GS Paper - II
The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal to hold simultaneous elections in India, as recommended by a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
Phases of the simultaneous polls
- The simultaneous polls would be held in two phases — the first will cover Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and the second, which will be held within 100 days of the first, will cover local body elections.
- The Kovind committee had submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu in March this year, shortly before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls.
Two Bills, 15 amendments
- For holding simultaneous elections, the committee had recommended 15 amendments to the Constitution of India — in the form of both new provisions and changes to existing provisions — to be carried out through two Constitution Amendment Bills.
- The first Bill will deal with the transition to a simultaneous election system, and the procedure for fresh elections to Lok Sabha or a state Assembly before the expiration of their stipulated five-year term.
- According to the Kovind committee, this Bill can be passed by Parliament without the requirement for consultation with state governments or ratification by state Assemblies.
- The second Bill will deal with municipal and panchayat elections, as well as the creation of a Single Electoral Roll by the Election Commission of India (ECI), with details of every voter and the seat for which they are eligible to vote.
- The Kovind committee has acknowledged that this Bill deals with subjects on which states have the primary power to enact laws — and it would, therefore, require the approval or ratification of more than half of India’s states before it can be enacted.
The first Bill
- The first Bill recommended by the Kovind committee would begin by inserting a new article— 82A —into the Constitution.
- Article 82A will establish the process by which the country will move to a system of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
- Article 82A(1) will state that “on the date of the first sitting of the House of the People after a general election”, the President will issue a notification bringing Article 82A into effect. The date of this notification “shall be called the Appointed date”.
- Article 82A(2) will state that “all the Legislative Assemblies constituted in any general election held after the appointed date shall come to an end on the expiry of the full term of the House of the People”.
- The proposed Article 82A(3) requires the ECI to hold “General elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies simultaneously”.
- If the ECI believes that elections to any legislative assembly cannot be conducted simultaneously, “it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an Order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date”. (Article 82A(4)).
- However, even in cases where the state Assembly election is deferred, “the full term of the Legislative Assembly shall end on the same date as the end of the full term of the House of the People constituted in the General Election”. (Article 82A(5))
- The proposed Bill also recommends amending Article 327, which gives Parliament the power to make laws relating to elections to Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and state legislatures, including the preparation of electoral rolls and delimitation of constituencies.
- The Kovind committee has recommended that the power of Parliament under Article 327 should be expanded to include “conduct of simultaneous elections” as well.
The second Constitution Amendment Bill
- The second Constitution Amendment Bill recommended by the Kovind committee contains amendments that would require ratification by the states.
- Under Article 368(2), any constitutional amendment that deals with subjects in the State List (where states have the power to enact laws) would have to be ratified by at least half of the state legislatures in the country before it can be passed.
- As the amendments suggested in the second Bill relate to municipal and panchayat elections, which fall under Entry 5 of the State List titled “Local government”, they would require ratification by the states.
- The committee has suggested the inclusion of a new Article 324A in the Constitution.
- This new article would empower Parliament to make laws to ensure that municipality and panchayat elections are held simultaneously with the General Elections (to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies).
- The Kovind committee has also recommended that new sub-clauses should be added to Article 325 of the Constitution.
- This article says: “There shall be one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for election to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House of the Legislature of a State...”
- The new Article 325(2) proposed by the committee will create a “Single Electoral Roll for every territorial constituency for election in the House of the People, Legislature of a State or to a Municipality or a Panchayat”.
- This electoral roll “shall be made by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Election Commissions”, and “the electoral roll prepared under this sub-article shall substitute any electoral roll prepared earlier by either the Election Commission under Art 325 or the State Election Commissions under Art. 243K and Art. 243ZA” (proposed Article 325(3)).
- If this recommendation is accepted, the process of creating electoral rolls will be taken over by the ECI, and State Election Commissions will play a purely consultative role