Lack of Intra-Party Democracy: Consequences and Remedies
By Looma Kushwaha
UPSC General Studies: Paper II (Representation of People's Act)
Table of Content
What
is inner party democracy?
Why
it is necessary for India to have inner party democracy?
Without
inner party democracy, India has been reduced to a procedural democracy rather
than being a substantive democracy. Discuss.
Observations
of the 15th Law Commission
Recommendations
of 20th Law Commission Report
Conclusion
What is intra-party democracy?
Internal democracy in political
parties, also known as intra-party democracy, refers to the level and methods
of including party members in the decision making and deliberation within the
party structure.
Why is it necessary for India to have
inner party democracy?
The roots of
the most pertinent challenges faced by Indian politics today can be traced to
the lack of intra-party democracy in candidate selection and party elections.
The absence
of intra-party democracy has contributed to political parties becoming
* Closed
autocratic structures with increasing fragmentation within parties
* Selection
of poor electoral representatives
* Growing
criminalization
* Abuse of
financial power in elections.
Without
inner party democracy, India has been reduced to a procedural democracy rather
than being a substantive democracy. Discuss.
Law commission makes a very important
distinction between:
Procedural
democracy: the practice of universal adult franchise, periodic elections, secret
ballot.
Substantive
democracy: “to refer to the internal democratic functioning of the parties,
which purportedly represent the people.”
Noting that “currently, there is no express
provision for internal democratic regulation of political parties in
India,” there is no mechanism to review a party’s practice against the principles
enshrined in the constitution or against the requirements of the ECI’s
Guidelines and Application Format for the Registration of Political Parties
under Section 29A.
Observations
of the 15th Law Commission on this matter:
“It must be
said that if democracy and
accountability constitute the core of our constitutional system, the same concepts must also apply to
and bind the political parties which are integral to parliamentary democracy.
It is the political parties that form the government, man parliament and run
the governance of the country.
It is,
therefore, necessary to introduce
Internal
democracy, financial transparency and accountability in the working of the
political parties.
A political
party which does not respect democratic principles in its internal working
cannot be expected to respect those principles in the governance of the
country. It cannot be dictatorship internally and democratic in its
functioning outside”.
Recommendations of 20th
Law Commission Report:
* Insert a new
chapter (IV-C) into the Representation of People Act dealing with the ‘Regulation
of Political Parties’. Thus, sections 29J to 29Q will deal with internal
democracy, party constitutions, party organisation, internal
elections, candidate selection, voting procedures, and the
ECI’s power to de-register a party in certain cases of non-compliance.
* Another section 29R should be inserted in the
same part, providing for the de-registration of a political party for
failure to contest parliamentary or state elections for 10 consecutive years.
Conclusion :
Politics is inseparable from
political parties as they are the prime instruments for the execution of
democracy in the country. The selection of candidates, the mobilisation of the
electorate, the formulation of agendas and the passing of legislation are all
conducted through political parties. They are the only organisations in the
country that seek, compete for, and acquire power over state apparatus, control
over public funds, government bureaucracy and legislative mechanisms.
It is therefore surprising how little
has been done to strengthen the processes of institutionalisation of
intra-party democracy in political parties in India. It is imperative that
political parties open their eyes to growing calls for electoral political
reforms and take steps towards bringing in intra-party democracy.
Also Democracy requires more than just
institutions. It also requires that people use those institutions in good
faith, and believe in them. It requires that individuals encourage substantial debate, allow for dissent, and seek compromise
rather than misuse power. Nonetheless, democratic institutions are
important because they enable such individuals to pursue changes.
Bibliography
*Dynasty
politics in the largest democracy
*Let
them fight
*Political
parties must institutionalise intra-party democracy
*How
your vote can be more effective
*Is
There Intra-party Democracy in Indian Political Parties?
*Democracy
Within and Without: A Report on Inner-Party Democracy in Political Parties in
India
*Methods
of Promoting Internal Democracy in Political Parties;
No comments:
Post a Comment