Officials from 20 nations witness polls

Representatives of 20 election bodies from across the world witnessed the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and around, the Election Commission said.

“Heads and representatives of 20 Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from across the world, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Fiji, Georgia, Kenya, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) have arrived in New Delhi to witness the ongoing General Elections,” the poll panel said.

“More than 65 such delegates have been invited by Election Commission of India to join the Election Visitors Programme,” the poll panel said. They interacted with the polling officials and understood the procedures and processes that make our elections so credible and transparent, the EC said.

The delegates visited various polling stations in Delhi and in neighbouring Haryana through the day to see the polling in action and the festive air that surrounds polling. They visited some polling stations which are managed entirely by women polling staff as also some model polling stations with the best of facilities for the voters.

The delegates also visited the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), the new training and research campus of the EC located at Dwarka which has the capacity to train close to 900 personnel.