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Constitutionalization of Public Will

Introduction:
An election is formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an
individual.
An election is a way people can choose their candidate in a representative democracy or
other form of government. The legislature chooses the government, usually by majority vote in the
legislature.
There are different ways to organize an election in different countries. Voters might
vote for an individual, or they might vote for a political party. This is because different countries use
different voting systems.
This process is also used in many other private and business organizations.

Interpretation of Term election:

General definition:
“An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an
individual to hold public office”.

History of Election:
a) Ancient Athens:
The first known democracy in the world was in Athens. Athenian democracy developed around the
fifth century B.C.E. ... When a new law was proposed, all the citizens of Athens had the opportunity
to vote on it. To vote, citizens had to attend the assembly on the day the vote took place.
b) Ancient Greece and Rome:
Elections were used as early in the history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and throughout
the Medieval (Middle Ages) period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.
c) Ancient Pakistan:
The first direct elections held in the Pakistan after independence were for the provincial
Assembly of the Punjab between 10 – 20 March 1951. The elections were held for 197 seats. As
many as 939 candidates contested the election for 189 seats, while the remaining seats were filled
unchallenged.
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d) Ancient Arab:
Ancient Arabs also used elections to choose their caliphs, Uthman and Ali in the early
Medieval Rashidun Caliphate and to select the Pala King Gopala in early Medieval Bengal.

Kinds of Elections:
Free elections:
Free elections are those, that are entitled to vote have the right to be registered and to
vote and must be free to make their choice. In Pakistan and many other countries every citizen over
the age of 18 is entitled to vote. An election is considered ‘free’ when you can decide whether or
not to vote and vote freely for the candidate or party of your choice without fear or pressure. A
‘free’ election is also one where you are confident that who you vote for remains your secret.
In Pakistan elections are conducted under the supervision (command) of the election
commission, headed by chief election commissioner. The chief election commissioner hears appeals
after the elections, against irregularities.
Direct Elections:
The system of election adopted by most of the democratic states, is direct one in which
the electorate directly elect their representatives for all political offices.
Examples of directly elected bodies are European Parliament since (1979) and the United State
senate since (1917).
Advantages of Direct Elections:
• The major advantage of direct election of representatives is that it guarantees the people have
ultimate choice in who is going to represent their voice. This ensures that the citizens know
exactly who is representing them.
• Direct election is that the representatives elected by the people are answerable to the
electorate as a whole.
Disadvantages of Direct Elections:
• Direct elections are very expensive. It incurs huge expenditure on the public exchequer.
• Uneducated voters sometimes get misguided by false propaganda and sometimes vote taking in
to caste, religious and various other sectarian (religious) considerations. This may result in the
election of undeserving (worthless) candidates. There are also instances (cases) of Cash for vote.
• Election campaigns sometimes results in violence, tension, law and order problems and affects
the day-to-day life of people.
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• Since conducting direct elections are a huge exercise, ensuring free and fair elections at all the
polling booths may not be possible. There are some instances of booth capturing, violence,
intimidation (pressure) of election officials etc.
Indirect Elections:
Under indirect system, the electorate (voter) elect the members of an electoral
college, entrusting them the mandate (command) to elect representatives.
Several nations elect their heads according to indirect election including, Pakistan, India,
Switzerland etc.
Advantages of Indirect Elections:
• Indirect democracy is much efficient than the direct democracy.
• It saves much time and effort.
• People can choose their representatives who will represent them in the Parliament and other
institutional bodies.
Disadvantages of Indirect Elections:
• Since the number of voters are very small. There exists possibility of corruption, bribery, horse
trading etc.
• It is less democratic because people do not have direct opportunity to elect, they instead do
through their representatives. So, this may not reflect the true will of the people.
• Moreover, under a system of indirect democracy, the emergency of political parties is
inevitable(unavoidable).
• Indirect elections have the flaw (error) of impairing the self-respect and sense of responsibility
of the voters.
• People generally cast their voters in the favor of political parties and not that of individual
candidates. The very purpose of putting any intermediary (middle) body between the voters and
their deputies (delegates), therefore, gives no sense.

Conclusion: