Once an election is scheduled, the debate on voting is equally vociferous as the political speeches. Even as legislations, involving sanctions, are being pondered to enforce a selection by 'free will', here are the other 'V' words that meander through the mind.
Vacillation..
Although one might appreciate choice, one would still need factors that would fillip a decision. Indian politics, and consequently the Electronic Voting Machine(EVM), enumerates a host of parties varying symbolically rather than ideologically. The manifestos resemble bottled water from the same source, at the same price, adopting the same marketing ploy. The crime chronicles of the contestants, diffused through the ubiquitous media and fingering vindictive infoganda, fail to guide on account of their non-accountability. The Election Commission, aided by the courts, could promote voting by issuing a certified backlog of court cases being responded to by the contestant detailing the charges; in case of neophytes, a No Criminal Record certificate could be issued. This would generate a tangible criterion, and once the choice is made from among the devil, the beast and the demon, voting is but the push of a button. Of course, people might abstain to avoid abetment!
Volition..
Once the ballot is cast and the contestant of one's choice wins, giving the impression that one's vote did count, it is expected that the contestant will conscientiously debate and devoutly dispose himself to improving the conditions of the voters, lest he should have preoccupations preventing his participation. But even the painstakingly punctual have to live by the creed of the 'whip' and thereby choose between defection from the party and desertion of the public. With the seat in the palatial legislature being anything but the bequest that is the throne, at least for some, their will capitulates to the High Command, the gerontocratic oligarchy blessed with farsightedness - an extrapolation determining the sections of the society most likely to have the greatest number of ballots during the ensuing election.
Vicissitude..
To overcome the volition vexation, one might vote for the party, instead of the candidate, swayed by any deviations in ideology implied by inventive illumination in the issued manifesto. Victory and subsequent majority, invariably, would mean the voters' voices have been heard, along with the party's prayers. However, when the house is hung, a strong possibility given the number of nooses formed by the innumerable rope tricks prior to the polls, principles are flung; power becomes a joint venture and policies reflect the poker chips pledged by the stake holders, and not the preference of the populace. The rulers, perhaps, would be more easily chosen if there were only two parties and the public would be throwing the punches. Then again, an assured nibble at the pie outweighs the starvation inflicted on the opposition.
Veto..
One could choose to not elect, yet prevent misrepresentation, by disclosing his intention to the officials and signing in the designated register; but the ballot no longer remains a secret. A more genial option would be to have the EVM reflect the None Of The Above (NOTA) provision. Further, if the percentage of voters exercising the NOTA option was to cross a threshold, the poll could be declared void and the voting process reenacted with a different set of candidates, the erstwhile battery being disqualified. Democracy, by virtue of the election process being free, need not be confined to picking the least putrefied of the posse, should it? Nevertheless, if laws to this effect were ever to be passed the meaning of surreal would be palpably real.
Vacillation..
Although one might appreciate choice, one would still need factors that would fillip a decision. Indian politics, and consequently the Electronic Voting Machine(EVM), enumerates a host of parties varying symbolically rather than ideologically. The manifestos resemble bottled water from the same source, at the same price, adopting the same marketing ploy. The crime chronicles of the contestants, diffused through the ubiquitous media and fingering vindictive infoganda, fail to guide on account of their non-accountability. The Election Commission, aided by the courts, could promote voting by issuing a certified backlog of court cases being responded to by the contestant detailing the charges; in case of neophytes, a No Criminal Record certificate could be issued. This would generate a tangible criterion, and once the choice is made from among the devil, the beast and the demon, voting is but the push of a button. Of course, people might abstain to avoid abetment!
Volition..
Once the ballot is cast and the contestant of one's choice wins, giving the impression that one's vote did count, it is expected that the contestant will conscientiously debate and devoutly dispose himself to improving the conditions of the voters, lest he should have preoccupations preventing his participation. But even the painstakingly punctual have to live by the creed of the 'whip' and thereby choose between defection from the party and desertion of the public. With the seat in the palatial legislature being anything but the bequest that is the throne, at least for some, their will capitulates to the High Command, the gerontocratic oligarchy blessed with farsightedness - an extrapolation determining the sections of the society most likely to have the greatest number of ballots during the ensuing election.
Vicissitude..
To overcome the volition vexation, one might vote for the party, instead of the candidate, swayed by any deviations in ideology implied by inventive illumination in the issued manifesto. Victory and subsequent majority, invariably, would mean the voters' voices have been heard, along with the party's prayers. However, when the house is hung, a strong possibility given the number of nooses formed by the innumerable rope tricks prior to the polls, principles are flung; power becomes a joint venture and policies reflect the poker chips pledged by the stake holders, and not the preference of the populace. The rulers, perhaps, would be more easily chosen if there were only two parties and the public would be throwing the punches. Then again, an assured nibble at the pie outweighs the starvation inflicted on the opposition.
Veto..
One could choose to not elect, yet prevent misrepresentation, by disclosing his intention to the officials and signing in the designated register; but the ballot no longer remains a secret. A more genial option would be to have the EVM reflect the None Of The Above (NOTA) provision. Further, if the percentage of voters exercising the NOTA option was to cross a threshold, the poll could be declared void and the voting process reenacted with a different set of candidates, the erstwhile battery being disqualified. Democracy, by virtue of the election process being free, need not be confined to picking the least putrefied of the posse, should it? Nevertheless, if laws to this effect were ever to be passed the meaning of surreal would be palpably real.
Comments