Category: World
Service
Date: 03.11.2004
Printable version
India's electoral
system is simpler and more uniform than the one in the United States,
says India's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
Mr T S Krishnamurthy, who is in the US to observe the
presidential elections as an "international visitor", expressed
his views in an interview with the BBC Hindi service.
India's CEC said the "Indian electoral system is
simpler because of its uniformity with all the voters expected to reach
the polling station to exercise their right to vote".
Mr Krishnamurthy said that the speciality of the Indian
system lay in its being a uniform system while in the US there were
state to state and even county to county differences.
He said: "In my opinion the US election system
will gain by having a greater uniformity but for historical reasons
this is not yet possible."
He added that, compared to the Indian system where
the centralised Election Commission conducts an election, in the US
each state conducts the election.
He said that because these states exercised great control
in the election process there was less uniformity in US election process.
Mr Krishnamurthy said this posed some problems but added that this was
part of the evolution of democracy, and differences in their respective
electoral processes were bound to exist as both India and the US were
large democracies.
Referring to the US election system, Mr Krishnamurthy
said in some states voters chose a number of representatives while simultaneously
expressing their opinions on various local public issues.
He added that there were some similarities between the
two systems as well.
Notes to Editors
BBC Hindi is one of the most respected sources of news
in India. Broadcasting since 1940, it provides a timely and reliable
coverage of important events in the subcontinent and across South Asia.
As part of BBC World Service, it benefits from an international
network of 50 bureaux and 250 specialist correspondents.
BBC Hindi broadcasts four times a day at 06.30, 08.00,
19.30 and 22.30 IST and is available on shortwave and medium wave radio
transmitters and via cable television.
Hindi speakers across the world can access BBC Hindi
programmes in text and in audio via the 24/7 site bbchindi.com
