Good elections anywhere cheer the soul. A good election underscores the principle of democracy in a society, enables citizens to reassert their dominance as the repository of power in a state. And those elected to office hold that power in trust until such time as the need arises for a fresh new exercise of the ballot.
The results of India’s general election bring home to us once more the beauty inherent in an exercise of democratic politics. It is not overly important in an election which individuals or parties win elections. But it is hugely significant that the electorate have the opportunity to make their opinions reflected at the ballot box.
The Indian voter has given the ruling BJP a drubbing of sorts. At the other end, it has boosted the morale of the opposition Congress and its alliance partners. But note that no questions have been raised about the voting; no allegations have been made about rigging anywhere. No instance has been there of the Indian Election Commission coming under criticism. All of that is again a hint of the maturity which defines Indian politics today.
Democracy, the practice of it, is always a means of an articulation of public opinion and of the methodology of perfecting the art of political pluralism. Elections are the instrument which test the ability of a people to give themselves a government they believe will promote their welfare, indeed secure for them a state structure which cares about every citizen and which therefore ensures a strong system of security for the state.
A good election throws up a parliament where an assertive ruling party and a powerful opposition promise to debate issues of public interest and out of which debate will emerge policy options for the electorate. India’s election has now made sure that a re-elected government engages with the opposition in determining the issues which will need to be focused on in the next five years. A good election being one which does not place unfettered authority in the hands of a political party, to the detriment of the opposition, the Indian voter has demonstrated astuteness in voting for the Lok Sabha the way he did.
And thus was Indian election-based politics, in place since the country’s first general election in 1952, injected with new energy in 2024. Hubris was given short shrift by the voter. Parochialism was rejected at the ballot box. The Indian electorate made it clear that the national interest was paramount to them, beyond the partisan divide. That politicians, their parties and their workers were able to take their many messages to the villages and towns of India in the fullness demanded by freedom of expression and movement is a reality which will be reflected on both in India and beyond it.
Elections, those exercised without fear of intimidation or repression, work wonders in the soul. Observe the change that has come over Mexico, where Claudia Sheinbaum has just been elected the country’s first woman President. She has won by a remarkable majority of votes, without anyone even remotely suggesting that her victory was brought about by questionable means. Good elections do not raise questions. Elections which give rise to disturbing questions are no elections. Ms Sheinbaum won the election fair and square and will now be expected to govern in accordance with the wishes of Mexico’s people. The new President has a whole lot on her plate and will have a tough time governing. But that she has earned the support of Mexicans will be a good beginning for her.
Elections sometimes exercise minds both in countries where they are held and elsewhere. In Britain today, the ruling Tories are desperately engaged in a campaign they believe will return them to power at the election on 4 July. The prospect is daunting, for Rishi Sunak and his government know only too well that only a miracle can save them. Miracles are rare in politics, but sometimes they do happen. There are plenty of electoral examples before us of such miracles turning the tide for political parties. For now, though, Sunak and his party are too far behind in the opinion polls to catch up with Keir Starmer’s Labour. If the projections are correct, Labour will stride to victory with a 194-seat majority.
That will be something to watch. The beauty of British elections is in the swiftness with which a losing party acknowledges the result. More importantly, when a governing party loses the election, the Prime Minister travels to Buckingham Palace and submits his resignation to the monarch, who then invites the leader of the victorious party to form a new government. And all of this is accomplished the day after the election, much before the end of the day. No bitterness on the part of the losers, no gloating by those who win, but a mature and properly constitutional transfer of power takes place. It is such a transfer of power, assuming Labour win the vote, the British electorate, indeed the world, will be privy to come July this year.
The elections in India and Mexico have pleased people everywhere because of the peaceful way in which they have been conducted. Similar expectations are associated with what will take place in Britain in early July. But not all elections are reasons for good cheer. The presidential election in the United States in November this year will —- take our word for it —- be an ugly affair. Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump have demonstrated any civility toward each other since before the 2020 election. And in these four years since, Trump has increasingly behaved like a politician in a banana republic, unwilling to accept the truth that he will not always win elections or arguments.
And here’s an unsavoury side of the US election: Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts in the hush money trial. His payment of thousands of dollars to the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 in order to buy her silence over their affair before the presidential election has now been adjudged a criminal act. So here we have a contest between a sitting President who has a clean record and a former President who is a convict under the law. America being a strange country, politically, has no law preventing a convict from running for the presidency. What if Trump goes to jail before the election and then ends up winning the election? What measures will there be for him to obtain bail and be sworn in as President? And will he then be taken back to prison?
So there we are. After the satisfying elections —- in form as well as substance —- in India and Mexico and in July in Britain, waiting for the results of the US presidential election will be nerve-wracking. But here’s the larger truth: all these elections we speak of have people at the centre. Democracy brings people together through enlightened leadership. And elections firm up the bonding between citizens and politicians.
ahsan.syedbadrul@gmail.com