Key Points
And the manner in which this process plays out may just prove to be the unique differentiator among democracies as a significant clutch of democratic countries, including India and the US, go into polls this year..
Democracies have been under stress in most top G20 countries, largely due to deep internal fissures that have polarised the polity. Election results are not easily accepted, margins are getting thinner, and threat of post-election violence, especially after what happened on Capitol Hill in January 2021, remains high..
However, countries are now willing to take risks against rules that structured the order and assert their influence - Russia against Ukraine, China against a UN tribunal award in the Philippines, Turkey in Azerbaijan, and renewed terrorism against Israel and its blowback...
However, for a country once constantly criticised on rigged elections, to boast of turnout percentages in the 65-75% range, with rapidly improving numbers among women, is quite different to the general cynicism elsewhere..
And, in this context, the holding of elections in Jammu and Kashmir could, by itself, prove to be an even stronger message on the credence of India's electoral process and plans ahead...
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