HLC Report Highlights Best International Practices in Holding Simultaneous Polls

The report recommending simultaneous elections in India submitted by the High-Level Committee led by former President Ramnath Kovind has cited countries in Africa, Asia and Europe that follow such a process. ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan looks at how best practices in holding simultaneous elections are followed by six such countries.

New Delhi: The High-Level Committee (HLC) headed by former President Ramnath Kovind that submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu recommending simultaneous elections in India cited certain international best practices followed in this regard. In the over 18,000-page report, a chapter titled 'Benchmarking best international practices' outlines the simultaneous elections process followed by South Africa, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

What is the practice in South Africa?

The first country named in the report is South Africa. "The House of Assembly or the Lower House and Provincial Councils are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member electoral divisions," the report explains.

"The electoral system for the National and Provincial Assemblies is based on 'party-list proportional representation', which means that parties are represented in the proportion of electoral support to them. Every five years, elections are held for provincial and municipal councils."

Simply put, South Africa holds general elections every five years to elect members of the National Assembly (equivalent to India's Lok Sabha) and provincial legislatures (equivalent to India's state assemblies). Municipal elections are held separately, typically every five years as well, although they may not align precisely with national elections.

South Africa follows a proportional representation system for national and provincial elections. This means that parties are awarded seats in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures based on the proportion of votes they receive. In elections of the National Assembly, every South African citizen who is 18 or older may vote, including (since the 2014 election) those residing outside South Africa. In elections of a provincial legislature or municipal council, only those residing within the province or municipality may vote.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is the body responsible for managing and overseeing elections in South Africa. It is an independent institution established by the Constitution to ensure free and fair elections.

Each voter in South Africa is assigned to a voting district based on the voter's residence at the time that they registered to vote. Each voting district is uniquely associated with a single voting station.

Voters who are outside their registered district on election day may vote at another polling station, but additional paperwork is required. Voting districts have no significance outside of the election process, and district boundaries are drawn for the purposes of efficiently planning and administering elections. Urban voting districts are drawn to have a population of around 3,000 within a radius of 7.5 km, and rural voting districts are drawn to have a population of around 1,200 within a radius of 10 km.

As of 2019, there were 22,933 voting districts nationwide. The district boundaries are set by the Electoral Commission’s Delimitation Directorate and are reviewed and adjusted before each election. The HLC report pointed out that on May 29, 2024, South Africa will hold its general elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the Provincial Legislature for each province.

During provincial elections, parties provide a list of candidates to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which then distributes seats accordingly. The National Assembly consists of 400 seats, while the number of seats in each Provincial Legislature varies, based on population size. Municipal Council elections use a mixed-member system that combines voting in areas with party list selections. This ensures representation for all parties, resulting in a diverse legislative body.

What is the practice in Sweden?

Now, let’s come to Sweden, the second country following the simultaneous elections that the HLC report has highlighted. "Sweden follows the proportional electoral system, which means that political parties are assigned a number of seats in the elected assembly based on their share of votes," the report states.

"They have a system where elections for the Parliament (Riksdag), County Councils and Municipal Councils all take place at the same time. These elections occur every four years on the second Sunday of September whereas elections to the Municipal Assemblies occur on the second Sunday of September, once every five years."

Basically, at the highest level, all 349 members of the Riksdag are elected in general elections. Elections to the 20 county councils (Swedish: landsting) and 290 municipal assemblies (kommunfullmäktige) - all using almost the same electoral system – are held concurrently with the legislative elections on the second Sunday in September. This system came into effect from 2014. Until 2010, they had been held on the third Sunday in September.

Sweden also holds elections to the European Parliament, which, unlike Swedish domestic elections, are held in June every five years, although these are also held on a Sunday and use an almost identical electoral system.

The last Swedish general election was held on September 11, 2022. The last Swedish election to the European Parliament was held on May 26, 2019.

What happens in Belgium?

The third country holding simultaneous elections that the HLC report cites is Belgium. The report highlights that in Belgium, one can vote in five different types of elections: European elections, for choosing representatives to the European Parliament; federal elections, for the Federal Parliament; regional elections, for the legislative bodies of the federated regions, i.e, the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon Parliament, the Parliament of the Brussels Capital Region, the Parliament of the German-speaking Community; provincial elections, for the provincial councils; and municipal elections for the municipal councils.

"Elections for the Federal Parliament are normally held every five years, coinciding with the European Union (and consequently also regional) elections," the report states. "There have been two instances of simultaneous federal and regional elections in Belgium in 1999 and 2014."

It is worth mentioning that the Federal Public Service Interior (FPS Interior) is the government agency responsible for organising and overseeing federal, regional, and European elections in Belgium. The FPS Interior works in coordination with provincial and municipal authorities. All Belgian citizens aged 18 and above on election day are eligible to vote. Voting is compulsory for citizens aged between 18 and 65, with possible fines for non-compliance.

The situation in Germany:

Germany is another country that the HLC report highlights for following best practices in holding simultaneous elections. "The system prevalent in Germany is that the Bundestag (i.e. Lower House), landtags (state assemblies) and local elections occur simultaneously," the report states.

"They follow proportional representation and cannot simply remove the Chancellor with a vote of no-confidence. The 'constructive vote of no-confidence' puts an embargo on ousting the Chancellor, as the opponents must not only disagree with his or her governance but also agree on a replacement."

Elections in Germany always take place on a Sunday. Mail votes are possible upon application. Germans elect their members of parliament with two votes. The first vote is for a direct candidate, who is required to receive a plurality vote in their electoral district. The second vote is used to elect a party list in each state as established by its respective party caucus.

The Bundestag comprises, then, the seats representing each electoral district on the first vote and the seats allocated to maintain proportionality based on the second vote. The common practice is that direct candidates are also placed on the electoral lists at higher rankings as a fallback in case they do not win their districts.

The 598 seats in the Bundestag are allocated using a complex system that combines direct constituency winners (first votes) and proportional representation based on the second votes for party lists.

What happens in Indonesia and the Philippines?

Among the Asian countries that hold simultaneous elections and are mentioned in the HLC report are Indonesia and the Philippines.

"The Constitutional Court of Indonesia, while reviewing Law No. 42 Year 2008 concerning Presidential elections, held that Article 3 Paragraph 5, Article 12 Paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 112 of the Presidential Election Law are unconstitutional," the HLC report states.

"The Constitutional Court held that Indonesia will hold the Presidential elections and Legislative elections, concurrently starting in 2019, on the ground that Law No.42 of 2008 was contrary to the constitutional provision. Thereafter, Indonesia has been conducting simultaneous elections, a system where the President, Vice President, and members of both national and regional legislative bodies are elected on the same day."

The report further stated that on February 14 this year, Indonesia successfully conducted simultaneous elections. "It is being termed as the world's largest single-day elections since nearly 200 million people voted across all five levels i.e. President, Vice President, Members of Parliament, Members of Regional Assemblies and municipal elections," it stated.

At a national level, Indonesian people did not elect a head of state – the president – until 2004. Since then, the president is elected for a five-year term, as are the 575-member People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR), the 136-seat Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah), in addition to the provincial and municipal legislative councils.

Starting from the 2015 unified local elections, Indonesia started to elect governors and mayors simultaneously on the same date. The Philippines has been following a simultaneous election process since 1995.

"The Philippines has a presidential form of government," the HLC report stated. "It follows a system of simultaneous elections, by virtue of an Act passed in 1992, called the Republic Act No. 7056 that paved the way for synchronised and simultaneous national and local elections beginning in 1995. Simultaneous elections are held for national and local officials every three years, with specific provisions on term limits, election periods, nomination processes, and the role of the Commission on Elections."

Simply put, the Philippines holds national elections every three years, typically on the second Monday of May. These elections include the election of the President, Vice President, members of Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives), as well as local officials such as governors, mayors, and councillors.

The Philippines employs a mixed-member plurality system for its elections. This means that voters cast separate ballots for individual candidates in single-member districts (first-past-the-post system) and for political parties or coalitions at the national level.

"While it is good to learn from international best practices, considering the mammoth size and diversity of our country and unique election process, High-Level Committee has attempted to develop a robust model of its own," the Kovind-led panel’s report stated.