Thursday 16 April 2009

If You Do Not Want To Vote, Register Your Refusal to Vote!

Maj.Gen. (Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, President, Mysore Grahakara Parishat writes

All voters know what they want in the elections. But the question is which candidate to vote for. The party that you like to vote for may not field a worthy candidate, or the candidate you want to vote for may belong to an unworthy party.

Just because there is no right candidate, do not refrain from going to the polling booth, because your vote may be misused by unscrupulous elements to make a truly bad candidate win. If you do not want to vote for any candidate, tell the presiding officer of the polling booth after your name has been checked in the voters register, that you do not want to vote for anyone. According to Section 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, the officer will make a note that you do not wish to vote for any candidate and ask you to sign it. If enough people use their right not to vote, it will send a strong message to the political parties that they are not nominating the right candidates.