<p align="justify" class="title">Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy has pitched for second round of elections in constituencies where the winning margin is less than the NOTA option and the victorious candidate fails to muster one-third of votes.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">He also expressed the view that India's first-past- the-post electoral system has outlived its utility.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"In my opinion, NOTA is very good; we should say if NOTA crosses certain percentage of votes; for example if the difference between the winner and the loser is less than the NOTA votes, you can say we should have second round of elections," Krishnamurthy said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">A law needs to enacted to implement this measure, he said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">NOTA (None of the above) gives the voter a right not to vote for any candidate contesting from a particular seat.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">More than 5.5 lakh voters -- or 1.8% voters -- pressed the NOTA button on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the recent assembly elections in Gujarat, where the winning margin was less than NOTA in several constituencies.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">NOTA's vote share in Gujarat elections was higher than that of any party other than the Congress and the BJP.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Krishnamurthy also said, "Another possibility is to say that the winner should poll more than 33.33% or one-third of total number of votes polled," a move which would make smaller political parties "disappear".</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"There should be second round (of elections) if NOTA is more (than the winning margin) or if a person fails to get 33.33% (of the total votes polled)," he said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Krishnamurthy said NOTA will eventually force political parties to field candidates known for their integrity, and those who are more popular in segments taking into account people's sentiments. </p>
<p align="justify" class="title">Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy has pitched for second round of elections in constituencies where the winning margin is less than the NOTA option and the victorious candidate fails to muster one-third of votes.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">He also expressed the view that India's first-past- the-post electoral system has outlived its utility.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"In my opinion, NOTA is very good; we should say if NOTA crosses certain percentage of votes; for example if the difference between the winner and the loser is less than the NOTA votes, you can say we should have second round of elections," Krishnamurthy said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">A law needs to enacted to implement this measure, he said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">NOTA (None of the above) gives the voter a right not to vote for any candidate contesting from a particular seat.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">More than 5.5 lakh voters -- or 1.8% voters -- pressed the NOTA button on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the recent assembly elections in Gujarat, where the winning margin was less than NOTA in several constituencies.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">NOTA's vote share in Gujarat elections was higher than that of any party other than the Congress and the BJP.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Krishnamurthy also said, "Another possibility is to say that the winner should poll more than 33.33% or one-third of total number of votes polled," a move which would make smaller political parties "disappear".</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"There should be second round (of elections) if NOTA is more (than the winning margin) or if a person fails to get 33.33% (of the total votes polled)," he said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Krishnamurthy said NOTA will eventually force political parties to field candidates known for their integrity, and those who are more popular in segments taking into account people's sentiments. </p>