Ans. Representational democracy has been adopted in India, in which the process of elections for various posts at different levels continues from time to time. The framers of the Constitution have arranged for the formation of a free and fair Election Commission to carry out this process.
Adult suffrage has been adopted in India to participate in elections, that is, every adult person will have the right to vote in elections, irrespective of caste, religion, language level and gender. Nowadays a person of 18 years is considered as an adult in India. The second feature of the Indian electoral system is that the constituencies are created on a regional basis, that is, the whole country is divided into certain constituencies. In this constituency, every person exercises his vote on the basis of his will and choice. Provided that a person elected from a certain area represents every member residing in that area whether he has voted for him or not. Thus it is a joint constituency. Decisions in elections are taken only by majority. That is, the candidate who gets more votes than other candidates in the election is declared the winner. This system is called F.P.D. Po. (First Past the Post) system. Although the single transferable vote system of proportional vote system is used in the election of members of Rajya Sabha for some posts like President, Vice President.
Keeping in view the historical background of the Indian society, the framers of the Constitution have made a provision of reservation for the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in some seats of Parliament and State Legislative Assembly so that the participation of these sections can be ensured. The peace and fairness with which 14 Lok Sabha elections were held since 1952 till date has increased the credibility of the Indian election system and the Election Commission in the country and abroad as well. Although some improvements are definitely needed.
