Indonesia: Watchdog Asks For Right to Cast Protest Votes | The Jakarta Globe

Should voters who favor no candidate be allowed to express this on their ballot paper? The Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP) believes so and has proposed that lawmakers accommodate the right of these voters, referred to as golput (white group) , by providing a “vote no” column on the paper ballot.

According to KIPP coordinator Girindra Sandino, the “vote no” column might help minimize the chances of corrupt candidates, or old faces who broke their promises, being elected. “The voters who feel confused and are not satisfied with the candidates will have room to express [that feeling] on the ballot paper,” Girindra said. The “vote no” could be a healthy incentive for leaders to improve the political system and for the government to improve its performance, he added.

Thailand: Thailand cracks down on beastly “no vote” billboards | Monsters and Critics

Thai election authorities Thursday ordered the removal of ‘no vote’ posters in Bangkok depicting politicians as monkeys, buffaloes, dogs, tigers and crocodiles.

Election Commission chairman Apichart Sukhakhanond said the billboards, put up by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement, had to be removed because they were larger than regulation size. ‘I don’t want to get into the details,’ Apichart told reporters.

On Wednesday, the commission had voted that the billboards were election-related, even though the PAD is not competing in the July 3 polls, and it had the authority to decide on their removal.

Thailand: People’s Alliance for Democracy roars over Thai billboard ban

People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will seek a court injunction blocking the removal of billboards with “animal” politicians, its spokesman Panthep Pourpongpan said today.

The PAD’s legal team was checking pertinent provisions before petitioning either the Central Administrative Court or the Civil Court to launch an emergency inquiry into the issue.

The PAD is furious following the Election Commission (EC)’s ruling on Wednesday to ban the “No” vote and animal-headed politicians billboards introduced by the PAD, saying these violated election laws. Its commissioners voted 4-1 to have the “No” vote billboards removed for violating the electoral law and the cleanliness ordinance.

India: Activist goes to court for no-vote option | The Times of India

An activist has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court seeking directions to include a new panel for the negative vote on Electronic Voting Machines ( EVMs).

Dr Mahesh Bedekar feels this will allow voters to voice their dissent about the candidate or the party through the ballot. “Under the present election rules, a voter who does not want to cast his ballot to the listed candidates can do so by filling up form 17 A of the Election Commission. The presiding officer has to be requested to issue the said form and the voter can record his negative vote in the presence of the election staff. It is contrary to rules which provide for absolute secrecy in voting,” Dr Bedekar said.

India: Plea to make provision for ‘negative vote’ in Indian Electronic Voting Machines | Business Line

A [Public Interest Litigation] PIL has urged the Bombay High Court to direct the Election Commission to introduce electoral reforms by making a provision for “negative vote” in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) during elections.

The PIL filed by Thane resident Mahesh Bedekar also urged the court to ensure that secrecy of the “negative vote” is maintained during elections as it is not being done under the existing rules.

India: India: The Concept of Negative Voting |The Sentinel

The reality of today’s electoral democracy is that in many constituencies the voters are discontented with the candidates in the electoral fray. Hence the demand for negative voting. In India, the largest democracy in the world, it is not only expected of the voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote, but it is also…