Democracy is not just an election, it is our daily life.

—Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Taiwanese President Tsa Ing-wen’s words ring true for countries like India and the USA. Indeed, democracy is our daily life. Without it freedom is just a thought, not an expression.

In India—the world’s largest democracy—a political party needs to win 272 seats (with or without allies) in the Lok Sabha in Parliament to elect a Prime Minister, and form a Government. It takes 270 electoral votes for a presidential candidate in the world’s oldest democracy—the USA—to win the Electoral College, and become President. The two figures (272 and 270) determining who goes through, and who doesn’t, are uncannily close. The elections in both nations leading up to the last day of voting have seldom been devoid of drama, angst, anticipation and fluctuating fortunes.