ELECTION

Leaders, as generally understood, are chosen in different ways, presently effected by way
of voting. As it is generally known, such a choice is known as an election. Other than an
election, leaders can be appointed by way of inheriting their jobs, as well as by lot, but
the fairest method is by election on which the United States and most other countries
must rely. The elections that are talked about nowadays are those of government officials,
but there are other kinds of elections, such as the Roman Catholic Church, elected by the
College of Cardinals, schools, trade unions, business associations and social clubs.

Origin: Election is a very old way of choosing leaders in government. It began in ancient
Greece, as well as in the Roman republic, more than two thousand years ago, when
people were governed by kings and lords, whose leadership in government was
considered as a right of birth. Other groups were also elected, representing the interests
of the populace. But such groups had wielded little power, not significant enough to be
effective.

In the early days of the United States, not every citizen could participate in elections.
Many states formulated their own rules and regulations, making it mandatory that people
who were not citizens were not permitted to vote. There were also certain provisions that
prevented poor people to vote. The rules were further reinforced to include the necessity
of owning property before a person was allowed to vote, but such an unfair provision was
later summarily changed. The Civil War made it possible for Negro citizens of the
United States to vote. The U.S. Constitution was amended in 1868, giving Negroes the
right to vote. Yet another amendment in 1920, allowed women in the U.S. to vote for the
first time. In this respect, the U.S. was considered to be far ahead of other countries in
giving the vote to women. In Japan, women were not allowed to vote until 1945. Today,
women vote in most of the civilized countries of the world, the voting age varying from
country to country. As it is widely known, there are primaryelections held prior to
regular elections.

Direct Election: In the U.S., voters vote for candidates running for office, such as
Senators and Members of the House of Representatives.

Indirect Election: Voters vote for representatives who will, in turn, vote for candidates
running for office. The President and Vice President are elected by indirect election,
through the Electoral College. In many countries, the heads of governments are elected
indirectly by members of the senate or parliament. In France, the premier is elected by
members of the National Assembly, much like the U.S. House of Representatives.
A citizen’s vote is a secret. It is called a ballot, used all over the civilized world. Secret
votes are indispensable. It acts as a protection from threats and intimidation.

Electoral College: This is a group of people that actually elect the President and Vice
President of the United States.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ELECTIONS

When running elections, there are four groups in the school that you are influencing:

 Those that have had the positions for a year.

 Those running in the elections.
 The student body.
 The staff.

A well run election will affect all of these groups positively.

The first group is using a year's worth of experience (and the previous year's files) to run
the elections, and in many ways they are passing on some of these skills as they put the
new group through the elections. The new group is watching the first very closely to see
how it is done and they are picking up a lot of tips on how to run a major event.

If program is being well-run, never underestimate the amount of passive learning that is
occurring.

A well run election tells the students that this is important.

Many staff and students complain that elections are just popularity contests. They are
right. If the council does not run a proper election, the candidates who will get elected
will be the ones who are the most popular and not the most qualified. You cannot blame
the voters for this. The voters can only judge the candidates by the process that is
available. However, if a number of occasions are provided for all of the candidates to
demonstrate their abilities and organizational skills, the voters have a set of parameters to
judge the candidates. Qualified candidates will now assumea new definition of
popularity.
 TAKING ELECTIONS SERIOUSLY
1. Send a note to the homeroom teachers asking for their help. Have them
stress the importance of democratic elections, talk about responsibility to
vote, discuss issues, ask students to listen to speeches and campaign
promises, invite a candidate into your homeroom.
2. Post Job Descriptions for all positions.
3. Have an all candidates meeting to discuss election procedures and answer
questions.
4. Have written regulations regarding campaign procedures.
5. Have the new president(s) actively involved in the election of the new
executive. This helps foster their position as leaders.
6. Introduce all new leaders, officially, to the school administration.
7. Personally congratulate winners and thank the losers.
8. Start working with the new president(s) immediately to set the agenda for
the first meeting.

WHAT TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU HAVE NEW LEADERS

1. Have the new president(s) call the first meeting and hand out the agenda.
2. Set dates for key planning meetings. (i.e. calendar, budget)
3. Schedule interviews between present and past leaders in all positions.
4. Give all leaders a mail slot if you have a location of your own.
5. Have the new and old executive meet together to carry out some practical
business.
6. Give each leader a daily planner and insist they use it. This may be the
greatest piece of leadership advice you can give them.
7. You may want to give them a major project to work on between the
elections and June. The new executive could be responsible for running
the grade eight orientation in May.
Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body

of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India. It was established on 25
January 1950[1] under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

Structure

The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election
Commissioners,appointed by the president.

Until October 1989, there was just one Chief Election Commissioner. In 1989, two
Election Commissioners were appointed, but were removed again in January 1990. In
1991, however, the Parliament of India passed a law providing for the appointment of
two Election Commissioners. This law was amended and renamed in 1993 as the Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service)
Amendment Act 1993. As of Sunday, 29 August 2010, the CEC is Shahabuddin Yaqoob
Quraishi.[2] Establishment of commission is on 25 Jan 1950 before one day of Republic
Day.

The Chief Election Commissioner may be removed from his office in like manner and on
the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.It means the Chief Election
Commissioner may be removed from office by Parliament by passing a resolution to that
effect,passed by special majority on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
The Election Commission shall consist of a Chief Election Commissioner and such other
Commissioners as the President may, from time to time, fix. Other Election
Commissioner may be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief
Election Commissioner. Salary of chief election commissioner is same as justice of
supreme court of India. All three commissioner have same right of taking a decision.
Tenure of commissioners is 6 years or up to age of 65, whichever is earlier. The Election
Commission of India has completed more than 300 elections.

The Election Commission shall have the power of superintendence, direction and control
of all elections to parliament and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of the
President and Vice-President.

Powers and duties

The Election Commission enjoys complete autonomy and is insulated from any kind of
executive interference. The body also functions as a quasi-judiciary body in matters of
electoral disputes and other matters involving the conduct of elections. Its
recommendations and opinions are binding on the President of India. However, the
decisions of the body are liable for independent judiciary reviews by courts acting on
electoral petitions.

The Election Commission is responsible for planning and executing a whole amount of
complex operations that go into the conduct of elections. During the elections, the entire
Central (Federal) and State government machinery including para-military forces and the
Police is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission which takes effective
control of personnel, movable and immovable Government Properties it deems necessary
for successful completion of the electoral process. The Apart from conducting elections to
representative bodies, the Election Commission has been on many occasions, called upon
by the Courts to oversee and execute elections to various governing bodies of other
autonomous organisations, such as Syndicates of Universities, statutory professional
bodies, etc.

The following are the principal functions of the Election Commission of India:

1. Demarcation of Constituencies.
2. Preparation of Electoral Rolls.
3. Recognition of Political parties and allotment of symbols.
4. Scrutiny of nomination papers.
5. Conduct of polls.
6. Scrutiny of election expenses of candidates.