Scholarly and popular accounts of institutions in developing countries are dominated by the narrative of institutional capture or institutional decay. And yet, institutions have emerged in these countries which act with integrity and in the process expand their power. What allows public institutions to interpret their mandates expansively and become powerful? How are public institutions able to act with integrity in contentious democracies? In his presentation, Amit Ahuja will answer these questions by examining the experience of the Indian Election Commission ("EC"), which has emerged as one of the most powerful electoral regulatory bodies in the world.

The Indian Election Commission, which lacks a colonial heritage, has overseen the successful completion of 16 national and more than 250 state elections over a period of 6 decades. It is widely celebrated and is one of the most trusted public institutions. Today, it enjoys substantial powers and conducts some of the longest elections in the world. The 2014 parliamentary election, for example, was completed in 9 phases over 5 weeks. And yet, the EC in India was not always as prominent, or as powerful. Its institutional profile has changed substantially since 1991. In previous decades, the election commission's powers and mandate were more restricted and election duration was much shorter.