One of the major problems of our polity is the lack of accountability of the legislatures elected by the people. They have tremendous influence and power over the police and the administration. Thus they are able to do whatever they wish to. This discretionary and unofficial power invariably leads to the abuse of power, often manifested as corruption in ethical and economic domains.
This can be countered by Recall. Suppose in a particular constituency the crime rate has increased significantly. Some of the people of that constituency authorize a petition demanding recall of their representative. If the number of petitioners crosses a certain threshold a Recall is held. This will lead to the accountability of his actions.
But due to our population and limited resources such Recalls are not feasible in the present system. To conduct a safe, secure and correct democratic exercise much resource is needed which indeed are not available to us at present.
But the concept of ID cards containing biometric information together with the application of available technological knowledge can present a viable solution.
The government can provide each citizen with a card reader that can scan and read the biometric data given in the card and after verification connects itself to a particular network of governmental servers via Wi-Fi. Then that citizen pushes a particular sequence of numbers aided by an interactive voice response system that accepts his/her particular choice. This can be used in such Recalls or any type of democratic exercise. This will be a great resource saver apart from ushering in a new era of direct democracy when the society is prepared for it or the awareness in the people is strong enough. But some of its limited applications such as Recall can and should be implemented today itself.
But this solution, like all others, throws up a few more problems. What if a candidate forces the voters to vote for him by virtue of the physical strength of his supporters and here I use the word physical literally. In the absence of paramilitary forces, observers and media persons one can ensure one’s success by sheer brute force. This too can be countered. If we reduce the time window of the election to 45 minutes or 1 hour, no candidate will be able to force a significant number of voters. The short time window itself should not be a problem as a voter will be able to cast his vote from any location. Another problem is security. Wi-Fi can be insecure but if well directed research is made this too can be solved. Also the biometric data should also include retina scans and voice scans. Another area of concern remains. What if a party comes to power and then manipulates this digital system to its own advantage? The solution to this, it appears to me lies in making the whole system transparent, about which the public has a right to know under The Right To Information Act.
This system can also be extended to the realm of financial transactions. When a card is activated one can do all the necessary transactions. Thus all transactions will be recorded and if a person spends significantly more than his known sources of income for a considerable amount of time then the relevant authorities can look into the matter. This will result in the total elimination of black money. What is the use of money that you cannot spend. Also all sorts of financial misdeeds will come to an end and considering that financial motive is one of the major causes of crime and illegal practices, this too will be curtailed.
This system also has the potential to change the very essence of governance. Suppose you have a police complaint to file, you just access this same system and make your complaint which a speech to text software transcripts and files. This will also remove the detriment of literacy and distance, by which I mean that persons who do not know how to read or write can also access such a system. But again I reaffirm that transparency and accountability is the key behind the success of such a system.
This can be countered by Recall. Suppose in a particular constituency the crime rate has increased significantly. Some of the people of that constituency authorize a petition demanding recall of their representative. If the number of petitioners crosses a certain threshold a Recall is held. This will lead to the accountability of his actions.
But due to our population and limited resources such Recalls are not feasible in the present system. To conduct a safe, secure and correct democratic exercise much resource is needed which indeed are not available to us at present.
But the concept of ID cards containing biometric information together with the application of available technological knowledge can present a viable solution.
The government can provide each citizen with a card reader that can scan and read the biometric data given in the card and after verification connects itself to a particular network of governmental servers via Wi-Fi. Then that citizen pushes a particular sequence of numbers aided by an interactive voice response system that accepts his/her particular choice. This can be used in such Recalls or any type of democratic exercise. This will be a great resource saver apart from ushering in a new era of direct democracy when the society is prepared for it or the awareness in the people is strong enough. But some of its limited applications such as Recall can and should be implemented today itself.
But this solution, like all others, throws up a few more problems. What if a candidate forces the voters to vote for him by virtue of the physical strength of his supporters and here I use the word physical literally. In the absence of paramilitary forces, observers and media persons one can ensure one’s success by sheer brute force. This too can be countered. If we reduce the time window of the election to 45 minutes or 1 hour, no candidate will be able to force a significant number of voters. The short time window itself should not be a problem as a voter will be able to cast his vote from any location. Another problem is security. Wi-Fi can be insecure but if well directed research is made this too can be solved. Also the biometric data should also include retina scans and voice scans. Another area of concern remains. What if a party comes to power and then manipulates this digital system to its own advantage? The solution to this, it appears to me lies in making the whole system transparent, about which the public has a right to know under The Right To Information Act.
This system can also be extended to the realm of financial transactions. When a card is activated one can do all the necessary transactions. Thus all transactions will be recorded and if a person spends significantly more than his known sources of income for a considerable amount of time then the relevant authorities can look into the matter. This will result in the total elimination of black money. What is the use of money that you cannot spend. Also all sorts of financial misdeeds will come to an end and considering that financial motive is one of the major causes of crime and illegal practices, this too will be curtailed.
This system also has the potential to change the very essence of governance. Suppose you have a police complaint to file, you just access this same system and make your complaint which a speech to text software transcripts and files. This will also remove the detriment of literacy and distance, by which I mean that persons who do not know how to read or write can also access such a system. But again I reaffirm that transparency and accountability is the key behind the success of such a system.
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