What makes the Indian elections a spectacle is the size and the complexity of the process. It is not only the biggest election in the world, it is the biggest management event of any kind.
In May 2019, at the end of a winding process stretching over 43 days and across seven phases, 900 million eligible voters — the combined population of Europe and Central America — will choose the next government.
The election to the 17th Lok Sabha will be executed by a task force of nearly 11 million civilian and security personnel, many of whom will trek across inhospitable terrain to get to the last voter.
Surprisingly, the ECI, the institution that steers this exercise, is a rather small body of 450 officers and staff. It raises its massive army by dipping into the reservoir of government officials.
During the election period a vast number of additional officers and staff are temporarily drafted who all work subject to supervision, direction, control and discipline of the Commission. They function mainly as polling
What makes the Indian elections a spectacle is the size and the complexity of the process. It is not only the biggest election in the world, it is the biggest management event of any kind.
In May 2019, at the end of a winding process stretching over 43 days and across seven phases, 900 million eligible voters — the combined population of Europe and Central America — will choose the next government.
The election to the 17th Lok Sabha will be executed by a task force of nearly 11 million civilian and security personnel, many of whom will trek across inhospitable terrain to get to the last voter.
Surprisingly, the ECI, the institution that steers this exercise, is a rather small body of 450 officers and staff. It raises its massive army by dipping into the reservoir of government officials.
During the election period a vast number of additional officers and staff are temporarily drafted who all work subject to supervision, direction, control and discipline of the Commission. They function mainly as polling
In Gujarat’s Gir forests, a polling booth has been set up for the last 30 years for a single voter — the priest of the Banej temple.
Elections are the only time the priest has human company at night, as polling officials reach the spot a day in advance to enable him to vote.