EC to focus on need to inform voters of right not to vote

MADURAI: The Election Commission will focus on creating an awareness among polling officers on the need to inform voters about provisions of rule 49-O of conduct of the Election rules, 1961, which recognises the right of a voter not to vote, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Naresh gupta said here on Wednesday.

Addressing a Seminar on Electoral reforms at Madurai Kamaraj University here, he said that there were complaints about polling officers not informing voters about this particular provision. "It is necessary in a healthy democracy inform the voters about the provision," he said.

Under the rule, voters who do not want to vote should fill out and submit a form. However implementation of the provision also violated the provision of secrecy. Thus the impugned rules was ultra vires and violative of Art 19(1)(a)and 21 of the constitution, he said.

Gupta said a suggestion had been put forward to the EC to make a provision in Electronic Voting Machines by having a button -"not willing to vote or none of the above candidates"

It was not enough to record and count the number of voters who did not favour any candidate, but provide for a re-poll if the number of such negative votes exceeded 50 per cent, he added.