Non-voting should be an embarrassment, says new CEC, S Y Quraishi

CE designate SY Quraishi said that non voting should be an embarrassment.He said that the health of the electoral roll shows the health of democracy. quraishi wants the work of issuing photo-ID cards to be expedited. Pappu campaign in Delhi worked well, he said.

This article titled "Non-voting should be an embarrassment, says new CEC, S Y Qureshi" was published in The Times of India on July 29th 2010.

After four years in the Election Commission, CEC-designate SY Quraishi has a clear idea of the priorities and concerns that he would like to address over the next two years.

Notwithstanding repeated attempts by various political parties and some civil society groups, Quraishi swears by Electronic Voting Machines and sees no reason why they should be done away with. But he is open to evolving additional checks to reduce chances of their abuse. He is also happy with the effectiveness of the model code of conduct and would not like it to be codified.

Quraishi is happy with the electoral reforms carried out by the government but would like that the others are also dealt with. He also thanks the Supreme Court for guarding neutrality of EC and insulating it from political pressure.

"I have no new wheel to invent," Quraishi said, speaking to TOI, a day after the formal announcement of his appointment as CEC. What tops is his list is voter education, something that he has been closely involved with in the EC for the past two years. He even got a separate division that works for larger participation of people. "I often say that the health of the electoral roll shows the health of democracy. If feasible, I would like to see the day when a citizen's charter is prepared which says that if any citizen is missing from the electoral roll we should fine ourselves Rs 100 a day for not putting someone on it," he says.

In the next few months, he plans a national consultation on voter participation.

Quraishi would also like to see that the work of issuing photo-ID cards is expedited. "There is no other service in the country that comes to your doorstep," he says.

The CEC-designate is also passionate about working to improve the voter turnout in urban areas. His intervention in Delhi and Jharkhand saw significant increase in the turnout. "People who do not vote are the biggest critics. While scheduling an election in a big city we have to see that it is not on a Monday, otherwise people take it as an extended weekend," he says.

Thankfully, he says, the `Pappu' campaign in Delhi worked well. Also, roping in cricket captain MS Dhoni in Jharkhand saw increase in voting from 51% to 58%. "We want to see that non-voting, instead of a fashion statement, becomes a source of embarrassment," he says.

The expenditure by candidates during elections is another headache and Quraishi wants to set up an expenditure monitoring division that will be manned by Indian Revenue Service officers. "We will staff it properly and give it more teeth," he says.

Another issue he is concerned about is paid news which, he says, is detrimental to democracy. "The phenomenon is not limited to elections. But we would like to appeal to media houses to be more vigilant," he says.