Elections in Vishwamitra
Vishwamitra is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy and has an elected parliament following the Westminster model of parliament as defined in the constitution, with powers being distributed between the centre and the states.
The Rashtradhyaksh is the executive head of state of the nation and supreme commander-in-chief of the defence forces. The Rashtradhyaksh is elected for a tenure of five years from among the six hereditary rulers of the states which constitute the conference of rulers. The Rashtradhyaksh exerts his huge amount of executive powers on the functioning of the state on the advice of his ministers, his councilors and other advisers.
Despite being an executive head of state, there is the Prime Minister of Vishwamitra, who is the leader of the party of political alliance having a majority in the general elections to the Lok Sabha and who in the opinion of the Rashtradhyaksh commands the majority of the support from the Lok Sabha. The prime minister is the head of government leads the council of ministers which is responsible for formulating laws and legislations and is answerable to the Lok Sabha.
Vishwamitra is regionally divided into states and other territories. Each state has a Rajpramukh who is a hereditary executive monarch and also serves as the state's head of state and government. The executive power of the state lies in the hands of the Rajpramukh and they are responsible for the affairs of the state. The only exception is in Purvanchal, where an appointed chief minister shares their duties as head of government with the Rajpramukh.
Elections
The Election Commission is the federal body of Vishwamitra which is enacted under the provisions of the constitution, responsible for monitoring and administering all the electoral processes in the nation. This body is responsible for ensuring elections are free and fair, with any bias.
Election ensures the conduct of members pre-elections, during elections, and post-elections are as per the statutory legislation. All election-related disputes are handled by the Election Commission. The Supreme Court of Vishwamitra has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act as appropriate.
However, it is noteworthy that the Election Commission plays no role during the election of the Rashtradhyaksh and Uparashtradhyaksh. The elections to the nation's highest royal positions are conducted solely by the Conference of Rulers in which the prime minister, by virtue as Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, is the returning officer.
Types of elections
Elections in the State of Vishwamitra include for:
- Rashtradhyaksh, restricted only to rulers of the states
- Uparashtradhyaksh, restricted only to rulers of the states
- Members of the Lok Sabha
- By-election is held when a seat-holder of a particular constituency dies, resigns, or is disqualified.
Prior to the establishment of the monarchy in June 2020, there were elections held to elect the President and the Vice President as well. Elections to the state legislatures to elect the Chief Ministers were only held once, in April 2017.
Parliamentary general elections (Lok Sabha)
Members of Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the unicameral legislature of Vishwamitra are elected by being voted upon by all citizens of Vishwamitra, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every registered citizen can vote only in their respective state. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called 'Member of Parliament' and hold their seats for a term of one year or until the body is dissolved by the Rashtradhyaksh on the advice of the council of ministers. The Lok Sabha meets online, and previously at the Varuna Sriraya Convention Hall, on matters relating to the creation of new laws, removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of Vishwamitra. Elections take place once in a year to elect 20 members[a] for the Lok Sabha.
History of Lok Sabha elections
- Key
| First | Second | Third | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Election | Total seats | Party | Seats | % seats | Party | Seats | % seats | Party | Seats | % seats | |
| 2010 | 1st Lok Sabha | 5 | IND | 5 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2012 | 2nd Lok Sabha | 7 | IND | 7 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2014 | 3rd Lok Sabha | 7 | IND | 7 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2015 | 4th Lok Sabha | 9 | IND | 9 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2015 | 5th Lok Sabha | 13 | IND | 13 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2016 | 6th Lok Sabha | 21 | FSSP | 15 | 71.43% | FSIP | 6 | 28.57% | N/A | |||
| 2016 | 7th Lok Sabha | 21 | FSSP | 13 | 61.9% | FSIP | 6 | 30% | FSFP | 2 | 10% | |
| 2017 | 8th Lok Sabha | 30 | FSSP | 15 | 50% | FSIP | 8 | 26.67% | FSFP | 7 | 23.33% | |
| 2018 | 9th Lok Sabha | 26 | NPC | 13 | 50% | FSSP | 13 | 50% | N/A | |||
| 2018 | 10th Lok Sabha | 28 | NPC | 20 | 71.42% | FSSP | 8 | 28.57% | N/A | |||
| 2019 | 11th Lok Sabha | 28 | NPC | 18 | 64.28% | FSIP | 10 | 35.71% | N/A | |||
| 2020 | 12th Lok Sabha | 32 | NPC | 32 | 100% | N/A | ||||||
| 2021 | 13th Lok Sabha | 20 (*18)[b] | NPC | 10 | 55.55% | RPV | 5 | 27.78% | IND | 3 | 16.67% | |
| 2021 | 14th Lok Sabha | 20 (*19)[c] | NPC | 17 | 89.47% | GSP | 2 | 10.52% | N/A | |||
| 2022 | 15th Lok Sabha | 20 | NPC | 13 | 65% | VNP | 5 | 25% | IND | 2 | 10% | |
- ↑ The current membership of the Lok Sabha as provided by the Constitution of Vishwamitra is 20.
- ↑ Elections did not take place on two seats
- ↑ Election did not take place on one seat, i.e. in Boragaon constituency.
By-election
When an elected candidate to the Lok Sabha leaves the office vacant before their term ends, a by-election is conducted to find a suitable replacement to fill the vacant position. It is often referred to in Vishwamitra as bypolls.
Common reasons for by-elections :
- Resignation by the sitting MP
- Death of the sitting MP
But other reasons occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office (criminal conviction, or failure to maintain a minimum attendance in the office or due to election irregularities found later. Also, when a candidate has won more than one seat, they have to vacate one).
Electoral procedures
Candidates are required to file their nomination papers with the Electoral Commission. Then, a list of candidates is published. No party is allowed to use government resources for campaigning. No party is allowed to bribe the candidates before elections. The government cannot start a project during the election period. Campaigning ends by 5:00 pm the day before the polling day and sometimes days prior to the polling day.
The polling is held between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm. The Election Commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner and this junior officials are in-charge of polling and ensuring that the elections are held free and fair. Prior to 2020, ballot papers were used for the voting but since then, Google forms are used as the elections are held online.