4-Aug-2017: NOTA option to stay in Rajya Sabha polls

The Supreme Court has refused to stay an Election Commission circular issued in January 2014 that introduced NOTA in the Rajya Sabha elections. The court has, however, issued notice to the Election Commission of India, saying the poll body should be heard in detail as any judicial decision on NOTA may have a ripple effect on elections conducted from January 24, 2014, to the present day.

The Election Commission, in October 2013, issued directions for providing the NOTA option in elections. But then, doubts were raised about its applicability in the Rajya Sabha polls. After examining the issue, the EC on January 24, 2014, directed that the option would also apply for elections to the Rajya Sabha. Immediately thereafter, NOTA was introduced for the biennial elections to the Upper House held in 16 States on February 7 the same year. On February 27, 2014, while extending the NOTA option to the Legislative Council elections, the electoral body gave further directives on its use.

NOTA, or ‘None Of The Above’, option appears at the bottom of EVM or ballot paper, below the names of all the contestants. This option allows a voter to reject all the candidates in any election. It was included in the EVMs and ballot papers by virtue of a Supreme Court judgment in September 2013 which directed the Election Commission to “make necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs for “None of the Above (NOTA)” option so that the electors who do not wish to vote for any of the candidates can exercise their right not to vote for any candidate without violation of the secrecy of their decision.”

The Supreme Court had justified the inclusion of NOTA by saying that it would force political parties to project clean candidates in an election. The court said that since all citizens have the “right to vote”, one must also have the right to reject all candidates as part of their fundamental right to speech and expression in the Constitution. Prior to this judgment, there was a similar provision in which one could refuse all the candidates in the fray and exercise his or her right to vote. To do that, a voter had to go to the Presiding Officer at the polling booth and fill form 17A. This, however, did not allow for anonymity.

According to Association of Democratic Reforms, apart from India, France, Belgium, Bangladesh, Brazil, Greece, Ukraine, Chile, Finland, Sweden, Spain and Columbia are countries where NOTA or similar voting practice is allowed. Few states like Nevada and Texas in the US also allow it. Bulgaria also joined the list in 2016.