1. • Done by Athul.S.Krishnan
• Our Own english high school fujairah
UAE
2. What is an election?
• An election is a formal decision-making process by which
a population chooses an individual to hold public office. It
is a mechanism by which people can choose their
representatives at regular intervals and change them if
they wish to do so. Elections are held to choose people’s
representatives.
3. Why do we need Elections?
• For shaping the destiny or needs of citizens.
• To make parties evaluate people’s faith in them.
• To assess the quality of government (ruling party) that
ruled before that particular election.
• It makes the people to reward and punish the existing
ruling party by electing them again or refusing them to
reign the next term.
4. Importance of Elections
• Elections help people to choose leaders who will take
decisions on the behalf of the people.
• Elections allows people to choose who will form the
government and take major decisions.
• Elections help to ensure people’s power.
• It give people supreme authority to choose efficient and
trustworthy leaders.
5. What makes an election democratic?
• Every adult citizen should be able to choose. This means that every
adult citizen should have one vote and each vote shall carry equal
value.
• Elections should offer choices to the people. There should be various
political parties and candidates to choose from.
• The choice of selecting the rulers should be offered at regular
intervals. In India, elections are normally held after every five years.
• The most preferred candidate should get elected. In India, we follow
the first past the post system, i.e. the candidate who secures the
maximum number of valid votes is declared as winner.
• Elections should be held in free and fair manner and people should be
in a position to cast their votes without fear or favour.
6. Disadvantages
• Elections creates a sense of disunity between people.
• Dirty tricks done by different parties discourage good
political thinkers and leaders from contesting in unhealthy
election.
• Disputes on election between candidates may end up in
assaults and crimes.
Is it good to have political competition?
7. Advantages of political competition
• It makes the existing party (incumbent) party to work
harder to get elected.
• Competition make the parties to do service for people.
• Competition makes the people and the parties to evaluate
the skills of a particular candidate.
9. Electoral constituencies
The state is divided into different areas for the
purposes of elections . These areas are called
electoral constituencies. The voters who live in
this area will vote and elect one representive.
This is for electing MLA’s.
10. Contd..
• In the case of Lok Sabha elections. The entire
country is divided into 543 constituencies. The
elected member is called a member of
parliament. The government tries to make
sure that each constituency has equal
population.
11. Reserved Constituencies
• Since there are backward classes and tribes in
the Indian society the constituent assembly
decided to make a system where there are
reservations for scheduled castes and tribes,
so that the entire population of India has a
chance to give their opinion and has adequate
representation.. This system was extended to
other backward classes..
12. Contd..
• This holds true even in the case of panchayats.
• Each electoral constituencies is called a seat.
13. Voters list
• Commonly called the voter’s list. The electoral
roll decides who is eligible to vote and as per the
Universal Adult Franchise all citizens above the
age of 18 should have the right to vote and it is
mandatory that all should have a say in the
Parliament. Even criminals have the write to vote
but can be denied in vary rare occasions. The
voter’s list ensures that all people who are
eligible to vote are recorded and the government
makes a revision every 5 years.
14. Contd…
• The government has put up a new system
called the Epic card.. (Election Photo Identity
Card)… The card has to be owned by the
voter’s in order for that person to vote.. But
the government hasn’t made it compulsory..
15. Nomination of candidates
• In a democratic election people should have real choice
• There should be no restriction to anyone to contest in
the elections.
• Anyone who can become a voter can become a
candidate also.
• The only difference is that to be a candidate minimum
age is 25 years while it is only 18 years for being a voter.
• Those who are criminals in extreme case cant contest in
elections.
• The political parties nominate their candidate who get
the party symbol and support
• Party nomination is known as ‘Party ticket’
16. Contd
• Every person who wishes to contest an election
has to fill a nomination form and give some
money as security deposit.
• Also a legal declaration has to be made giving
details of pending criminal cases against the
candidate, assets, liabilities and the educational
qualifications of the candidate.
19. Polling and counting of votes
• The final stage of an election is the day when the
voters cast or poll their vote.
• The persons names which is there on the voters
list can go cast their votes.
• Once a voter gets inside a booth the election
officials identify the person , put a mark on her
finger and allow the person to vote.
20. What makes elections in our
country democratic?
we get to read a lot about unfair practices in
elections . Newspapers and television reports often
refer to such allegations. But fortunately they are
not on such a scale so as to defeat the very purpose
of elections .
21. Independent election
commission
*To know whether the election conducted is fair or not
we just to know who conducts the election.to say it is
fair the election should be independent and should
not have the influence of the government or the
ruling party .
*In our country elections are conducted by an
independent and very powerful Election
commission(EC).
24. Popular participation
Another way to check the quality of the election process
is to see whether people participate in it with
enthusiasm, if the election process is not free and fair ,
people will not continue to participate.
* Peoples participation in election is usually measured
by voters turnout. Turnout indicates the percent of
eligible voters who actually cast their vote. Over the
last fifty years , the turnout has either remained
stable or actually gone up .
.
25. Acceptance of election
outcome.
One final test of the free and fairness of election has
in the out come itself . If the elections are not free
and fair the outcome always favors the powerful.in
such a situation the ruling parties do not lose
elections . usually, the losing party does not accept
the outcome of a rigged election.