It was in June that the Vajpayee Government had asked the Law Commission Chairman, retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Jeevan Reddy, to prepare the draft. Now the draft 1998 Representation of People (Amendment) Bill has been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs and will soon be presented to the Election Commission.

The aspect sure to be hotly debated is the recommendation to scrap the Anti-Defection Act to ensure that `splits' in political parties are banned and that members elected on party tickets cannot defect until the dissolution of theHouse.

The commission has suggested significant amendments to the Tenth Schedule which outlines the existing Anti-Defection act: the concept of `split' needs to be ``given up'' since very often the group that splits from a particular party is joining another party against which it fought the election. And for the same reason the concept of ``merger'' should be given up.

The draft states: ``Whatever may be the alliance in the House, the identity of a political party shall not undergo any change during the life of the House. Once the House is dissolved, the parties and members have all their choice and freedom.''

A new ground for disqualification in the draft Bill is the framing of charges as opposed to the present conviction. ``It is well known that mafia leaders and leaders or members of criminal gangs rarely get convicted by courts. The reason for this phenomenon is well known...,'' says the draft.

Therefore, it suggests disqualification even if charges are framed under any sections of the IndianPenal Code, Customs Act and Sections 10 to 12 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 7 of the 1988 Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act and the Protection of Civil Rights Act. And any person imprisoned for not less than six months should be disqualified for six years, according to the draft.

A crucial provision relates to the proposed list system under which 138 seats will be added to the Lok Sabha. ``The deficiencies in the first-past-the-post system (FPP) have been all too evident in the recent years on account of the increase in the number of political parties. Instances of direct contest between two candidates of two political parties or fronts are becoming more and more rare. The result is that very often the successful candidates only gets 30 per cent to 35 per cent of the votes...''

This anomaly, the commission feels, leads to the ``will of the majority'' of the voters going unrepresented. The solution is to ``add'' 25 per cent of seats to the existing strength of the LokSabha and each Assembly. These will be filled on the basis of the lists system.

To implement the lists system, the country is proposed to be divided into ``territorial units'' with small states such as in the North-East being clubbed together to form one unit. Once these units have been carved out, the 138 seats will be proportionately distributed between them broadly corresponding to their population.

After an election, the EC shall calculate the number of votes secured by each recognised political party and allocate the seats in the states on the basis of the total votes polled by them in the territorial unit.

On the issue of party funds, the draft calls for auditing of poll expense accounts by an independent accountant as defined by the Income Tax Act. And that ``all recognised political parties shall maintain accounts clearly and fully disclosing the source of all amounts received... and expenditure incurred.''