More than 10 years have passed since the first Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) election by adult franchise was held in 2008. Since then, elections have been held without mandating the code of conduct. The voluntary code of conduct does not provide guidelines on how to punish violators. It is most essential that a code of conduct be legislated to ensure that elections are free and fair.
The security deposit amount should be enhanced to at least Rs 25,000 so that only serious candidates enter the fray. This deposit should be forfeited if the candidate fails to get at least eight percent of the votes cast.
PIROJA HOMI JOKHI
piroja.jokhi@yahoo.com...