Saturday, 10 December 2016

What are the electoral reforms that we should try to implement?

-One, prescribe a ceiling for political parties’ expenditure, like that for the candidates.

-Two, consider state funding of political parties (not elections) with independent audit and a complete ban on private donations.

-Three, enforce internal democracy and transparency in the working of the political parties. Bring them under the RTI.

-Four, set up an independent national election fund where all tax-free donations could be made. It could be operated by the ECI or any other independent body.

-Five, accept the ECI’s proposal to legally empower it to cancel elections where credible evidence of abuse of money has been found.

-Six, debar persons against whom cases of heinous offences are pending in courts from contesting elections.

-Seven, empower the ECI to de-register those political parties which have not contested any election for 10 years and yet benefited from tax exemptions.

-Eight, make paid news an electoral offence with two years’ imprisonment by declaring it a “corrupt practice” (Sec 100 RP Act) and “undue influence” (Sec 123(2)).

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