Election and Representation Flashcards
two questions about election and democracy
can democracy exist w/o election and vice versa. No and Yes
two types of democracy and explain
direct and indirect democracy
give small explanation/difference
what is an election
method followed by people to choose their representatives
most visible sign of democratic processes/democracy in a country
election
how can we ensure elections are held in a democratic way
constitution lays a set of basic rules about elections which are not detailed
what are these rules ( there are 5 ) and what do they ensure
who can vote who can contest who supervises these 3 ensure free and fair elections making it democratic how ppl choose reps how are votes counted and reps elected ensures fair representation
types of election systems
fptp or plurality system and proportional representation
what was the historic moment in India’s democracy explain pliz
lok sabha elections 1984 congress secured 415 of 543 seats more than 80% great victory never achieved b4 4/5th seats in lok sabha 48% of votes onli 48% voted out of all voters less than half but still won so congress won more seats than the percentage of votes received because in many of the constituncies, the winning candidate received less than 50% of votes (not the majority but still more)
explain fptp system in india or in general idk bruh
in this system
country is divided into 543 constituencies which are territorial divisions with 15 to 25 lakhs
each constituency holds elections and elects one representative
whoever secures maximum votes in that const wins
no need to secure majority whoever gets most wins
whoever is first to pass the winning post wins
aka plurality system
even w 25 percent he can win wala example
disadvantages of first past the post system
votes that losing candidates receive go to waste meaning the candidates don’t get a seat from those votes only if they win then they get a seat
not all views are represented as this favors the majority
discourages new parties or candidates from participating in the electoral race
explain proportional representation system
a party gets the same proportion of seats as its proportion of votes
each party fills its quota of seats by picking those many nominees from a preference list made before the elections
how many variations are there of pr system
3
explain first 2 types and where they are practiced
in the first type the whole country is treated as a constituency and each party is allocated its proportion of votes according to the national elections
this is practiced in Israel and Netherlands
in the second type the country is divided into multi member constituencies and each party prepares a list of its candidates and allocates them to each constituency depending on how many are to be elected
this is practiced in Argentina and Portugal
what is common in the first two types of variations
ppl exercise their preference for a whole part and not just a candidate
in pr on what basis are seats in the constituency distributed
on the basis of votes polled by a party
so reps from a constituency belong to different party
where have we adopted pr system in india
limitedly in indirect elections
third and complex variation is used for electing the president, vice president, and for rajya sabha and vidhan parishads elections
give on advantage of pr system
smaller parties w small support bases get representation in the legislature and it also makes way for multi party coalition govt
there is no single rep responsible for one locality
complex
how does pr work in rajya sabha or how does the third variation of pr work or how does single transferable vote system work
each state has a quota of seats in the rajya sabha
the elections are done by their respective state legislative assemblies
the voters are the mlas
voters rank the candidates according to their preferences in a list
winner is required to secure minimum quota of votes
formula
the first preference votes are counted and if some candidates fail to meet the quota the candidate with least votes is eliminated and their votes go or transfer to second preference
process continues till required number of candidates pass the quota
what is quota
jus the limit needed
formula of quota
[total votes polled/ total no candidates to be elected +1 ]+ 1
compare fptp and pr
small conts and big consts [ even country is const]
each const elects one cand and many candidates from parties can be elected from const
voters vote for cand and voters vote for party
party may get more seats than votes and parties get in proportion
may not get majority and gets majority
uk and india
israel netherlands argentina and portugal
why did india adopt the fptp system ( write a and d) or advantages of fptp or diasadvantages of pr
fptp - simple , easy to understand , clear choice is presented to voters , ppl can choose not just parties but specific candidates , hold reps accountable , smooth and stable govt , encourages ppl from different social groups to win elections
pr- complicated , wont work in country like india , unstable, no clear majority, encourages social groups to just form their own nation wide party
normally fptp results in
two party system
what is two party system
there are two major competitors and power is shared by them alternately and it is difficult for a third party or other parties to come in power
why is fptp system in india different from the normal two party system shit
because after independence there was one party dominance with many smaller parties and after 1989 - multi party coalitions
many states have 2 party system
a distinguishing feature of fptp is rise of coalitions so new or small parties can also join in fptp
what kind of reservations were there before independence
separate electorates
what kind of reservations were there after independence
reserved constituencies
what are separate electorates
introduced by british
to elect a rep from a particular community only voters rom that community are eligible
constituent assemble thought that this would not serve their purposes
what are reserved constituencies
in rc all voters in the constituency are eligible to vote but the candidate must belong to the social grup or community for which that seat is reserved
why are rcs necessary
proper rep
there grups are spread all across the country
where and for who does the constitution provide reservations
in lok sabha and state legislative assemblies for scs and sts
as of 26t jan 2019
lok sabha - 84/543 for sc
47/543 for st
how long was the provision for rcs passed
initially for 20 years but through many constitutional amendments has been extended till 2020 and can extend it further
who decided which constituency should be reserved and on what basis
delimitation commission
what is delimitation commission
it is an independent body appointed by the president of india and works in collaboration with the election commission of india
what is the purpose of delimitation commission
to draw up the boundaries of constituencies in india
looks at the composition of population in constituency
how does the dc reserve constituencies for st and sc
a quota of constituencies to be reserved in each state is made based on the proportion of population of st and sc in that state
st- constituencies w higher population of st are reserved for st
sc- two things
constituency w higher sc population but also dc spreads these constituencies across various regions in the state
why are the constituencies spread in sc
becoz the population of sc are evenly spread across the country so the reserved constituencies can be rotated every time the delimitation process occurs
what reservation is beginning to have a strong demand
reservations are only there of st and scs
in local govt bodies there is reservations for women
there is a strong demand for 1/3rd of seats to be reserved for women in lok sabha and state legislative assemblies
such a provision for lok and vidhan sabhas would require amending the constitution which has been proposed several times but never passed
free and fair elections include two things what are they
universal adult franchise and right to contest
independent election commission
what is the true test of any election system
ability to ensure a free and fair process
impartial and transparent
allow voters aspirations to find legitimate expression through results
explain universal adult franchise
write the definition
who are the voters ko explain karta hai
1989 - age was changed from 21 to 18
all can participate without discrimination anf w equality
some ppl thought and still think that letting all citizens vote irrespective of education status was wrong but the constitution makers felt that all adults had the ability to decide what and who is best for the country or constutuency
explain right to contest and its restrictions
it explains that all citizens have the right to stand for elections and become a representative of the people
it has no restrictions on income, education, class, gender and is open to all
it has a few restrictions. for example ;
there is an age requirement of 25 to contest in lok sabha or assembly elections
and
anyone undergone imprisonment for 2 or more years is eliminated from contesting
