Gap between elections and democracy

By Thilina Samarasinghe

Troubling headlines in recent months from places as disparate as Sri lanka and pakistain all share a common theme: the flaws in those countries' elections. Underlying this trend is the opinion that elections are one of the most visible and credible indicators of a country's level of democracy.
Evidence abounds of democracy's fragility or erosion in each nation — from the question of President Mahinda Rajapaksha commitment to holding free and fair elections in Srilanka to the bloodshed in pakistain following pervaz Mufaraf apparently fraudulent re-election, to the Vladimir Putin regime's cynical stage-managing of the Russian presidential election.
To state the obvious, there can be no democracy without elections. But what about the reverse: Can elections occur in the absence of democracy? Putting aside the "elections" charade practiced by the likes of Cuba or Iran, the answer is still, unfortunately, yes. As a provocative new study demonstrates, when a country successfully holds a free, fair and open election that conforms to international standards, democracy is by no means ensured.