THE RIGHT TO REJECT
The Election Commission had always wanted to do it but did not have sufficient powers; the Parliament had the powers but did not want to do it – so it was left to the Supreme Court to grant the Indian voters what it terms as a democratic right – the right to reject all candidates in an election! In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court gave the citizens of India the right to reject all candidates in elections. Hearing a petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, an NGO, the apex court ruled that the Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs should have a button that will allow the voters to choose “none of the above” option. The bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that voters should be allowed to reject all candidates standing in an election in his/her constituency. This option, the Court feels, would foster purity and vibrancy in elections and the political parties will be forced to field clean candidates. This verdict has been immediately welcomed by the Election Commission which will now provide a ‘none of the above’ button in the Electronic Voting Machines. While this will no doubt encourage more people to participate in the elections, it will not be without any side-effects. We look into why this judgment was necessary and what may come out of it. We will also make it clear that this is not a drastic change – such a right always existed – just that there was a separate channel to take care of it. The entire case was about treating the right to reject at par with the right to choose the representatives.
The Case
The Verdict- ‘None of the Above’
What can go wrong?
Is this ‘right’ unique to India or are there other countries too?
What if NOTA wins the majority in a constituency?
When is the ballot paper used in India instead of the EVM?
Continue reading here for answers to the above questions and other details.