The central government may introduce the “one country, one election” bill on Monday
The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the bill for the country to hold simultaneous elections, known as “One Nation, One Election”. Meanwhile, the government will now introduce two bills related to this in the Lok Sabha. The government has sent the draft bill to the Lok Sabha MPs. The government is believed to be able to table both bills in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The bill would make two major changes to the Constitution. This will lead to changes in the 129th Constitutional Amendment and laws in the Union Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. The two bills that the government will propose involve one country and one election, called the “Federal Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024” and the “Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill 2024”.
What changes will the 129th Constitutional Amendment bring?
The government will introduce relevant bills in parliament next week to propose amendments to four articles of the constitution. The four articles are Articles 82A, 83, 172 and 327 respectively. The constitutional amendments include new Article 82A (simultaneous election of Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies) and changes to Article 83 (Term of office of both Houses of Parliament), Article 172 (Term of office of State Legislatures) and Article 327 (Proposed changes to ). Article 327 of the Constitution changes “delineation of constituencies” to “simultaneous elections.”
There have also been changes in the Federal Territories Government Act
The government proposes to amend Section 5 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 and Section 5 of the Government of Delhi Capital Territory Act, 1991, so that elections can be held concurrently. Similarly, Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 will also be amended so that the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections can be held simultaneously. The bill proposes holding simultaneous elections after 2034.
The committee is chaired by Ramnath Kovind
The government stated that in 1951-52, 1957, 1962 and 1967, the general elections to the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies were held simultaneously. However, in 1968 and 1969, the cycle of simultaneous Lok Sabha elections was disrupted due to the premature dissolution of some assemblies.
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With a view to holding the elections concurrently, a high-level committee was constituted on September 2, 2023, under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind. After deliberation and investigation, the committee submitted a recommendation to the President to hold simultaneous elections on March 14, 2024.
