In the passage on booth capturing, select the best word for the last blank in the phrase "into turning a blind eye to _____ practices."

Introduction / Context:
The passage deals with unethical and illegal practices during elections. The final blank appears in the phrase turning a blind eye to _____ practices. The adjective in the blank must describe the nature of these practices in a way that matches the negative tone of the passage and the idea of corruption and malpractice.

Given Data / Assumptions:

The full context is that election officials are threatened by unscrupulous politicians into turning a blind eye to certain practices.

Turning a blind eye means deliberately ignoring something wrong.

Unscrupulous politicians and booth capturing already carry negative connotations.

The adjective must therefore describe practices that are morally or legally wrong.

The options are significant, rare, unjust, usual and occasional.

Concept / Approach:
The phrase unjust practices clearly conveys unfair, morally wrong or illegal actions. In any discussion about electoral malpractice, unjust practices is a common and suitable expression. Words like significant, rare, usual or occasional describe frequency or importance, not moral character, and therefore do not match the context of wrongdoing. Thus, unjust is the adjective that best completes the phrase.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Insert unjust into the sentence. The phrase becomes turning a blind eye to unjust practices, which is idiomatic and meaningful. Step 2: Confirm that unjust aligns with the negative tone established by words such as booth capturing, rigging and intimidation. Step 3: Test significant. Turning a blind eye to significant practices is unclear because significant does not say anything about right or wrong. Step 4: Test rare. Turning a blind eye to rare practices puts the focus on how often these practices occur, not on their ethical nature. Step 5: Test usual and occasional. Both again refer to frequency; usual practices are common and occasional practices happen sometimes, but neither word carries the necessary moral judgement. Step 6: Compare unjust with other moral adjectives such as unfair or illegal. Unjust is broad enough to cover both unfair and unlawful behaviour and fits well in this formal context.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the entire passage: it stresses that ignoring allegations is not realistic because there are real instances of intimidation and rigging. The author wants to highlight that these are morally wrong and harmful practices, which matches the word unjust. Other adjectives in the options do not emphasise moral wrongness and therefore fail to capture the intended meaning.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Significant describes importance but does not indicate whether something is fair or unfair. Rare focuses on how frequently something occurs and is not directly linked to moral criticism. Usual simply means common or typical, and using it here would weaken the strong negative message of the passage. Occasional also refers only to frequency and does not tell the reader anything about the ethical nature of the practices.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners may choose significant because political malpractice is important and serious. However, the author is not just talking about importance but about fairness and legality. Others may get distracted by the usual collocation usual practices, but in this passage the central concern is justice. Carefully identifying the moral dimension of the issue helps avoid such mistakes.

Final Answer:
The best adjective for the last blank is unjust.