NOTA Full Form – “None of the Above“
What is NOTA?
- ‘NOTA’ which means none of these is an election option which gives the voters the right to reject the candidates of various political parties standing in their constituencies and motivates the political parties to present better candidates.
Provisions before NOTA
- Till the year 2013, if the voter was dissatisfied with the candidates of his constituency, then he could express this dissatisfaction by filling a form in the polling booth under rule 49-0 of election conduct, but this system violated the voter’s right to secret voting.
The right not to choose was advocated in the 170th report (1999) of the Law Commission but it was not implemented due to practical challenges.
|
When was NOTA implemented
- In the year 2013, the civil rights organization PUCL started a campaign against the use of ballot paper or EVM. But a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on the issue of inclusion of NOTA option People’s Union for Civil Liberties vs Union of India 2013.
- Subsequently, the Supreme Court of India directed the Election Commission of India to include the option of NOTA in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
- Therefore, the Election Commission of India, using its powers under Article 324, for the first time in the year 2013 included the option of ‘NOTA’ in the Assembly elections of four states namely Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the Union Territory of Delhi.
- Provisions similar to NOTA in other democratic countries
- European countries: Finland, Spain, Sweden, France, Belgium, Greece allow their voters to cast votes similar to ‘NOTA’.
- USA: There is no formal NOTA option on the ballot paper in the US.
- Some US states give their voters the right of ‘write-in-vote’, that is, voters can express their dissatisfaction by writing ‘none of these’ or an alternative name.
- NOTA is also an electoral option in Colombia, Ukraine, Brazil, Bangladesh.
- Article 324- Election Commission of India is given the power to supervise, direct and control elections to Parliament and Legislative Assemblies.
- Detailed provisions have been made under the Representation of People Act 1951 and the rules made thereunder.
|
Why is NOTA needed?
- 1. NOTA is a public expression of clear disapproval of voters and it controls the arbitrary behavior of political parties.
- 2. Using NOTA instead of staying away from elections ensures that there will be no misuse of votes.
Related Issues:-
- At present NOTA has symbolic importance and it cannot affect the election result of any seat.
- For example, if 99 out of 100 votes on a seat are in favor of NOTA and only 1 vote is in favor of the candidate, then he will be the winner.
According to a research by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a total of 1.29 crore votes were in favour of NOTA in the last 5 years in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
|
NOTA has proved to be a toothless tiger as the ever-increasing number of public representatives with criminal background indicates that NOTA has failed to exert moral influence on political parties.
Way forward
- The Election Commission should consider holding fresh elections in constituencies where the majority is in favour of NOTA.
- For example, in 2018, the Maharashtra Election Commission issued an order that if the majority in the state-level elections is in favour of NOTA, then the elections will be held again.
- Barring candidates who get less votes than NOTA from contesting again.
- For example, the Haryana Election Commission has disqualified a candidate who got less votes than NOTA at the municipal corporation level from contesting again.
