Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said on 10 June that it may not be fair to say that the Election Commission of India (ECI) did not take initiatives to suggest electoral reforms in the country. However, Lavasa suggested that it might be fair to say that the poll panel did not push these reforms enough.

“If you ask the Election Commission of India , they will give you ample instances with dates where they have proposed electoral reforms to the government, and they have been repeatedly pursuing those reforms, but that is the extent to which they can go, and that is what they have been doing," Lavasa said.

The former Election Commissioner was speaking during a webinar on 'Is it time to give NOTA more teeth?' organised by the election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

"Even today, there must be a list of 40-50 electoral reforms, which are lying in the government's consideration, which ECI has periodically pushed,” Lavasa said, responding to a question on the poll panel's initiatives on electoral reforms.

Lavasa resigned as Election Commissioner in August 2020 after his appointment as a vice-president at the Asian Development Bank was announced in July. Lavasa, a retired IAS officer of the 1980 batch, had been appointed Election Commissioner in 2018 and was in the running to become the Chief Election Commissioner when CEC Sunil Arora retired in April 2021.

"So, it may not be totally fair to say that they have not taken the initiative to suggest electoral reforms. It might be fair to say that they have not pushed it enough, but I don't know what pushing enough means," he said.

What is NOTA?

Since 2013, None of the Above, or NOTA , has been included as a choice on ballot papers in Indian elections. By expressing a preference for NOTA, a voter can choose not to endorse any candidate in the elections.

It might be fair to say that they have not pushed these reforms enough.

Since its introduction, NOTA has gained popularity among voters, securing more votes than some candidates in Lok Sabha and assembly elections and, in some instances, more votes than the winning candidate in panchayat elections. But the NOTA votes are ineffective, raising questions about the validity of the option.

“But despite several efforts by the Supreme Court, the spirit behind suggesting NOTA to nudge political parties to improve the quality of candidates , I don't think has served the purpose and therefore, needs more teeth,” Lavas said.

There must be a list of 40-50 electoral reforms, which are lying in the Government's consideration.