Apr 22, 2004: Exporting Election Expertise...  
 
India wants great power status, yet, it is strangely reticent in taking on a leadership role. Even when it is thrust upon it. During the Clinton Administration……

An Indian company is already gearing up to sell electronic voting machines to US state governments. Shouldn't and couldn't Indians be worldwide election consultants? The official hand holders, the last word on how to do it right.…..

It is show time in India. The great Indian elections are being staged, and, over the next three weeks, the bureaucratic machinery will roll from state to state in one of the most complex logistical events to be mounted anywhere in the world. Given the size of the country and the electorate, this road show could be a chapter in the Guinness Book of World Records. Since India does this well, it is time to market this expertise. Indians should and could be worldwide election consultants, the official hand holders, the last word on how to do it right. They could begin in Afghanistan where the government is struggling to hold elections in September and move beyond. Why not?

If security can be outsourced, so can elections. In Iraq, the US government depends o hundreds of private security contractors to fill the gap. The companies scout around the world for retired army officers to subcontract the work, luring them with high pay. Conducting elections is a much less hazardous enterprise. True, the establishment in Delhi will sniff at the idea, but then they sniff at everything. Think about it --
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Exporting Election Expertise
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20040421&fname=seema&sid=1 

By: SEEMA SIROHI, Outlook