From Quiescent Bureaucracy to 'Undocumented Wonder': Explaining the Indian Election Commission's Expanding Mandate

Public institutions in the developing world are often characterized by institutional capture or decay. Yet, India’s Election Commission has become one of its most powerful regulatory bodies. The Election Commission has overseen the completion of 16 national and 350 state elections since 1952. It is one of the most widely-celebrated and trusted public institutions in India, enjoys substantial powers, and conducts some of the longest elections in the world. We use a process-tracing approach to explain the EC’s surprising expansion of mandate, arguing that in a federal democracy: 1) when institutional constraints are weakened; 2) when state-based actors demand a competent and neutral arbiter; and 3) when entrepreneurial bureaucratic actors take advantage of moments of political opportunity, those aspects of the bureaucracy that can credibly meet these demands are able to successfully expand their powers. Changes in Model Code Implementation and Election Duration attest to the Election Commission’s broader role. The Election Commission’s experience suggests that a weak executive can facilitate the strengthening of state institutions and that, under federalism, state-based electoral forces can produce strong national institutions.