Negative voting to foster purity, vibrancy in elections: SC

• The Supreme Court on 27 Sep 2013 said that the voters have right to reject all candidates contesting elections.
• The Apex Court has directed the Election Commission to include negative voting by allowing voters to select none among the options.
• The Supreme Court has added that negative voting would foster purity and vibrancy in elections.
• The court says that it would lead to systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates.

Hearing a petition filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties, an NGO, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide a button on voting machines to allow voters to reject all candidates contesting an election in a constituency.

Benefits of Right to Reject:

1.     Negative voting would foster purity and vibrancy in election.

2.     Political parties will be forced to project clean candidates.

3.     The voters who are dissatisfied with the candidates in the fray would turn up in large number to express their opinion.

Voters in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram - where Assembly elections are due in November - will have the right to reject option.

Presently the concept of right to reject is present in France, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Ukraine, Chile, Bangladesh, the United States, Finland, Sweden, Columbia and Spain.