E-democracy in the developing context - The citizen perspective

Effective citizen participation, as the hallmark of democratic traditions, has been recognized all over the world. The political parties, in their own interest and the governments, in the national interest, have attempted to ensure the participation of citizens in the democratic processes. The Information and Communication technologies (ICT) has not only facilitated, but also forced nations to explore the possibility of improving communication with citizens and stimulate their participation in the democratic processes. India is no exception to this worldwide phenomenon. Right from its independence in 1947, a variety of interventions - both constitutional and legal- have been initiated in the country for introducing and strengthening democratic traditions in the country. The Election Commission of India, a statutory body, oversees the marathon exercise of conducting elections every 5 years in view of its size and 'distinct' features which differentiates India with other democracies in the world. India, of late has also introduced far reaching reforms in the election front in terms of structural and operational aspects, which made the world hail India as one of the biggest democracies in the world and its practices worth emulating. The elections in the past decade have been the focus of the entire world for a variety of reasons. However, the Elections- 2004 stands out prominently in the history of India for the overwhelming response because of the use of ICT in the process. Electronic voting is said to have revolutionized the election process and factual evidence proved an interesting shift in the citizen response as well. It becomes imperative, therefore, to examine the ground realities for an extensive use of E-democracy in India. As stakeholders in the entire process, the citizen response to the reforms assumes significance. This paper reviews the Indian experience in the democratic processes from the citizen perspective, more particularly focusing on the e-voting in the Indian context. The anti-incumbent vote irrespective of party affiliation in a number of states and the federal government evidences a positive shift in the citizen perspective which was possible more so because of the use of ICT in the process. Implications for democracy in the e- way for India, in particular, and the developing and developed context, in general are discussed.