“One Nation, One Election” is a proposed idea to hold elections for both the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house of Parliament) and all state legislative assemblies at the same time, ideally every five years. The aim is to make the electoral process smoother and save money by reducing the number of elections held. It also hopes to decrease disruptions caused by frequent elections and ensure stability and accountability in politics across the country.
The high-level committee on “One Nation, One Election” submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, proposing uniform elections across the country. The committee, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, recommended amending the last five articles of the Constitution.
This would enable the possibility of holding “One Nation, One Election” after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The panel, led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has unanimously agreed that simultaneous elections should be held, as stated in its 18,626-page report.
Out of a total of 62 parties that participated in the ‘One Nation, One Election’ committee, 47 parties submitted their proposals, while 15 parties did not respond. Among the 47 parties that submitted proposals, 32 supported simultaneous elections, while 15 were against it.
The exhaustive 18,626-page report resulted from thorough consultations with stakeholders, experts, and extensive research conducted over a span of 191 days, starting from its establishment on September 2, 2023.
The panel suggested holding Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously as the initial step, followed by coordinating local body elections within 100 days.
The members of committee
Key points
- The report stated that the panel unanimously believes that simultaneous elections should be implemented in the country and could potentially be introduced by 2029.
- Because of holding multiple elections every year, it increases the burden on stakeholders such as businesses, workers, political parties, and civil society. The committee expressed concern over this and stated the necessity to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
- Running numerous elections across various levels of government demands considerable financial investment. However, by aligning these elections, the government can cut down on organizing expenses, leading to significant savings.
- Corruption and illegal finance are known to increase in relation to regular elections. A decrease in the number of elections could lead to a reduction in the financing of campaigns by unscrupulous means such as black money.
- Massive logistical efforts are required to conduct elections, including planning for security, deploying staff, and guaranteeing the availability of resources. The administrative procedure could be made more straightforward and effective by consolidating the elections.
- The group suggested holding simultaneous elections in two stages. Elections to the State Legislative Assemblies and the House of the People should be coordinated as the first phase. The elections for State Legislative Assemblies and the House of Representatives should be coordinated with the elections for Municipalities and Panchayats in the second step.
- New elections should be held to form the new House in the event of a hung House, no-confidence motion, or any other situation of that nature. To make essential revisions to the Constitution, bills for constitutional amendments would be submitted and not need state ratification.
- In order to create a Single Electoral Roll and Single Elector’s Photo Identity Card, it was suggested that Article 325 be amended. The States would then need to ratify this change.
