Crime And Politics openthemagazine.com

MOST PEOPLE WILL have heard of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). It is a good resource for the huge agenda of electoral reforms, though I can name several other good sources too. In the 2014 General Election, 8,230 candidates contested from 543 constituencies and they had to submit self-sworn affidavits. Every candidate has to submit such an affidavit in Form 26, along with the nomination papers. (We may have a legitimate problem with the quality and veracity of information given, but that is a separate issue.) The candidate has to state: ‘I am/am not accused of any offence(s) punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case(s) in which a charge(s) has/have been framed by the court(s) of competent jurisdiction.’ In case such a case is pending, the candidate has to furnish the details. Notice that this is only about a candidate being accused. The candidate also has to state: ‘I have been/ have not been convicted of an offence(s) [other than any offence(s) referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), or covered in sub-section (3), of section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951 (43 of 1951)] and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more.’ If there has been such a conviction, the details have to be given.