ASSIGNMENT 6

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Anger against system keeps voters away from Polls in Jammu & Kashmir: Official Survey

‘People have lost faith in political system and leadership’

Srinagar, Mar 21: People are keeping off the electoral process in Jammu & Kashmir because they have lost faith in the political system and leadership. Anger against political parties and candidates is a reason too. These disturbing insights have come to fore in a recently conducted official survey.

The Study
Commissioned by Chief Electoral officer, Jammu & Kashmir, the survey was conducted by the Department of Economics and Statistics to know about Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour, Belief and Practices (KABBP) of voters in the State.
The study has found that “lack of faith in political system, anger against candidates/political parties, absence of Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) & boycott call by separatists leaders were primary factors responsible for keeping the voters away from polling during previous elections.”

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Why Don’t People Vote?

  • Among respondents, who did not vote in the last elections, 15.86 % cited lack of faith in the electoral system as the reason.
  • As many as 16.52 percent of them didn’t have Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) while 14.98 % claimed that their names were missing from electoral rolls.
  • While 9.03 % abstained from voting on the call of separatist leaders, 4.63 % of those who didn’t vote cited “lack of good candidates” as the reason.

According to the survey, 8.15 percent who stayed away from voting thought “nothing will change” by voting, while 2.42 percent did so because of threat perception.

What motivates the voters?

  • According to the survey, 17.60 % respondents who voted in the last elections were motivated because “candidates in the fray were good”, while 8.56 % of them voted because of sympathy specific political parties.
  • About 19.74 percent turned up at polling booths thinking it is was their right and duty.
  • Some people voted only to oppose a candidate. The survey says, that 5.83 percent of those who voted, did so “with the sole objective of defeating a particular party or a candidate.”
  • “While 5.47 percent did cast vote because the candidate was of their choice and from their community and religion, 2.73 of respondents voted after candidates visited them personally,” the study notes. “About 1.43 % of those who voted were coerced into it.”
  • Influence by family and friends, enabling environment created by the Election Commission of India (ECI), repeated appeals and advertisements by the ECI were other factors responsible for participation of people in voting during the previous elections, the study says.

The Concern

The survey, according to sources, was carried out as ECI as it is concerned over low voter turnout in Kashmir. ECI, it is believed, wants to improve the public participation by addressing the root causes of the problem.

After the 1987 Assembly polls–widely believed to have been rigged– Kashmir has been witnessing thin polling turnout, particularly during the parliamentary elections.

*Disclaimer: This story has been published by Greaterkashmir.com on 22nd of March, 2014 and is being reproduced here only as part of a writing assignment.

The First Post

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