The Chief Election Commissioner is seeking powers to annul an entire election.
What happened recently?
CEC has said that seizures of cash and liquor during the ongoing Assembly elections are three times as much as was seized in the 2012 iterations of the polls.
This is a signifier of the magnitude of the bribery problem, even after the demonetisation was supposed to have crippled the ability of political parties to court favour with voters in this manner.
Why the demand must not be granted?
Voter bribery is a slippery a concept to be enshrined in law.
Voters can be bribed in different ways at different times.
So, a law against such bribery will become difficult to implement.
Proof of bribery will also be difficult to find.
And, even if there is proof, linking it to a candidate will require lengthy investigation. This is difficult in the compressed time-scale of election.
Also, many poor Indians think their vote is a crucial and large part of their worldly wealth. They treat it with respect and deploy it to their greatest advantage.
So, to think that most voters can be easily bribed into giving away their only lever of power is disrespectfulof Indians’ ability to make rational decisions.
Therefore, elections cannot be canceled merely on the basis of accusations.
