ABSTRACT
The Electoral Commission of India was the permanent body constitutionally ascribed the responsibility for delivering elections in January 1950. A history of electoral violence means that security forces were more involved in Indian elections than would be common in established democracies. Following the establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission, criticism of election management and calls for reform continued. Australia had a highly federalised electoral management system in which the Australian Electoral Commission was responsible for organising and supervising federal elections, but state and local government elections were overseen by a separate Electoral Commission in each state and territory. In short, there are striking similarities in structure and trajectories between governance networks in India, Australia and the United Kingdom – despite the deliberate attempt to identify divergence cases. Civil society activism was central to spurring political change and restructuring the nature of the governance network.
