Liberia’s presidential election of 1927 saw incumbent president Charles King garnering 234,000 against 9,000 votes. It would have been a remarkable victory but for a glaring faux pas. At that time, Liberia had only 15,000 eligible voters. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized it as the most quantitatively fraudulent election in recorded history.

Voters are the biggest stakeholders in any democracy. Elections are not merely an arena to decide victory or defeat. They are a crucible to reward or reject a candidate for his record of public service. Nothing can be a greater affront to the people than an election being viewed as a manipulation-prone conduit to the corridors of power.

The recent election in Pakistan, held beyond the mandated 90 days, saw internet outage, vanishing staff, delay in results and Forms 45 and 47 allegedly citing different winners. The unwarranted delays in forming election tribunals add to what is already a lethal concoction. This election has been derided by political parties, independent analysts and bodies, foreign diplomats and the US Congress.

Right across the border, India’s election history too was far from exemplary. That is before one man, Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan aka TN Seshan, cleaned up India’s electoral system. In 1990, prime minister Chandra Shekhar appointed him as India’s 10th chief election commissioner (CEC).

Seshan’s autobiography, ‘Through the Broken Glass’, reads: “I assumed office not knowing how the........

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