MEENAKSHI MISS

CIVICS – ELECTION

1. Which of the following refer to a group of people holding similar views or beliefs

1. Government
2. Political Party
3. Ruling Party
4. Candidate

Answer: Political Party

2. Democracy is a form of government in which

1. the ruling party selects its candidates to contest elections.

2. the king selects representatives to administrative posts.
3. citizens elect their own representatives to rule the country.
4. None of the above

Answer: citizens elect their own representatives to rule the country

3. The election held upon dissolution of the Legislature before its full term (5 years) is:

1. General elections
2. Direct elections
3. Indirect elections
4. Mid-term elections

Answer Mid-term elections

4 Indirect Elections are held to elect members of

1. Lok Sabha
2. Rajyasabha
3. Vidhan Parishad
4. Both (b) and (c)

Answer: Both (b) and (c)

5. Who appoints the Election Commissioners?

1. President of India
2. Prime Minister of India
3. Chief Justice of India
4. Act of Parliament
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Answer: President of India

6. What is the normal term of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Commissioners?

1. Five years
2. Four years
3. Six years
4. Ten years

Answer: Six years

7. How is the difference of opinion amongst the Election Commissioners settled?

1. In favour of the majority

2. The Supreme Court settles it
3. The Chief Election Commissioner’s opinion is final
4. The President intervenes and decides

Answer: In favour of the majority

8: The Election Commission conducts

1. Parliamentary Elections
2. State Legislative Elections
3. Election of the Office of President
4. All of the above

Answer: All of the above

9. Election symbols are allotted to Political parties by

1. The President of India

2. The Chief Election Commissioner
3. The Election Commission
4. The Political party itself

Answer: The Election Commission

10. Constituency : Returning Officer :: .............. : Presiding Officers

1. Polling booths
2. Counting centres
3. Both (a) and (b)
4. None of the above
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Answer: Both (a) and (b)

11: Which of the following helps the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections?

1. Code of Conduct
2. Severe punishment for booth capturing
3. Central Observers
4. All of the above

Answer: All of the above

Short Answers

1: What is meant by the term election?

Election is a procedure whereby persons are chosen, by voting, to represent the voters for running the
government.

2. Under which method of elections are the elections to Lok Sabha held? Name the system of election to
the office of the President of India.

The Lok Sabha elections are held by Direct election method. People of India directly elect their
representatives to the Lok Sabha.

The system of election to the office of the President of India is indirect Elections.

3. What is meant by a (a) by-election (b) mid-term election held?

(a) By-elections — When a seat held by any member of the Legislative Assembly in the Centre or State falls
vacant on account of death or resignation of the member before completion of his/her term, to fill up this
vacancy the election which is held is called By-Election.

(b) Mid-term election — This type of election is held when a State Legislative Assembly or the Lok Sabha is
dissolved before the completion of its full term (5 years).

4. Who allots the symbols to political parties? What role do election symbols play in an election?

The Election Commission allots symbols to political parties.

The election symbols give identification to the political parties on ballot paper/electronic voting machine. It
helps illiterate voters to identify the party they want to vote for.

5. Name two important powers and functions of the Election Commission.

Two important powers and functions of the Election Commission are:

1. Preparation of Electoral Rolls and Photo Identity Cards.

2. Registration and Recognition of Political Parties.

6. What is known as the Voters List? Who prepares the voters list?
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The Commission identifies eligible voters in each constituency and prepares the list of all eligible voters.
This is called voters list.

The Election Commission prepares the voters list.

7. Write a short note on the advisory function of the Election Commission.

The election commission advises the President or the Governors of the State in respect of electoral matters,
disqualification of members, election disputes, petitions etc. The commission also advises judiciary in the
matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of parliament and state legislature. The cases of
persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the supreme court and high
courts are also referred to the commission for its opinion.

1. With reference to Democracy and Elections, answer the following s:

(a) Distinguish between two types of elections.

(b) What type of elections are direct and what type are indirect in a Parliamentary Democracy?

(c) How are the elections of the President and Vice-President of India held? Give reasons to support your
answer.

Answer

(a) Below are the differences between the two types of elections:

Sl.
Direct Election Indirect Election
No.
People vote directly for their People elect their representatives indirectly
1
representatives. through their elected representatives.
Law regulates the qualifications, age,
All elected representatives are treated at par.
2 etc. of voters and establishes eligibility
There are no further qualifications.
requirements for State officials.
Every adult person holds the right to Every elected representative holds the right to
3
vote. vote.
There is a very large body of voters
4 There is a very small body of voters.
called the Electorate.
The Members of State Legislative Councils,
Members of Legislative Assemblies and
Members of Rajya Sabha, the President of
5 Members of Lok Sabha are elected
India and the Vice President are elected
directly.
indirectly.
(b) Election of Legislative Assemblies and Lok Sabha are direct and the election of State Legislative Councils,
Rajya Sabha, the President of India and the Vice President are indirect in a Parliamentary Democracy.

(c) The President of India is elected indirectly by the members of an Electoral college consisting of the
elected members of both the houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies
of the States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry. The election
takes place in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable
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vote. Like the President, the election of the Vice-President is also indirect. The Vice-President is elected by
members of both Houses of Parliament. In this election, the State Legislatures do not take part.

2. With reference to types of elections, answer the following:

(a) What is known as General Elections?

(b) State two points of difference between a by-election and mid-term election.

(c) When were the last General Elections held in India? What do you understand by the term 'electorate'?

Answer

(a) The Elections held to elect the members of the Lok Sabha after expiry of the normal term of five years
are called the General Elections.

(b) Two points of difference between a by-election and mid-term election are:

Sl.
Mid-Term Election By-elections
No.
This type of election is held when a State This type of election is held when a seat
Legislative Assembly or Lok Sabha is falls vacant due to death or resignation of
1
dissolved before the completion of its full the member before completion of his/her
term (5 years) term.
The member so elected remains the
2 The new house has a full five year term. member for the unexpired term of the
house.
(c) The last General Elections were held in 2019 in India.

An electorate can be defined as all the people who are eligible to vote. Alternatively, a very large body of
voters is called the electorate.

3. With reference to terms of office and conditions of service of the Election Commission, answer the
following:

(a) Who constitute the Election Commission? Who is the head of the Election Commission? Who appoints
him?

(b) What is the term of the Election Commissioners? What happens in case there is a difference in opinion
between the Election Commissioners?

(c) State any four functions of the Election Commission.

Answer

(a) The Election Commission consists of three members — a chief Election Commissioner and two other
Election Commissioners.

The chief election commissioner is the head of the Election commission. He is appointed by the President
of India
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(b) The term of the Election Commissioners is six years. During this tenure if they attain the age of 65 years,
they shall vacate office on the day of attaining this age.

In case there is a difference in opinion between the Election Commissioners, decision is taken in favour of
the majority opinion.

(c) Following are the four functions of the Election Commission:

1. Preparation of electoral rolls and photo identity cards.

2. Registration and recognition of political parties.
3. Fixing dates and conducting elections.
4. Ensuring free and fair elections.

Thinking Skills

1. Suppose the Class Representative of your class is to be elected by means of single transferable vote
through secret ballot. Write down the steps for election starting from filling the forms by those who
want to stand for election till the final selection is made.

Following are the steps for election of Class Representative:

1. Nomination of Candidates — Candidates will fill the nomination form.

2. Election Campaign — It will continue after nomination till the date of polling.
3. Polling — Students will vote for their favourite candidate.
4. Counting — The votes in secret ballot are counted to decide the winner.
5. Announcement of result — Name of the winning candidate will be announced.

2. If you have to bring certain reforms in the system of elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha in
States, which ones would you like to introduce and why?

I would introduce following changes in elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha:

1. One Nation One Election — I would introduce simultaneous or synchronised elections in which
voters can exercise their separate choices for both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in one outing. It
will optimise public funds and reduce the cost to the exchequer for conducting elections.
2. Preventing Criminalisation of Politics — I would introduce more reforms to prevent people with
criminal backgrounds to stand for elections.
3. No campaign or voting on the basis of caste — Although this rule exists but it is not being followed
strictly in our system.
4. Paid News — Paid news is any news or analysis appearing in any media (Print and Electronic) for a
price in cash or kind. It is quickly becoming a big hurdle in conducting free, fair and transparent
elections. I would introduce strict rules to prevent paid news from disrupting elections.

 Discuss the need for elections in a country like India.

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 India needs the elections due to the following reasons:
 India is a constitutional democracy with a parliamentary system of government. At the heart of
this system is a commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections.
 These elections determine the composition of the government, the membership of the two
houses of Parliament, the State legislative assemblies, and the posts of the President and the
Vice President of the country.
 Elections in India are effective tools to ensure that the government in power works according to
the provisions of the Constitution and looks after the needs of the people.
 The people’s control over the government through the election process makes it so important
in a thriving democracy.

 Explain what direct election is.

 In this type of election the adult citizens of the country directly elect their representatives to the
legislatures. The members of the Parliament and the State Assemblies are elected in this manner.

 What is indirect election?

 The people elect an intermediary group, which then goes on to elect members of the legislature.
The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by this method. The elections of the President and
the Vice President also follow this method.

 What is General Election?

 The elections held every five years in order to elect the Lok Sabha members is known as General
Election. First of this kind of election was held in 1952.

 What do you mean by By-election?

 When a candidate representing a constituency dies during his tenure or resigns, a by-election is
held to fill the seat. The new member elected stays in office for the remainder of the term.

 When are the Mid-term elections held?

 When the Lok Sabha or the State Assembly is dissolved before completion of the full term of five
years, midterm elections are held to form a new government. However, all elections to constitute a
new Lok Sabha are now called General Elections. Hence the use of the term midterm elections has
become irrelevant.

 What are constituencies?

 For the purpose of elections, the whole country is divided into numerous small regional units
known as Constituencies. These are generally single-member constituencies from where only one
member is elected to the legislature.
Some European countries have adopted a multi member constituency method where more than
one member is elected from each constituency.

 On what basis are the seats in the legislatures reserved?

 In order to ensure representation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, some seats or
constituencies are reserved only for the candidates from these communities. Attempts are on to
reserve one-third of the seats for women.

 What do you know about the single transferable vote system?

 Elections to the President and Rajya Sabha members are carried out using the single transferable
vote system. This system is designed to ensure more diverse representation by reducing the
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opportunity for major blocks of voters to dominate minorities. Here the ballot paper or the
Electronic Voting Machine carries the list of all the candidates contesting the election and the
voters have to list the candidates in order of their preference.

 Who holds the elections in India?

 An independent Election Commission has been established under the Constitution in order to carry
out and regulate the holding of elections in India.

 Explain the composition and organization of Election Commission.

 The Election Commission comprises of a Chief Election Commissioner and two other Commissioners.
The decisions are made on the basis of 2:1. The Commission has its headquarters, called Nirvachan
Sadan in New Delhi.

 How are the Election Commissioners appointed?

 The Chief Election Commissioner and the other two Election Commissioners are appointed by the
President of India in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The
regional or state Commissioners are also appointed by the President.

 List the conditions of service, independence and tenure of office of the Election Commissioners.
 The service conditions for the Election Commissioners are as follows:
 The Chief Election Commissioner and the other Commissioners hold office for a term of six
years or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
 They are paid a salary at par with the Judge of the Supreme Court. Their salary is charged on
the Consolidated Fund of India and cannot be changed. They also get pension after retirement.
 The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only by the Parliamentary
procedure of impeachment similar to the manner of removal of a Judge of the Supreme Court.
The other Commissioners shall not be removed by the President except on the
recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
 The Commission decides most matter by consensus but in case of any dissension, the majority
view prevails.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION

 What is the electoral roll?

 The electoral roll is a list of all registered voters in a constituency. Only those people with their
names on the electoral roll are allowed to cast their vote.

 What is the function of the Election Commission with regard to the preparation of the Electoral
rolls?
 Normally, the electoral roll is revised every year to add the names of those who have turned 18 in
that year or have moved in to the constituency, and to remove the names of those who have died
or moved out of the country. To prevent fraudulent electoral practices, the Election Commission
has now introduced photo identity cards for voters.

 How are the political parties given recognition?

 The Election Commission recognizes the political parties under three categories – national parties,
state parties and unrecognized registered parties. The parties are given symbols. The national
parties and the state parties are given reserved symbols. The independent candidates can choose
symbols for them from a list of free symbols.
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 How does the Election Commission conduct the elections?
 After the term of the legislature gets over, the Election Commission conducts elections. For this the
Election Commission decides the dates after considering the diversity of the country in terms of
religious festivals, examinations, cropping seasons, etc. The election process includes the
appointment of electoral officers, clerks, returning officers, etc.

 How does the Election Commission ensure free and fair elections?
 In order to ensure free and fair elections, the Election Commission sends the Central Observers to
sensitive areas to secure the safety of the voters while they exercise their franchise. If any
malpractice or booth capturing is reported, the voting is countermanded and new dates are
announced for voting in that booth.

 How are the nomination papers scrutinised?

 All nomination papers have to be checked thoroughly by the Returning Officer. Incomplete and
invalid papers have to be returned and the nomination of the candidates rejected. The candidates
have to be qualified, genuine and meeting all criteria regarding deposit money, symbol, etc.

 How does the Election Commission keep check on the electoral expenses?
 The candidates have to submit before the Election Commission a detailed account of all their
expenses incurred during the election. There is a limit that a candidate can spend and if on scrutiny
he is found to transgress or to have made illegal use of the government machinery for personal
gains, even a winning candidate can be asked to step down and the election declared invalid.

 What is the Model Code of Conduct?

 To ensure free and fair elections the Election Commission enforces a model code of conduct to be
followed by the candidates, parties and the government. These include:
 The government officials cannot in their official capacity take part in political activities.
 Sitting MPs and MLAs cannot use official machinery for election purposes. Their official duty
cannot be clubbed with the electioneering works.
 A place of worship cannot be used for election purposes like canvassing the voters.
 To incite communal, regional or sectarian feelings through speeches or printed material is
prohibited during elections.
 Handing over gifts to the voters in exchange of their votes is considered an act of corruption.

 When are the elections held?

 When the normal term of the legislature is over, the elections are held. In case of the dissolution of
the legislature before expiry of its term due to loss in No Confidence Vote or other cases, the
elections can be held before the term of five years.

 Who can contest the elections?

 The person meeting with the following criteria can stand for the elections:
 If he is a citizen of India and a registered voter in the country.
 If he is above 25 years of age, he can contest the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly
elections, the person contesting the Rajya Sabha elections must have completed 30 years of age.
 The candidate has to make an initial deposit which is returned if he is elected to the legislature.
 Seats in the legislatures are reserved for the people of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
also for women.

ELECTION PROCESS
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 What is the Election Manifesto?
 The political parties place their policies and programmes before the voters in the form of a
document called the Election Manifesto. This document apprises the people of the policies and
objectives of the party. It also aims at impressing the voters.

 Write about the filling and scrutiny of nomination papers.

 The candidates either belonging to a political party or independent have to file in their nomination
papers within the stipulated period. After that they are scrutinised in order to ensure that the
nomination forms are complete. The incomplete forms are rejected and the candidate is not
allowed to contest the election. After this each eligible candidate is given a symbol which would
appear on the ballot paper or the electronic voting machine.

 How is the election campaign carried out?

 The success of the candidates depends largely on how well they are able to convince the voters
during the period before the actual voting. The campaign generally involves the use of posters,
rallies and door to door canvassing. The candidates meet the voters and try to impress them with
their speeches and election manifesto.

 How are the polls conducted?

 On the day of elections, the voters go to their respective polling bnooths and exercise their votes.
Here the voters’ identity is confirmed with their identity cards and name in the voters’ list. An
indelible mark is made on the finger of the voter so as to prevent the same person from voting
more than once. The voter then puts a seal against the name of the candidate that he wants to
vote for on the ballot paper and puts it into the ballot box or presses the button for which he wants
to vote on the electronic voting machine.

 How are the votes counted and results declared?

 Once the voting is over, all the ballot boxes or the electronic voting machines are sealed and taken
to the counting centre where the votes are counted in the supervision of the Returning officer and
the candidate securing most votes is declared elected.

 When is an Election petition filed? Why?

 Any elector or candidate can file an election petition if he or she thinks there has been malpractice
during the election. An election petition can be filed in the High Court of the respective state. If
the High Court finds the allegations true then fresh voting can be ordered.

 How does the media participate in the election process?

 In order to bring transparency and awareness among the citizens the media gives a substantial
coverage to the electoral process. The media allows telecast slots to the political parties to
broadcast their advertisements and election campaigning. The media also analyses the mood the
people and shows the results of the elections.

 Write a short note on the Electronic Voting Machines.

 Nowadays, Electronic Voting Machines have replaced the old system of ballot papers. These
machines are temper-proof and show the whole list of the candidates contesting election from a
particular constituency and the voters press a button in front of the name of the candidate they
want to vote for.

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