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Shekhawat presses for timely disposal of poll petitions

Special Correspondent

"In order to retain the very credibility of the electoral system"

JAIPUR: The Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, on Saturday asked the Election Commission of India to consider routing election petition through the fast track.

The electoral offences were growing unabated and election petitions took a long time for disposal, he said.

In order to retain the very credibility of the system, timely disposal of election petitions and elimination of flippant complaints was necessary, he said addressing the Election Commissioners' conference here.

Suggesting a series of steps to improve the credibility of elections in the country at the conference in which Election Commissioners from 21 States and Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami were participating, Mr. Shekhawat said not only the elections to State Assemblies and Parliament but also elections to the panchayats and local bodies were critical to the quality of democracy. "The people's confidence in these institutions begins with the confidence they have in the credibility of the election process for these institutions," he said.

The Vice-President advocated a reduction in election expenses, curbing of frequent elections, controlling the role of money and muscle power in the electoral process, developing a mechanism to make more people cast their votes and also for creation of some inbuilt provision for the contestant to show their commitment to key national objectives.

"In my view, our democracy cannot permit this distortion and decline in the election system. The foremost requirement is to take the country out of frequent election syndrome," Mr. Shekhawat said.

He said "every year election syndrome", or the frequent elections taking place in the country, was casting a shadow on the seriousness of the system.

"One knows that democracy means elections but certainly democracy does not mean elections every year."

As for the decline in the polling percentage Mr. Shekhawat said the Election Commission could find the reason behind the voter apathy and suggest possible ways to arrest the growing trend of low voter turn out so that electoral mandate truly became representative in character. He also recommended "more affirmative action" by the Election Commission in making obligatory for contesting candidates to show their commitment to national objectives, including the small family norm.

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