lok-sabha-real.html
}
PROBLEM :
Code of Conduct paralyses decision
making / policy announcements , of governments
SOLUTION :
Once every 5 year ,
Code of Conduct will remain in force between 17 Sept and 02 Oct
During this period , there will be no
session of Lok Sabha / State Assemblies
PROBLEM :
Cash donations to Political Parties
breed corruption / black money
SOLUTION :
·
All donations ( even Re ONE )
to be made officially / digitally
·
·
A single Election Commission web site with a drop-list of political
parties
·
·
Donors ( after entering their details / Aadhar Number ), can select any
party and any amount and make online payment using Credit Card
·
·
Similar arrangement can be made through BHIM App
·
·
CEC will transfer donations received to designated bank accounts of each
party
·
·
On 1st of each month , parties will be allowed to withdraw CASH equal to 5 % of the Credit Balance in their accounts . They can use this
for small expenses
·
·
All parties to pay for goods / services through bank account for major
expenses
·
With the data furnished by concerned
banks and the data available from its own “ Donation Web Site “ , CEC to publish a MONTHLY statement of donations and
expenses for each party with bank balance in each account
Read :
PROBLEM :
Inadequate remuneration of MPs / MLAs
This prevents good / honest ( but low
income / low wealth ) citizens to come forward to contest elections
This also breeds corruption among
elected representatives
SOLUTION :
·
Abolish all different kinds of “ Allowances / Reimbursements /
Subsidies “
·
·
Raise salaries as follows :
MPs…
Rs 5 lakhs/month ( Fixed Salary ) + Rs 10 lakhs/month ( Variable )
MLAs..
Rs 2 lakhs/month ( Fixed ) + Rs
4 lakhs/month ( Variable )
·
Pay scales to include an annual Salary Increment = GDP percentage of the preceding financial year (
hopefully , this will motivate them for constructive debate and quick passage
of economic reforms ! )
There
will be a provision to “ freeze “ the salary ( no annual increment )
for those whose performance is judged “ poor “ , as explained later
·
All must pay appropriate Personal Income Tax on their salary income
·
·
Variable Salaries to be based on Performance of concerned MP / MLA
·
{ Just like the compensation of a CEO of any large listed company }
·
·
A “ Performance
Survey “ to
be conducted using Mobile App ( RepReward
) , at the end of each year
·
Voters of each
Representative’s constituency to be eligible to “ Rate “ ( select the Variable Pay Amount
figure ) . Average will be taken for rewarding
PROBLEM :
Poor productivity of Lok Sabha / State
Assemblies due to unruly / obstructive behaviour of Members
Poor participation of Members in debates
/ Poor attendance / Abysmal performance of duty as a representative of citizens
SOLUTION :
A legally binding provision on the
Speaker / Election Commission to disqualify members , based on the outcome of a
periodically conducted online POLL /
SURVEY , of all the Members’ performance ,
through a Mobile App called :
Same survey could be used to “ freeze “ the Annual Salary Increment of a
Member
PROBLEM :
Voters do not have readily available
info / data on sitting Members and candidates contesting elections , in order
to decide who to vote for ( or NOTA )
SOLUTION :
A Mobile App based around ;
PROBLEM :
Pre-poll surveys are “ sponsored “ by
political parties ( of course , at a huge cost ) , to dish out “ Voter
Preference “ statistics , favouring the party footing the bill
SOLUTION :
Ban all pre-poll surveys for 6 months preceding the elections ( ie: from April 2019 )
If any survey gets conducted earlier ,
citizens are bound to forget those statistics !
Even if conducted before April 2019 ,
results cannot be published / debated after April 2019
PROBLEM :
Exit polls ( of voters coming out of
polling booths after casting their votes ) , tend to influence other voters who
have yet to cast their votes
SOLUTION :
Although this is currently banned , it
can get worse when there are no polling booths , nor a single voter on the
street ( if voting gets done through Mobile App “ VotesApp “ )
Political parties interested in
influencing the voters can enable “ fictitious polls “ to go viral on Social
Media ( especially WhatsApp )
There is no particular difficulty for
the Government to persuade the Social Media to go “ Offline “ for the day of voting
through “ VotesApp “
PROBLEM :
Political parties “ bribe “ poor voters
with promise of freebies / gifts in their Election Manifestos or Vision
Documents
SOLUTION :
Strict implementation of the Supreme
Court directive in this matter
Since next simultaneous election is
proposed for 02 Oct 2019 , all political parties must first submit their Manifestos to the Election Commission , latest by April 2019 , for approval
CEC will return the Manifestos to
Political Parties , after removing all “ freebie promises “
Only thereafter , parties can release / publish their Manifestos
Read :
We
are not bribing the Voters !
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2017/01/we-are-not-bribing-voters.html
}
Model
Code of ( Hypocrite ) Conduct ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2017/01/model-code-of-hypocrite-conduct.html
}
A
Freebie That Cannot Be Faulted ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/12/a-freebie-that-cannot-be-faulted.html
}
One Up
on Free Wi - Fi ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2015/02/one-up-on-free-wi-fi.html
}
Bribing the
Voters ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2014/03/bribing-voters.html
}
Selling
Rainbows ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2014/01/selling-rainbows.html
}
Perennial
Poll Promises
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2013/12/perennial-poll-promises.html
}
Selling
Dreams ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2013/11/selling-dreams.html
}
PROBLEM :
Members of Lok Sabha / State Assemblies
, having court cases pending against them for serious crimes , continue to
occupy their seats with scant regard / fear of law
SOLUTION :
As directed by Supreme Court ,
constitute 15 SPECIAL COURTS , exclusively for trying and completing these pending
cases WITHIN ONE YEAR
Read :
All
Seasons Are Election Seasons
Crime
Does Not Pay ?
PROBLEM :
Irrespective of the merits of a
Government proposal , opposition parties believe that their job is to “ Oppose
– Anything and Everything “ !
Most of the time, they are thinking
about “ empowering “ their parties and their members and refuse to act so as to
“ Empower the People / the Nation “
SOLUTION :
We must find a method whereby all
parties cooperate with the government , to expeditiously pass legislation that
solves problems of our country
Such a solution must give to all parties
, a “ Sense of Enlarged Participation “ in the process of governing the
country / building the Nation
And that solution is :
A GOVERNMENT IN WHICH , ALL OPPOSITION
PARTIES GET “ MINISTERIAL POSITIONS “ , IN PROPORTION TO THEIR PERCENTAGE STRENGTH IN THE LOK
SABHA / STATE ASSEMBLIES !
For details , read :
A
Constitutional Coalition Government ?
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/10/a-constitutional-coalition-government.html
}
Constitutional
Coalition Aftershocks !
{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/10/constitutional-coalition-aftershocks.html
}
Dear Narendrabhai :
As of now , people of India have lost
all trust in “ Elections as a Process “
Unless our political parties agree to
swallow the bitter pill described above , I am afraid our citizens will lose
all faith in “ Democracy as concept
of Good Governance “
06 Feb 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
With Regards,
hemen
parekh
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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