CAIRO - While Egypt heads towards real democracy, of course it is facing many obstacles and challenges. How can we guarantee a free and transparent voting process? How can we encourage a large silent majority who have refrained from the political process for a long time to participate? How can we avoid the problems that have dominated our elections for so long, such as thuggery, buying votes and abuse of power? Maybe looking at others' experiences will help us answer these questions. One experience we ought to think of considering is the Indian one. India, known as the largest democracy in the world, has many similarities with Egypt. The Egyptian Gazette invited the Indian Ambassador in Cairo to discuss his country's democratic experience. "Although separated by a great distance, Egypt and India have many similarities. Both these developing countries suffer from overpopulation, as well as high rates of illiteracy and poverty," said Indian Ambassador to Cairo R. Swaminathan. Swaminathan added that Indians and Egyptians are similar in their reactions, the way they think and even their physical features. But, if you take a close look at the Indian scene, you soon discover that things there are even more complicated. India is a country with more than 700 million eligible voters. With their huge population, Indians speak more than 25 languages and belong to hundreds of religions and ethnic groups, making the election process even more complicated. Indians have been practising democracy for more than fifty years, creating an interesting experience for other countries to share. "In India, elections are a big thing for the people. They wait eagerly for them and there's a high level of participation," said Swaminathan, who believes that the media play a big role in this. Swaminathan even astonished his listeners when he declared that more illiterate people vote than do educated people. “One thing the Government in India is doing to encourage voters is to make voting easier. It's very simple. We use symbols so illiterate people can participate and we even have facilities for the handicapped," he added, saying that, for several years, India has been using an electronic voting machine, a magic tool of democracy. This machine, which saves India 10,000 tonnes of paper annually, gives very fast, accurate results and makes fraud virtually impossible. "The machine is not costly as the money saved on one election pays for it and it can be used several times after that. "Of course some candidates may be tempted to engage in malpractice, but this is monitored by the Indian Higher Election Commission, which is the only power that supervises and organises the voting process. "During elections, the Chief Election Commissioner has absolute power over the country and even controls the Police and Armed Forces. “The Chief Commissioner is elected; once he has been elected, no-one can change him or have power over him. He is responsible for everything concerning the elections, with 11 million employees to help him. "The Higher Election Commission's duty is to watch for any malpractice by candidates, including misusing religion, religious places or money in their campaigns. "It is responsible for tackling complaints from any party, while media reports may be considered as complaints that should be investigated.” However, Swaminathan admits that, in the case of India, enabling expatriates to vote is a difficult and insecure process. Since the eruption of the Egyptian revolution, India has been to share this experience with Egypt. Last April, only two months after the ousting of president Mubarak, the Indian Chief Election Commissioner, S.Y. Quraishi, paid a visit to Egypt, where he briefed different Egyptian authorities about Indian democratic practices, especially the voting process. Quraishi expressed the willingness of his country to share any technology Egypt might need, but at the same time he stressed that Egyptians should create their own system that guarantees transparency and suits their circumstances. India is a constitutional republic consisting of 28 states and seven centrally controlled union territories, with New Delhi as the nation's capital. It is the seventh largest and second most populous country in the world, accounting for roughly one-sixth of the world's population, making it the world's largest democratic country. It is one of the world's oldest civilisations with a rich and varied cultural heritage. It has achieved widespread socio-economic progress during the last 64 years since independence. From self-sufficiency in agricultural production to space exploration, India is competing effectively with other developed nations.
