Elections Amidst A Pandemic: An Overview Of This Conundrum

Suchint Krishna, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

The Coronavirus, better known as COVID-19, has become an inherent feature of our daily lives that we have grown so accustomed to and has drastically impacted several facets of the same. Several countries resorted to implementing preventive measures such as imposition of lockdowns, mandating social distancing, placing travel bans and more. The magnitude and sheer unexpectedness of the COVID-19 pandemic posed to be quite the conundrum for those countries which were due for some form of election that year; it meant that such countries had to now choose between proceeding with the scheduled election regardless of the situation and postponing/ cancelling the said election in order to safeguard the public health and order. It is no secret that free, uninterrupted and fair elections form the very structural backbone of a democracy. But what happens when this fundamental theory is challenged unabashedly by a reeling pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on some countries' democratic structures, prompting legislative work to be halted, and elections to be postponed due to worries of the virus spreading.

This article has taken into consideration several aspects of this conundrum and has drawn a comparative conspectus of the dichotomous tackling of this conundrum by South Korea and India. In furtherance, the author aims to scrutinize the impact that a pandemic can have on elections and in turn, governance.

Keywords: COVID-19, Elections, Governance, Disruption, Democracy