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FDR/Lok Satta
undertook the path breaking Election Watch (EW) Activity in 1999
for the state assembly and parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh.
Since then we have come a long way and evolved as the largest
people's movement for governance and electoral reforms in the
country. Many of our successes are well known to you. In many
ways, these successes have been built on the solid foundations
of the Election Watch movement in 1999, and the popular mobilization
based on that effort.
Here is
a quick recap of some of our major accomplishments on the electoral
reform front as outlined below :
ECriminalisation
of Politics Curbed
EPolitical
funding Reform Law Enacted
EDisclosures
of antecedants made mandatory
ENeed
to make Voter Registration Process transparent recognised
ECommon
Platforms and debates gain popularity
| Criminalisation
of Politics Curbed |
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Political
funding Reform Law Enacted |
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Thanks
to FDR/Lok Satta's efforts, criminalization of polity
is arrested in AP, though not reversed. The parties stopped
entertaining any new criminal elements though the entrenched
criminals continue to be in the fray as they have struck
deep political roots. For instance, a notorious gangster,
Srisailam China Yadav, joined the ruling party with great
fanfare in early 1999. He took out a procession with 5000
people and 600 cars, and the rally was flagged off by the
then Home Minister, and escorted by a minister from Hyderabad.
The party president personally received the mafia don and
embraced him into his party.But for the Election Watch work,
he would have been nominated and elected, and almost certainly
made a minister. In this case, he was denied nomination
because of public pressure. Similarly, during the local
government elections held in 2000, the Telugu Desam Party
(TDP) decided to field Kapatralla Venkatappiah Naidu, a
notorious criminal as candidate for the Zilla Parishad Chairman
of Kurnool. Lok Satta launched a major campaign against
his candidacy in the media and owing to our pressure, he
was dropped as a candidate. That was an unprecedented victory
for us and the power of civil society advocacy in influencing
the behaviour of political parties was amply demonstrated
by our success.
The
credibility of Election Watch and the civil society initiative
is further enhanced as people find that those listed by
Lok Satta in 1999 were later implicated in serious public
fraud. For instance, Krishna Yadav, who was listed then,
later became a minister, and was recently arrested for his
involvement in the Telgi stamp scam.(Click
here to view the list)
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An excellent
legislation that has the potential to change very nature
of our polity- the Political Funding Reform Law was enacted
recently. FDR/Lok Satta has done tremendous spadework
behind the scenes to make this a reality. The May-June 2001
issue of Lok Satta Times outlined FDR/Lok Satta's advocacy
in this field and those proposals formed the basis of the
new law. Thanks to this new law, for the fist time tax incentives
are provided for contributions to political parties along
with free media time.
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| Need
to make Voter Registration Process transparent recognised |
| FDR/Lok
Satta's surveys established beyond doubt the defects plaguing
our voter registration system. EC has undertaken a summary
revision of electoral rolls across the country, which is currently
under way. Now for the first time, voter lists are read out
in gram sabhas and at the ward level and bulk registrations
by recognized political parties and welfare associations are
accepted. Owing to our advocacy, the department of posts and
the EC have agreed in principle to make the post office a
nodal agency for voter registration. In the last month, the
EC has formally met the postal department and agreed to use
the post offices for voter registration. It will probably
be an year before the decision comes into effect fully. But
an important step has been taken to make voter registration
transparent, accessible and citizen-friendly, and to promote
clean elections. |
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The New Indian Express, 30 December
2003
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| Disclosures
of antecedants made mandatory |
Common
Platforms and debates gain wide acceptance |
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The
March 13th 2003, judgment of the Supreme Court mandating
the disclosure of criminal and financial antecedents of
all candidates contesting for electoral office is directly
a result of FDR/Lok Satta's and its civil society partners'
efforts. In effect, what was a Herculean effort with the
citizens' support to collect antecedents of candidates has
become voters' entitlement under Article 19 of the Constitution.
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The common platforms and candidate debates organized by
FDR/Lok Satta have become widely popular and the Election
Commission (EC) and electronic media are considering adopting
a similar format as they are mandated by law to give free
air-time to recognized political parties on an equitable basis.
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