End of the Road

DANGER signals for the republic are being heralded not simply by developments involving the persona of the prime minister. Going by the evidence, the chief election commissioner is also energetically at work to ensure that this republic comes to a speedy surcease. Despite vicissitudes, the survival of the country as a parliamentary democracy depends on the people being able to regularly elect their representatives to the legislative bodies as per the directives of the Constitution. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the conduct of elections to parliament and state legislatures as well as to the offices of president and vice-president is vested in the election commission. The election commission is charged with the responsibility to organise and supervise these elections. In case the commission fails to arrange for any of the elections according to schedule, obviously there is, to that extent, a failure of the constitutional process and therefore a failure of the system.