The Hindu Business Line : At what cost your vote?

BHIAR is to have another election, with the fractured verdict of the last edition not leading to a government in the State, what with the various parties not able to see eye-to-eye. More than the politics, there is also the question of costs of election, though this may be the price of democracy.

"Democracy is a form of government in which citizens decide on and lead the actions of the government". The philosophy behind it is that all people have natural rights or rights that cannot be taken away. Rulers and citizens have certain obligations to each other and when the former fail in their obligation or abuse power, the latter may take away their powers.

Right from the Fifth Century Athens, where it was introduced, democracy has taken various forms in various countries. Direct democracy where citizens directly participated in the decision-making process was practised in Athens. With the spread of population and area, direct democracy gave way to representative democracy where citizens choose officials to make government decisions on their behalf.

Single-party democracy was practised in some parts of Africa and the multi-party democracy in India, the US, the UK, and so on.

Whatever the method, the one common factor in elections is the ballot paper used to select one's representative and the administrative machinery that runs the system. How much does each vote cost you as the tax-payer?

The logistics involved in conducting an election are huge and this boils down to the question on administration of elections and their cost involved. As it is a public expenditure and does not directly bite the pocket of the common man, not much thought has been given to how cost-efficient the ballot is.

In the West, serious debates were held about ensuring a cost-efficient proof transparent system of elections, so that the tax-payer's contribution is optimised for a successful democracy.

The electronic voting is one such system that was introduced as a cost-saving device. But surprisingly, such modern innovations to save cost have not necessarily made the system fool-proof.

The controversy over the electronic ballot in the first-term election of the US President, Mr George Bush, raised doubts about even this form of voting. And the machine adopted by India's Election Commission was criticised.

It is important for India to focus on how to run a cost-efficient election. A study conducted by a United Nations adviser, Prof Rafel Lopez - Pintor, in 1997 indicated the cost of one vote, in different countries. The table indicates that India spends as much as the US for a ballot while, in the UK, it is less. But compared to the per capita income, the Indian ratio will be higher. The data belong to a five seven-year time-span and the figures represent currency values in relevant period.

The Table shows the relative cost of general elections in various countries. While producing the Table, Prof Lopez-Pintor prefaces it with the following comment: "The cost of organising and managing elections varies with the condition under which they are held. Because this issue is extremely complex, this paper attempts only a gross comparative quantification." Apart from the Comptroller and Auditor General, C & A .G. there seems to be no single organisation responsible for the auditing the of election expenses and the cost of the ballot. Breaking the expenses down into fixed and variable components will enhance the scope for cost administration. Such cost audit will determine whether voting infrastructure is changing and the cost consideration thereof. A clear-cut cost analysis will pave way for lucid policy guidelines.

When every attempt is being made to contain fiscal deficit at 4.4 per cent of GDP, it is necessary that this initiative begins with monitoring the election expenses. An impartial investigation is one suggestion to save costs. With such a monitoring, even fund allocations would be more scientific.

Like corporate bodies, the Election Commission can be asked to publish a segment-wise cost at the end of every General Election to throw light on operational costs.Against this background, one should also extend the analysis to the cost of democratic politics. This should include the cost of elections, operating costs such as salaries of elected representatives, parliamentary staff allowances, besides expenses such as enumeration of voters list, Electoral Commission, and operating cost. This will indicate the total cost of running the democracy.

(The author is a Chennai-based chartered accountant.)

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