49-O
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49-O is one of the sections of The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, which governs elections in India. It covers the procedures to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote, and decides to record this fact. In recent times, the urban educated electorate has not turned out in large numbers in Indian elections. This has been attributed to disillusionment with the system, and a perceived paucity of good candidates. In some cases, voters with valid identification documents have been turned away because impersonators had already cast their votes. Recording one's vote under Section 49-O is a choice that a voter can exercise to prevent electoral fraud, and misuse of his vote.
Since the ballot paper/EVM contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the presiding officer at the election booth. This violates the secrecy of the ballot.
Some recent articles suggest that in case the number of votes recorded under Section 49-O is greater than the maximum number of votes polled in favour of any of the candidates, a repoll is held. This is not explicitly mentioned in any of the sections of The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
