EC should strive for internal democracy in political parties: Lyngdoh

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J M Lyngdoh

J M LyngdohJAMES Michael Lyngdoh, the former chief election commissioner (CEC) said the Election Commission should enforce its authority to ensure that internal democracy was implemented in political parties. To accomplish this, he suggested that the EC should ask the parties to hold genuine organizational elections.

He was speaking at an interaction program at the International Centre Goa prior to his lecture on ‘Good governance and electoral reforms in Goa on Oct 8.

Lyngdoh said the EC despite securing the Supreme Court’s mandate in this regard continued to routinely accept the list of ‘elected’ office-bearers submitted by political parties without really going through the list or scrutinizing it.

If the EC tried to break the stranglehold of small group of people on political parties, internal democracy would be restored in many organizations. That, he said, would help engage youth in politics and democracy.

While Lyngdoh appreciated the ongoing campaign to enroll those in the 18 to 21 age group on electoral rolls, he added that it cannot be said that the youth of the country was really engaged in the democratic process just because they vote.

“First of all, I don’t like the word participatory… it is very patronizing. I would prefer the word ‘engaging’ and would say the youth need to be engaged in politics,” said Lyngdoh, who is the chairman of the Foundation for Advanced Management of Elections, an NGO.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi had launched a personal attack on Lyngdoh while he served as the CEC in 2002.

Then, Modi had attacked Lyngdoh for being a ‘Christian’ and his alleged proximity to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. However, Lyngdoh had termed the attack as personal and ‘despicable’.

“I don’t have any religion. I couldn’t care less,” he had famously quipped then.

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