New Delhi: In the context of the ongoing Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections, a three-day International Virtual Election Visitors Programme 2020 (IEVP) for foreign Election Management Bodies (EMBs) has been organised by the Election Commission of India from today.
Bihar has an electorate of over 72 million, one of the largest in the world to vote so far amid the COVID19 pandemic. “This provides us with an opportunity to share our best practices and experience of the conduct of our poll process during the pandemic period,” the ECI stated.
Delegates from over 40 countries across the world including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Mongolia, Mauritius, Nepal, Philippines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zambia, and three international organizations – International IDEA, International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES) and Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) are participating in the IEVP 2020.
Also read: Bihar’s will be the world’s largest election to be held amid the pandemic
The Programme for IEVP 2020 comprises an online briefing session today to provide to the participants an overview of the large canvas of Indian electoral process, the new initiatives taken by ECI on voter facilitation, transparency and accessibility of electoral system; and ECI’s response to the changing needs of training and capacity building.
On the second day, the Programme will provide a unique overview of the Commission’s flagship programme for voter awareness – SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation). The Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar will share the State’s experiences with the global audience.
On the concluding day – November 7, the participants would be taken to to a virtual tour of polling stations in Bihar. The visit will be amplified by exclusive footage, a walkthrough of the electoral process, and various arrangements at the polling station for a free, fair, participative and safe election.
It may be mentioned that in the past, ECI has organized International Election Visitor Programmes (IEVPs) for foreign EMBs in 2014 Lok Sabha elections; elections for a few State Assemblies in February/March 2017 and Lok Sabha Elections in May 2019.
– globalbihari bureau
