Independent India has been a large-scale experiment in democracy. Unlike
many other nations that gained independence from colonial rule but
descended into dictatorships and military rule, India has remained a
democracy, despite its size and diversity. While we pride ourselves on
this achievement, we also need to reflect more on the problems and
challenges that face Indian democracy. Concerns relating to scams,
criminal records of elected representatives and disorder in Parliament
recur, but a deeper question needs to be asked: how democratic,
actually, is Indian democracy?
India is a representative democracy, where people select their
representatives once in five years to make laws and policies on their
behalf. Limiting the participation of the people merely to voting once
in five years has significantly reduced the responsiveness of the
representatives to the people. Further, representatives often make
policies that are not aligned with the wishes of the people. A key
reason for this is that political parties require huge funds to contest
elections, which are usually provided by moneyed special interests. Once
elected, it is these special interests to whom our representatives
often cater, rather than the interests of the people. So, what
institutional mechanism do the people have to make their voice heard, if
their representatives do not represent their interests?
Referendum & Initiative
This problem is not unique to India. Representative democracies around
the world have searched for solutions to this structural flaw. One
innovative solution tried in numerous countries is the Referendum (R)
and the Initiative (I). These are instruments whereby some decisions of
policy and law-making are ‘referred’ to a direct vote by the electorate,
rather than solely being decided by their representatives. They provide
a formal, institutional channel for the voice of the citizens, if they
feel that their representatives are not adequately representing them.
Switzerland was the first country to introduce these instruments, as far
back as 1848. Now 36 other countries, mainly in Europe and Latin
America, have these instruments at a national level, and various other
countries like Germany, Brazil and the United States, at the state and
regional levels. Interestingly, India is one of only five democracies
never to have used these instruments.
The Referendum (R): The citizen-initiated Referendum is an instrument
whereby citizens, by a direct vote, can decide whether a legislation
passed by Parliament should be rejected. Citizens sceptical of a certain
law or policy can gather signatures of a small percentage of the
electorate which can force a direct vote, by the entire electorate, on
the legislation in question. If a majority vote opposes the legislation,
then their rejection is binding upon Parliament. In the case of
Switzerland, one per cent of its electorate needs to signal support
through signatures, before a nationwide vote is conducted.
For example in 2000, the Swiss Parliament introduced the ‘Electricity
Market Law’ for liberalisation and deregulation of the electricity
market. There was, however, resentment against deregulation and what was
perceived as the dismantling of a well-functioning public service. So
the people asked for a referendum on this law. After the required
signatures were collected, the law was put to a nationwide vote. A
majority of the people opposed the law, so the law was rejected.
The Initiative (I): While the Referendum is an instrument that allows
citizens to accept or reject legislation passed by the Parliament, an
‘Initiative’ lets citizens initiate a new legislation or constitutional
amendment, by putting their own proposal on the political agenda that
Parliament is ignoring. A bill drafted by a group of citizens and
supported by a small percentage of the electorate (again established by
signatures) is put to a nationwide direct vote. In Switzerland, two per
cent of its electorate needs to sign and support an Initiative, to make
it eligible for a nationwide direct vote. If the citizen-initiated
legislation gets a majority it becomes a law.
For example, in Uruguay, in 2002, the government committed to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), that it would privatise the supply of
drinking water and sanitation services to the entire country. This move
met with opposition from the people, who responded with a citizens’
Initiative. The Initiative demanded that access to drinking water and
sanitation should be enshrined in the constitution as a human right.
This Initiative was voted on in 2004 and won with a resounding majority.
Benefits
The primary value of I&R is to align legislative behaviour closer to
public opinion. The mere presence of I&R, even when it is not used,
makes the legislature more aligned to public opinion, since they know
that citizens have the I&R channel to “trump” them. For example, in
Uruguay in 2002, privatisation of the state-owned mobile phone operator
was challenged by citizens. They collected the required number of
signatures for a citizen-initiated Referendum. Before the voting
happened, the government repealed the law and no referendum had to be
held.
Second, I&R results in significant governance reforms — an area in
which the legislature is least likely to act, since it typically
curtails their own power. There is a conflict of interest, and the
lawmakers typically ignore or even sabotage such reforms. For example,
in India, one can see that the Lokpal Bill, which could lead to the
investigation and prosecution of corrupt lawmakers, has languished for
42 years. However, in California, where I&R is frequently used, 67
Initiatives on governance have been voted on, between 1912 and 2006.
Laws regarding campaign finance, prevention of elected representatives
holding other offices have been introduced via Initiatives; laws that
were unlikely to have been introduced by California’s legislature.
Third, an important impact of the I&R process is the educative and
transformative effect it has in creating a more politically informed and
participative citizenry. Scholars find that in Switzerland and American
states where I&R is active, citizens are better informed and have
more opportunities for direct political participation.
Challenges
There are, however, some challenges in introducing I&R which need to be suitably addressed with appropriate solutions.
One logistical challenge is conducting in direct voting at the national
or even state level. Various solutions exist, including the employment
of information and communication technologies (ICT) in innovative ways.
Further, the content of the ballot to be voted on, needs to be
structured in a way that is easily understood by a wide variety of
voters with varying linguistic backgrounds and levels of literacy. Here
again various solutions exist.
Another challenge has to do with voter competence in making informed
judgment on matters of law and policy. One response to this concern is
if our elected representatives (who are clearly not experts on many of
the issues they take decisions on) can make decisions on laws and
policies taking into account the views of experts, so can the people.
Additionally, in referendums it has been found that even when voters do
not understand the complexity of issues, they are able to take simple
cues — like who is supporting or opposing the proposition — to make
informed and ideologically consistent choices. They also try to educate
themselves on the issues to be voted on by listening to views of experts
on the topic and engaging in debate. Mechanisms to make diverse expert
opinions available in an easy to access manner need to be devised.
Yet another challenge is to prevent moneyed special interests from
influencing the I&R process, by sponsoring high-spending misleading
campaigns. This is an important issue that has emerged in some American
states like California, Oregon and Colorado. For example in 2006, two
oil companies contributed a combined $34 million to defeat an initiative
for the funding of renewable energy research and production by oil
companies.
One response to this concern is that it is far more difficult and
expensive for moneyed special interests to convince citizens at large
than to convince a smaller set of lawmakers through lobbying. That said,
there is need to have safeguards that limit or eliminate campaign
financing in the I&R process.
Whatever be the challenges in introducing such democratic reform, the
time has come to discuss such a change to ensure that our government
truly represents the people. Today, democracy is clearly falling short
on this count and instruments of Initiatives and Referendums can provide
a political mechanism to ensure that citizens’ voices counterbalance a
legislature unresponsive to peoples’ interests. The time has come to
recommit ourselves to a deeper and more participatory democracy; a
democracy with greater alignment between public policy and people’s
interests.
(Prashant Bhushan is a public interest lawyer and member of Team
Anna. Atishi Marlena is an independent social educator and activist.)
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