In recent news, a political party has approached the Election Commission of India (ECI), pleading not to be derecognized in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The situation has brought focus on the concept and implications of derecognition and deregistration of political parties in India.
Understanding Derecognition of Political Parties
Derecognition pertains to the ECI withdrawing recognition from a political party, thereby reducing it to a status of a registered-unrecognized party. This power is vested in the ECI if a party infringes upon the Indian Constitution or the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA).
Grounds for Derecognition: National Parties
The ECI has outlined specific criteria for derecognition of a national party. These include failure to secure at least 6% of total votes in the general election to the Lok Sabha (LS) or state legislative assembly, inability to elect 4 MPs in the last LS polls, and lack of representation in the LS from the same state. Another condition is winning at least 2% of total LS seats from minimum three states.
Derecognition can also result from failing to garner 8% of total valid votes in a state in a General Election to either LS from the state or to the State Legislative Assembly; non-submission of audited accounts to the ECI on time; or not holding internal organizational elections within the stipulated timeline.
Deregistration versus Derecognition
Cancelling a political party’s registration under deregistration is different from derecognition. The key distinction being that the ECI lacks powers to deregister parties. A deregistered party is barred from contesting elections.
Reasons for Deregistration
A party could face deregistration due to fraudulent registration, being declared illegal by the Central Government, or amending its internal constitution and informing the ECI of its inability to comply with the Indian Constitution.
The Representation of People Act 1951 (RPA): An Overview
The RPA governs the conduct of elections and by-elections, sets up administrative machinery for elections, manages the registration of political parties, specifies eligibility criteria and grounds for disqualification for parliamentary membership, and provides measures to prevent corrupt practices and other electoral offences.
RPA and Political Parties
To be considered a political party, every association or body must register with the ECI, whose decision is final. Although current regulations permit the ECI to register parties, it doesn’t grant them powers for deregistration. Interestingly, no clause in the RPA 1951 provides a mechanism for deregistering a political party.
This intentional omission might stem from parliamentary intent to preserve ECI’s independence and impartiality in conducting free and fair elections. However, the ECI has consistently sought powers to regulate both the registration and deregistration processes of political parties.