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Democracy provides an important base in which human rights can flourish. Every individual has the right to elect their own governance and democracy provides them with that right. The right to adult suffrage implies much more than the mere right to choose one's representative; it provides the electorate with an opportunity to choose their own ideology and path of development through their elected representative. Moreover, through the right to political participation, basic human rights such as the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, freedom of movement and association are also upheld.
Since the right of each individual to determine his/her governance is a basic human right, measures should be taken to ensure that there is full enjoyment of this right. If equal opportunity to members of the society, to exercise their right to franchise is not given, a state can be said to have failed in its duty towards its citizens. The United Nations also recognises the importance of this right and thus it is included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
"Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his/her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives."
Article 21 (1)
"The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures."
Article 21(3)
Therefore, genuine, free and fair elections are an effective way towards the realisation of this right. This is defined by an effective procedure characterised by impartiality, non-discrimination and transparency which, should be maintained at all times and at all levels in the election process. The rights and responsibilities of the voters, campaigners and the state should be ensured.
In this light, there is a need for close observation of the electoral process and observers need to report whether a conducive environment prevailed at the time of the elections. The presence of poll observers should help citizens, the state government, international agencies and others to establish whether the spirit of democracy was maintained in a particular nation state at the time of the elections. Any anomalies in the electoral process, as visible to the observers, can be presented before the appropriate authorities as well as before the public for taking suitable action. At the same time, if the elections are conducted in a fitting manner then the observers' report can further strengthen the faith in the democratic set up.
Election observation is therefore an invaluable tool and not only a post-mortem of the electoral process. The mere presence of the observers themselves can also help to create a conducive atmosphere by deterring government agencies, political parties and other interested parties from indulging in any unreasonable activities during the polls. Thus a dedicated, impartial and vigilant team of election observers can play a key role in the entire process.
Since irregularities in the electoral process are a direct violation of basic human rights, the conduct of free and fair elections is vital. In the context of Jammu and Kashmir, the need for election observers assumes greater importance due to the prevalent political unrest and uncertainty, terrorism and the conflict between India and Pakistan. The problems in the state have subjected the people to appalling hardship and the conduct of free and fair elections in the state is essential in the current climate. RLEK has therefore decided to act as election observers.
RLEK feels that project implementation is not the sole task of NGOs, as civil society organisations also have a duty to promote human rights. By acting as election observers an NGO is performing this duty. Moreover, question marks may be raised on the credibility of government-appointed election observers due to the fact that as civil servants, they may be coerced or influenced by political parties, especially those in power. NGOs such as RLEK do not have any political affiliations and therefore in the capacity of independent observers, can present a truthful and impartial picture before the public.
Thus RLEK aims to (a) assess whether the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir were provided with a "genuine, free and fair" opportunity to vote and (b) to contribute towards building a conducive environment for the elections. Since the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has become an international issue and the entire world attention is focused on the developments in the state. RLEK, through the observers' report can also present the ground realities in the state, at the time of the polls, before the entire world.
RLEK has a long history of working towards safeguarding the human rights of marginalised sectors of society in India, through awareness programmes, lobbying and legal advocacy. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is perhaps the only NGO in India to provide human rights education for South Asians. RLEK Human Rights Centre runs a Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Human Rights, recognised by Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. Therefore, RLEK felt that its team (compiled of participants/students and staff) had the right skills, proper perspective and competency to go to J&K as election observers.
The team left on the 7th September and are covering the entire state, including Ladakh, monitoring the situation, and recording their observations before, during and after the elections due to end in October. Their findings will be written up in a detailed report and will be made public before the election results come out. Not only will the work be invaluable at the international level as well, we hope the report will benefit the course participants in their understanding.
It is important to note that out of our own choice, RLEK has not received any financial aid or aid-in-kind from any of the political parties standing in the Assembly Elections or for this task, nor have we received any monetary aid from other organisations except for the publication of the report. (The only monetary aid we have received has been a small grant from Christian Aid.)
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If you would like to receive a copy of the report, please email us. It is due to be published on 10 October 2002