The Election Commission of India has released guidelines on voting in pandemic times that include masks and gloves for voters and thermal scanners at the polling booth to check for temperature. Mask, of course will have to be lowered at the time of identification. Could we, even just a few months ago, have imagined that we could soon be standing in queues outside polling booths with masks on? No, but now this could well be happening and may in fact remain in place for some years ahead.
The Indian election process is already a cumbersome one and all these extra precautions will only add to the measures that currently. But then the democratic process has to continue and if that is the option available it has to be taken. Bihar, where elections are due this November will be the first State to vote under the new guidelines. In fact, the Election Commission releasing the guidelines now in August is a clear indication that the Bihar elections will not be postponed. That is good news for democracy in the country and States should also look at the possibility of taking a leaf from the Election Commission of India and planning local elections based on these guidelines.
In Goa, the State Election Commission recently announced the postponement by three months of the elections to the municipal councils that were earlier slated for October as the term of the councils ends on November 3. In addition, the Zilla Panchayat elections that were scheduled in March were postponed indefinitely, initially due to the lockdown, and there is new date in sight. The ZP polls may take place along with the municipal elections, whenever these are held, and based on current data, this could be sometime after January 2021, which means that the ZPs will be without elected members for close to a year.
The term of the two district bodies ended in March this year and the postponed polls means that the bodies are almost defunct – though administrators have been appointed to keep them functioning. Local governing bodies in Goa have often been given short shrift by successive governments in power, and there have been times in the past when municipal polls were unduly postponed and administrators took over. While bureaucrats may have better control over the administration, this defeats the purpose of the local governing bodies, and people’s representation. There has to be a mechanism that ensures that local governing bodies do not remain vacant above a certain period.
Against this background, the time may, however, be right to look at the possibility of reforms in the election process and actively consider the possibility of the option of online voting. This would be a big boost to the Digital India programme and also reduce the number of people on the streets on polling day and even the number of staff that is required for the process. It would also substantially reduce the time taken for counting of votes. India is today one of the few countries in the world that has opted for electronic voting machines, it could take the next big step of online elections.
In India we are already paying taxes and filing returns online and there is a major push to convert all transactions to digital means. Perhaps the Goa State Election Commission can also consider opting for online voting in the municipal councils. These are limited seats, limited voters and since the councils are all in urban areas, the connectivity issue may also not be a major problem. The municipal polls could actually be treated like a pilot project from which to build on.