Introduction : There is no foolproof political system including democracy. Democracy is filled with many glaring and conspicuous loopholes; We should and need to take steps to remove the weeds of the democratic system or the democratic institution, so that we can lead and guide Democracy, towards a reasonable perfection. Until and unless the faults and drawbacks are removed from the institution of democracy, the destinations or the goals of democracy ,can not be reached. and realized. In this Post the concept Democracy as the Government of the people is dealt and analysed.
The main loopholes of Democracy; There are so many loopholes and defects in democracy: [1] First of all in a democracy, the people are divided into two main sections namely the people with voting eligibility or right and people without voting eligibility. In countries like India, to get voting eligibility one should have attained the minimum age of eighteen. And naturally all people below the age of 18 years old are denied the voting right Generally the population under 18 years of age covers, a huge percentage of the total population; it is almost 32- 34% of the total population of India. That is to say that almost one third of the population in India is denied the voting right. Even in western countries the population below 18 years is almost about 20-25%. Hence the voting right for a notable percentage of the population is denied in western democracies also. This denial is against the basic definition of democracy. There-fore we cannot say democracy is the government of the people, because a large section of the population is denied the right to vote.
[II] The second major loophole in a democracy: The second major loophole in a democracy is that generally in the General Elections all the eligible people are not exercising their voting rights. In India only 68-70% of the voters alone exercise their voting rights. Now we can say that nearly 20- 25 % of the eligible voters do not use their privilege of voting right due to various reasons, It is again a glaring democratic political tragedy. Now if we add the percentage of the people without voting rights [ 33%] and the people who do not exercise their voting rights [20%]; it arrives at around 53% of the total population of India. And this way the nonvoting citizens form the majority. Where are the democratic values, traits and principles ?. This figure completely tarnishes the democratic colour and essence of Democracy. Definitely this figure spontaneously arises some striking, valuable and vital questions in the mind of political thinkers and the champions of democracy. We can say Democracy is the government of the voters, by the voters and for the people.
[III] Third Loophole in Democracy: Thirdly the successful candidates in the General Election are not necessarily elected by the majority of the voters, because even by securing some more votes than the other contestants; one can win in the election. This is a peculiar political chess in Democracies. For example, suppose there are five recognized political parties and a few independent candidates, and all the 5 Political parties and the independents, contest in the Parliamentary election. Suppose in the Election one party gets an average of 30% of the polled votes , second party gets 25% and third party gets 18% the fourth party 15% , the fifth party gets 8% and the independents secure 4% of the total votes polled; and if we analyse the election results, there will be no relation or link between the percentage of the votes secured by the parties and the seats won by the respective Political Parties. The % of the votes secured by the political Parties do not represent the actual seats won by the Political Parties. In democracies a political Party that has got only 30% of the votes can win more than 50% of the total seats in the Parliament, such type of possibilities is always there. This is a glaring political riddle and political Pandora's Box. Naturally the Party which has secured more than 50% of the total seats in the Parliament will be given the privilege by the concerned authority to form the Government to rule the nation. This is also a tragedy in democracy. This political mathematics is really a hard nut to crack and understand.
..
[IV] Fourth Loophole in Democracy: In a democracy the policies of the political parties are weighed more than the merits and qualifications of the individual candidates. The character, efficiency, and qualifications of the candidates, selected by the Political Parties' leaders are generally not up to the mark. While selecting the Candidates, the candidate's winning advantage or eligibility alone is considered not the individual capabilities and competence. So generally, the Parliaments of Nations, are not represented by the best and good brains of the nations in democracies. this is also an alarming tragedy of democracy. However, the Upper House or House of Lords etc compensate this political deficiency to some extent. But such houses do not have equal political power. This is also an inevitable tragedy. in a democracy.
[V] Fifth Loophole in Democracy: In a democracy the voters generally prefer to vote for a candidate sponsored by the recognized political parties; not the independent candidates' merit is generally ignored. The stand of the voters in this regard has both advantages and disadvantages. Because of this political psychology of the voters, many eminent and eligible independent candidates are defeated in the public election, this is also a great political tragedy.
Conclusion : The demerits and loopholes of Democracy, discussed in this Post, are not so easy to be remedied. But it is possible, provided we sincerely try to redress these problems.
[1] We can reduce the voting eligibility age of the citizens and increase the percentage of the eligible voters so that more number of citizens can take part in the democratic voting exercise of the nation.
[2] The Government and political thinkers should take all needed and adequate steps to educate the people about the power of the ballot paper, and about the importance of exercising their voting rights. Because, of all the political rights in a democracy the right to vote in the Public or General Elections is the most important political right.
[3] It is learnt that in some parts of the country poor people and politically voiceless people are threatened and blocked to vote in the General election. The Government should take all the necessary steps to give protection to such people and help them to vote in the general elections without fear. If all the eligible citizens including the poor citizens are allowed to vote without fear, as per their free wish then only we can experience the real fruits and real political strength of Democracy.
[4] . Shrewd politicians use the Poling Booths, as a political trap to enhance their political prospects. In hilly and remote rural areas the election booths are established at distant places from the residences of the local voters. That affects the voting fervor and the percentage of polled votes , in those particular areas. Generally people do not like to walk , long distance to vote in the general elections, so as a corollary considerable number of poor voters remain in their houses, in stead of exercising the power of their ballot . So Government and the Election Commission should establish Poling Booths at nearby places so that more people will come forward to vote in the general elections.
If all these remedial measures are implemented, then we can increase the percentage of the polled votes in general election and increase the effective political participation of the citizens in the real governance of the country. Definitely there will be so many other ways , means . methods and strategies to save Democracy from the loopholes of Democracy. Let us think collectively and block the loopholes of Democracy.
No comments:
Post a Comment