New Delhi: In keeping with the tradition of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to foster a culture of transparency and reiterate its commitment to high standards of electoral practices amidst the democratic nations, 75 delegates representing 23 countries are in India to witness the Indian General Elections as part of the International Election Visitors’ Programme (IEVP). The event was inaugurated in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar (Retd IAS: 1984: JH) and ECs Gyanesh Kumar (Retd IAS: 1988: KL) and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (Retd IAS: 1988: UK) at New Delhi.
Rajiv Kumar remarked that the contribution of the Indian electoral space and work done by ECI holds a significant portion of the world democratic space. In terms of process and capacity it generates, what can be legitimately called, ‘democratic surpluses’ is of a huge significance in the otherwise growing concerns of shrinkage of or decline of democratic spaces worldwide.
Commenting on the scale of the electoral exercise in India, he said that a 970 million strong electorate will be welcomed by over 15 million polling personnel at over 1 million Polling Stations spread across the country. Kumar added that diversity of the nation’s electorate can be witnessed in its full expression by the visiting delegates at the Polling Stations. He added that India is a country of festivals and invited the delegates to experience the festival of democracy first-hand.
The delegates will split into groups to visit six states—Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to observe polls and related preparedness in various constituencies. The programme will end on May 9, 2024. The program will familiarise foreign EMB delegates with the nuances of India’s electoral system as well as the best practices in Indian election.
This year, commensurate to the scale and stature of the on-going Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the largest ever delegation representing various Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and organisations from 23 countries namely — Bhutan, Mongolia, Australia, Madagascar, Fiji, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Moldova, Tunisia, Seychelles, Cambodia, Nepal, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Chile, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Namibia are taking part in the event. Members from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and media teams from Bhutan and Israel are also participating.
