Editorial

Source: The Hindu

Introduction

"One Nation, One Election" is a concept that refers to the idea of holding simultaneous elections for all levels of government in a country. In many democracies, including India, elections are held at different times for various levels of government, such as national, state, and local elections. The concept talks about a scenario where all State elections will take place simultaneously with the general elections of Lok Sabha, once every five years. The idea is to streamline the electoral process and reduce the frequency of elections, thus saving time and resources.

What if the Majority Shifts from One Party to Another in Mid-term?

• Conducting mid-term elections will be an obstacle if the majority shifts from one party to another due to reasons such as splits in parties, defection or instances where certain Members of Parliament/Members of the Legislative Assemblies from the ruling party decline to support the government.
  • It would be a challenge to manage such a scenario if all elections were supposed to take place simultaneously.
• Such a scenario can lead to two things, either the minority government whose Prime Minister or Chief Minister has lost the confidence will lead for the rest of the term, or all the states will go under Presidential Rule.
• Such scenarios may change by shifting the parliamentary form of government into presidential form of government.
• Such a change in the form of government will also require constitutional amendment in several articles.

What Changes would be Required in the Constitution?

• Articles 52­-78 enshrined under Chapter I (Executive) of Part V (The Union) which contains executive powers of the President along with Chapter III of Part V which covers legislative powers of the President will necessitate an amendment.
• Similarly, Articles 153­-167 of Chapter II of the Part VI (The States) encircling the executive powers of the Governor along with Chapter IV covering the legislative power of the Governor will require amendment.
• Several new provisions will also be required to be inserted in the existing Constitution covering the new powers of the President, the Governors, the Council of Ministers in the presidential form of government.

What is a Presidential Form of Government?

• Concept:
  • A presidential form of government is a system of government in which the executive branch, headed by a president, is separate from the legislative branch.
  • In this system, the president is the head of state and government and is typically elected by the people for a fixed term.
  • The president's powers and authority are constitutionally defined and independent of the legislature, which is a key feature that distinguishes it from parliamentary systems of government.
  • The legislature has limited power in a presidential form of government.
• Global Scenario:
  • The United States of America, the world's oldest presidential democracy, serves as a prominent example of a smooth presidential system.
  • Additionally, countries like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia also have presidential governments.
    • African countries like Nigeria and Kenya have presidential systems, but they face unique challenges related to ethnic diversity and political stability.
  • These systems are characterized by a separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, with the president holding a distinct and often powerful role.

What are the Suggestions of the Law Commission on One Nation One Election?

• The 21^st Law Commission of India on 30th August 2018 under the Chairmanship of Justice B. S. Chauhan gave a draft recommendation on One Nation One Poll.
• It suggested that simultaneous elections are not possible in the existing framework.
• It would require amendments in the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, Anti-defection law, etc.
• The no-confidence motion was suggested to be replaced with a ‘constructive vote of no-confidence’.
  • As per the draft recommendations, in a constructive vote of no confidence, the government may only be removed if there is confidence in an alternate government.

What may the Aftermath of Adopting Presidential Form of Government?

• Parliamentary form of government is considered as a part of basic structure doctrine. And changing the form of government may violate the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution.
• Countries like Nigeria and Kenya are facing challenges in the presidential form of government due the reasons such as ethnic diversity and political instability. It would be a challenge to implement such a framework in India which has a huge and diverse population.

Conclusion

To conduct simultaneous elections in the existing framework it would be necessary to shorten the duration of the Assemblies in multiple states where their tenures have not concluded when the Lok Sabha election is scheduled to take place.