Editor,
Much has been said and written about the lack of viable candidates (honest, committed, educated, etc) to vote for in the upcoming elections. The political class in Meghalaya, barring a tiny handful, is largely made up of dishonest, money-hungry, semi-literate and ultra-selfish individuals who muscle their way into power by buying and bullying votes. These politicians are devoid of party loyalty and have little or no understanding of public service. They have ushered in little or no development in the past 40 years and are slowly but surely dragging our State back into the Stone Age with their lack of direction and antiquated policies. Yes, they bang the drum about their smallest deeds come election time, but these are hardly significant in the larger scheme of things.
And yet we keep voting them to power every time because they pay us for our vote with money, buckets, plastic chairs, mosquito nets, false promises….you name it. A cheap bargain, come to think of it, when you consider the fact that they will rake in crores of rupees within a couple of years! What is the way out then? Do we vote or do we abstain? To my mind, the right to recall becomes of paramount importance in a State like ours to achieve some semblance of sanity in the democratic process and save ourselves from this unchecked plunder. There is much to be debated here….
In the meantime we need to look closely at the candidate and his/her past record of public service rather than the party he represents. The Congress party has an edge, as always, due to the size of its war-chest. But this needs to change. We also need a real Opposition Party not just an Opposition made up of individuals who have no real voice to challenge the Govt and who, given half a chance, would probably jump ship and join the Congress! NGOs are NOT and should never be pushed into the role of being the main opposition as this undermines the entire democratic process.
There is however a proviso in The Conduct of Election Rules of 1961 under Rule 49-O that offers an individual the choice of not voting and recording this choice. Rule 49-O is a rule in The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 of India, which governs elections in the country. It describes the procedure to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote, and decides to record this fact. The apparent purpose of this section is to prevent election fraud or the misuse of votes. The rule can be exercised by a voter without fear. Here is how it works –
Since the ballot paper / Electronic voting machine (EVM) contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the Presiding Officer at the election booth. But ONLY AFTER his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and he has put his signature or thumb impression as required as per the process. The voter can then state his intention not to vote and a remark to this effect will be made in Form 17A by the presiding officer. A note of every ‘non-vote’ will be recorded by the Election Officer, and the total number of non-voters will be available under the Right to Information Act.
For those of us faced with the dilemma of choosing between the devil and the deep sea at election time, this could be the only alternative under present circumstances which, at the same time, will serve to send out a strong message to our politicians.
Yours etc.,
Daisy Kharkongor
Shillong
Why regional parties?
Editor,
A letter by A.F. Dykes contesting the article of HH Mohrmen shows that the writer has misunderstood the ground realities where regional vote bank is concerned in the upcoming assembly elections. The simple truth is, why would people vote for a regional party whose role will be geared towards forming a coalition and creating divergent views in the system of governance. If the Congress can alone secure a full majority to sit in the chair and govern it might help bring political stability. Most of us find that voting for a regional party does not or will not arise if the majority party agrees to go it alone, but that is doubtful in our state of affairs. Who does not want to taste the potion of power? We have seen how conflict of interests can create divergent views when a single party cannot govern, and also let us question what achievements the regional parties have to their credit till date. Only then can we decide whether they serve the real needs of the people or the personal needs of the candidates.
Yours etc.,
Dominic S. Wankhar
Shillong-3