Time for NOTA
The demand for inclusion of the reject all option—None of the Above (NOTA)—in the ballot paper seems to be at its peak at present. Voices for the NOTA option were getting louder even during my tenure as Chief Election Commissioner, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling to include NOTA in the ballot paper.
The government making no decision on this issue meant the Election Commission could do nothing. After all, all it can do is implement government decisions. In democracy, people should have the right to choose and even reject political parties. Countries like India, Spain, Bangladesh and Pakistan have implemented NOTA.
Our democracy is getting mature and I think it’s time to go for NOTA. The EC and the parties should educate people on technical complications before implementing NOTA. The parties shouldn’t fear NOTA because I don’t think it will impact their respective vote banks.
The author is former chief election commissioner
