29-Dec-2022: ECI ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants; migrant voter need not travel back to home state to vote

Migration based disenfranchisement is indeed not an option in the age of technological advancement. The voter turnout in General Elections 2019 was 67.4 % and the Election Commission of India is concerned about the issue of over 30 Crore electors not exercising their franchise and also differential voter turnout in various States/UTs. It is understood that there are multifarious reasons for a voter not opting to register in a new place of residence, thus missing out on exercising the right to vote. Inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections. Although there is no central database available for migration within the country, the analysis of available data in public domain points to work, marriage and education related migration as important components of domestic migration.  Out-migration is predominant among the rural population in overall domestic migration. Approximately 85% of the internal migration is within the States.

Soon after assuming office as Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Kumar’s learning of domestic migration issues first hand from his trek to Dumak village in Chamoli district, focused his attention on enabling the migrant voters to exercise their franchise from their current place of residence. Realising such empowerment would entail a host of legal, statutory, administrative and technological interventions, ECI team has deliberated at length to find inclusive solutions to facilitate electoral participation of migrants across all socio-economic strata and explored alternative voting methods like two-way physical transit postal ballots, proxy voting, early voting at special Early Voting Centres, one-way or two-way electronic transmission of postal ballots (ETPBS), Internet-based voting system etc.

With the objective of finding a technological solution which is credible, accessible and acceptable to all stakeholders, the Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Shri Anup Chandra Pandey and Shri Arun Goel has now explored the option of using a modified version of the time-tested model of M3 EVMs to enable voting at remote polling stations i.e., polling stations outside home constituency, for domestic migrants. The migrant voter would thus need not travel back to his/her home district to exercise his/her franchise of voting.

A concept note has been circulated amongst political parties (https://eci.gov.in/files/file/14714-letter-to-political-parties-on-discussion-on-improving-voter-participation-of-domestic-migrant-using-remote-voting/ ) highlighting the challenges of defining domestic migrants, implementation of Model Code of Conduct, ensuring secrecy of voting, facility of polling agents for identification of voters, process and method of remote voting and counting of votes amongst other issues.

The Commission in association with a renowned Public Sector Undertaking is now ready to pilot a Multi Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) for facilitating participation of domestic migrants from their remote locations itself i.e., the places of their current residence for purposes of education/employment, etc., for voting for their home constituencies. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth. The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences, not enough social and emotional connect with the issues of area of migration, unwillingness to get their name deleted in electoral roll of their home/native constituencies as they have permanent residence/property etc.

The Commission has invited all Recognised 08 National and 57 State Political Parties on   16.1.2023 to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM. The Technical Expert Committee members will also be present. The Commission has also solicited written views of recognised political parties by 31.01.2023 on various related issues including changes required in legislation, changes in administrative procedures and voting method/RVM/technology, if any other, for the domestic migrants.

Based on the feedback received from various stakeholders and demonstration of the prototype, the Commission will appropriately carry forward the process of implementing remote voting method.

27-Dec-2022: ECI initiates delimitation of Assembly & Parliamentary Constituencies in the State of Assam as per Section 8A of the RP Act 1950

In pursuance to the request received from Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India, Election Commission of India has decided to initiate the delimitation exercise of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the State of Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Shri Anup Chandra Pandey and Shri Arun Goel has directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam to take up the matter with State Government to issue complete ban on creation of new administrative units w.e.f. 1st January, 2023 till the completion of delimitation exercise in the State. As mandated under Article 170 of the Constitution, census figures (2001) shall be used for the purpose of readjustment of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the State. Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be provided as per Articles 330 & 332 of the Constitution of India.

The Commission will design and finalize its own guidelines & methodology for the purpose of delimiting the constituencies. During the delimitation exercise, the Commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, public convenience and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact area.

Once a draft proposal of delimitation of constituencies in the State of Assam is finalized by the Commission, it shall be published in the Central and State Gazettes for inviting suggestions/objections from the general public.   In this regard, a Notice will also be published in two vernacular newspapers of the State specifying the date and venue for public sittings to be held in the State.

The Election Commission of India has been requested by the Ministry of Law & Justice to conduct the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the State of Assam vide letter No.H-11019/06/2022-Leg.II dated 15th November, 2022. Under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in the State of Assam was done on the basis of census figures, 1971 by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.

31-Oct-2022: ECI leads ‘Cohort on Election Integrity, with EMBs worldwide; Mauritius, Greece & IFES joins ECI as co-leads

Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey today inaugurated a two day international conference on the theme ‘Role, Framework & Capacity of Election Management Bodies’. The conference is organized by Election Commission of India at New Delhi under Cohort on Election Integrity led by ECI, which was established as a follow on to the ‘Summit for Democracy’ held in December, 2021.

In his keynote address at the inaugural ceremony, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar said that free, fair, inclusive, accessible and inducement free elections being a cornerstone of democratic polity, is a precondition to the peace and developmental dividends. These threshold concepts embody the understanding that sovereignty belongs to and flows from people of a country. He added that inclusivity also means adjusting inequalities especially for women, Persons with Disabilities, senior citizens, young voters and marginalized populations.

CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar’s address at the inaugural ceremony. Watch here: https://youtu.be/YF5niqARHso

CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar while highlighting the idea of democracy in India said that democracy has always been a part of Indian ethos, a way of life. Diverse opinions, Dialogue, Discussions, accommodation, non-aggression have been intrinsic part of our culture. He added that people’s faith in the results of elections is the most fundamental precept of a healthy democracy.

While stressing on the significance of the theme of the conference, he said that ‘Role, Framework and Capacity of Election Management Bodies’ are the core building block for ‘elections integrity’ as it covers both the foundational and the functional aspects of any electoral democracy. CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar offered ECI’s expertise in Election Management to world democracies to take forward the Summit's commitments to real outcomes.

Speaking on the pressing challenges before the Election Management Bodies in today's context, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar stressed on the intersection of EMBs functioning with the social media platforms. He added that social media platforms do self-proclaim that they have content display policies but they also have the “algorithm power” in play. “More early or deeper red flagging of fake news based on known modus operandi and genres, is not an unfair expectation from the EMBs”, he underscored. Sh. Kumar added that such a proactive approach to counter fake news will facilitate credible electoral outcomes that will help preserve the ‘freedoms’, which the social media platforms require to thrive.

Shri Rajiv Kumar said that this cohort is the right platform to learn from each other as we did during Covid. Disenfranchisement, even temporarily, during turbulent times like COVID Pandemic is not an option for democracies, he said. He emphasised that the cohort would lay the foundation for many more dialogues and institutionalised mechanisms to cooperate on contextual challenges and opportunities.

Addressing the conference, Ms. Elizabeth Jones, Charge d’Affaires, United States said relationship with India is most consequential. She added that the partnership is going stronger to address global challenges and to cooperate to bring peace, security and prosperity across the world. She emphasised both US & India have significantly contributed in building up democratic institutions. She said ECI has made critical achievements in fostering democratic principles while delving on challenges.  “India’s Election Commission is a testament of a well-run election management body overseeing electoral processes. The United States is gratified by your leadership and sharing your expertise with other democracies. Administration of Indian elections has set standards for democracies worldwide”, she added In her address, she also highlighted various emerging challenges in the conduct of elections including manipulation of the information environment, barriers in participation of women and marginalized communities, narrowing civic spaces and systemic corruption undermining electoral integrity.”

DG IIIDEM and Senior DEC Shri Dharmendra Sharma welcomed the delegates to the two day conference. Mr. Mohd. Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius, Ms. Aggeliki Barouta, Head of Dept. Elections & Pol. Parties, Ministry of Interior, Greece, Mr. Anthony Banbury, President & CEO, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Mr. Kevin Casas- Zamora, Secretary General, International IDEA, representatives from UNDP & EMBs including Armenia, Mauritius, Nepal, Cabo Verde, Australia, Chile, Federal States of Micronesia, Greece, Philippines, Excellencies, Ambassadors/High Commissioners and other members of Diplomatic Corps from Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, Albania, Nepal, Greece, Montenegro, Spain, officials from ECI & Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India are attending the two day Conference.

The latest edition of ECI magazine “Voice International” on the theme ‘Collaboration & Partnerships for Voter Education & Awareness' showcasing best initiatives of EMBs was unveiled on the occasion.

3-Oct-2022: ECI launches Radio series - ‘Matdata Junction’ in collaboration with All India Radio for voter awareness

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey today launched a yearlong Voter Awareness Program - ‘Matdata Junction’ during an event organised at Akashvani Rang Bhavan, New Delhi. The ‘Matdata Junction’ is a 52 episode radio series produced by the Election Commission of India, in collaboration with All India Radio. Senior ECI officials, CEO Prasar Bharati, DG AIR News and ECI Icon & Actor Shri Pankaj Tripathi were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar said that the program Matdata Junction, produced in collaboration with All India Radio, will be a strong platform to connect with the voters across the country. The program as a combination of information and entertainment, would specifically help address urban apathy and inform the audience about the election processes in the conduct of free, fair, transparent, inducement free, accessible and inclusive elections in an interactive communication format.

While complimenting Shri Pankaj Tripathi, Actor and ECI state icon for his association with ECI in creating awareness amongst voters, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar announced Shri Pankaj Tripathi, would henceforth be the National Icon for Election Commission of India, keeping in view his commitment to the cause and wide appeal across the country.

EC Shri Anup Chandra Pandey during the launch event recalled that since time immemorial, All India Radio has been enthusing masses as a legendary storyteller with its voice appeal and strengthening the democratic spirit. Since the very first general elections, AIR with its extensive coverage and reach to diverse audiences, has been a primary medium of communication with citizens across the country.

Addressing the audience, Shri Pankaj Tripathi, recollected his memories of becoming a first time voter and how that process gave him not only the right of Matdan but also Samman as a contributory voice in democracy. While appreciating the efforts made by ECI for reaching out to the voters, he urged all young voters to pro-actively participate in the elections to reflect their democratic choices and make their voices heard.

In her welcome address, Director General (Media) Ms. Sheyphali Sharan gave a detailed overview about the Programme - ‘Matdata Junction: Har voter ka apna station’. She pointed out that ECI & AIR, the two iconic institutions, known for their credibility and grassroot connect, have got into an apt collaboration to ensure extensive outreach.

The 15 minutes program will be broadcast every Friday during 7- 9 PM slot on All India Radio network covering 25 FM stations, 4 FM Gold stations, 42 Vividh Bharati stations, and 159 primary channels/local radio stations in 23 languages, i.e., Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and Dogri. 

The 52 episode series will cover various aspects of election and related processes from voters’ perspective. It will have thematic episodes on voter registration, Informed & Ethical Voting,  Value of Vote, Inclusive & Accessible Elections,  Model Code of Conduct, IT Applications, EVMs, stories of election officials, BLOs, etc. All episodes include interactive messaging aimed at encouraging eligible citizens and especially the young and first time voters to vote and make an informed decision during the elections. The series will be in the genre of infotainment program having a kaleidoscope of drama, storytelling, Quiz, Experts' interview, and  Songs produced by the SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) division of the Election Commission of India in every episode. The program includes a Citizen's Corner where any citizen can ask a query or also provide suggestions for making elections inclusive and participative.

The first episode of the program on the theme - ‘Voter Registration’ will be broadcast on 7th October, 2022 Friday at 7:25 PM. Citizens can also listen to the Program on ‘Twitter on @airnewsalerts and @ECISVEEP, News On AIR’ App and YouTube channels of ECI & All India Radio. Tune in and be a part of India's vibrant democracy.

14-Sep-2022: ECI releases BLO e-Patrika to establish direct communication with Booth Level Officers

The Election Commission of India today released a new digital publication ‘BLO e-Patrika’ at an interactive session held with BLOs spread across the States in India. Over 350 BLOs joined via video-conferencing from the office of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in States/UTs and 50 BLOs from the nearby states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi joined the launch event physically at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The event was also live streamed on the ECI YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNI2qtQD5VA ) and was shared with over 10 lakh BLOs for facilitating their participation. During the event, ECI YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/eci) gained over 25,000 subscribers today and over 2.4 lakh views were received.

The BLOs participated enthusiastically during the interaction with the Commission sharing their experiences, challenges they come across while performing their duties and success stories. Today's event was a first-of-its-kind direct interaction by the Commission with the BLOs across the country. Senior officials from the Election Commission and CEOs of all States (via video conferencing) were present during the event.

Addressing the gathering, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar acknowledged that BLOs perform a monumental role as fundamental blocks of the ECI system being the most effective field level institution, the direct link of the Commission with the people and facilitating their participation in strengthening democracy. In an impromptu poetic description, Shri Kumar said “BLOs Nirvachan Aayog ke swaroop ke roop mein saakar hain, Commission ka Vyavahar hain, drishti aur swar bhi, is liye aap sabka atyant aabhar hai. (निर्वाचन आयोग के स्वरुप के रूप में साकार हैं, आयोग का व्यवहार है, आयोग की दृष्टि और स्वर भी हैं, इसीलिए आप सब का अत्यंत आभार है)”. Shri Kumar assured the BLOs that the Commission recognises the strengths of BLO institution which with its multifaceted presence ensures door step delivery of services to voters.  BLOs are the primary source of information for every voter across the length and breadth of the country. CEC added that the intent behind introducing BLO E-Patrika is to ensure a cascading information model for a better informed and motivated Booth Level Officer.

EC Shri Anup Chandra Pandey during the launch event said that the idea behind introducing this bi-monthly e-magazine is a novel initiative of the Commission. Shri Pandey said the Patrika in fact provides a platform for three way communication - A platform for ECI to share instructions till ground level, for sharing feedback and success stories and facilitating learning of interstate best practices. While highlighting the genesis of the institution of BLO, he mentioned how a voters list made every five year in the past got transformed to the computerised Electoral database and subsequently to Photo Electoral Roll with yearly updation. He urged Chief Electoral Officers to constantly be in contact with the BLOs and work towards their capacity building, digital literacy and also resolving the challenges faced by them for an efficient and motivated field work force.

Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, Shri Dharmendra Sharma and Shri Nitesh Vyas, incharge of Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) division in their address highlighted that the institution of BLO was devised by the Commission in 2006 to primarily ensure an inclusive, updated and error free electoral roll which is the first step for free, fair and participative elections. Sh Vyas added that over the years, BLOs have adapted themselves to newer technologically upgraded methods of working in the ECI system.

The themes of the bimonthly e-Patrika will include subjects like EVM-VVPAT training, IT applications, Special Summary Revision, Minimum SVEEP Activities at polling booths, Postal Ballot facility, accessible elections, Electoral Literacy Clubs, unique voter awareness initiatives and National Voters’ Day. It will also include informal conversations with BLOs, their success stories and best practices across the country. The language will be simple, communicative and illustrative. The magazine will be available in English, Hindi and regional languages. English and Hindi versions of the BLO e-Patrika can be read through the links below on ECI website or ECI Twitter handle (@ECISVEEP), and are also uploaded via Garuda app.

17-Aug-2022: ECI’s push to inclusive and accessible electoral processes; holds consultation with DEPwD to develop robust partnerships

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar today chaired a consultation meeting with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, wherein a presentation was given by DEPwD for partnering with Election Commission of India (ECI) to strengthen Institutional collaboration for taking forward ECI’s goal of Inclusive, Accessible & Participative elections.

During the meeting, discussions were held on various aspects of collaboration for Strengthening of infrastructure at polling stations including accessible toilets, tactile tiles and temporary props, exchange of available data for targeted interventions and outreach, development of appropriate outreach content, stakeholder engagements with National level Institutes, CSOs/NGOs working in the domain and Training & Capacity Building of election officials.

CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar while sharing his broader vision, emphasized on achieving a new normal of enabling environment in the entire election process ecosystem from registration to voting to nudge Divyangjans for their active involvement and participation. Shri Kumar said PwD achievers and trained individuals suggested by DEPwD would be associated as partners to supplement ECI’s efforts of making Polling areas more Divyangjan-friendly. CEC recounted his experience from student days to emphasize on the need for attitude and behavior change towards Persons with special abilities and said specific training of Polling Personnel would be conducted for due sensitization. He added that contrary to popular perception, Divyangjans actually are more able and their development of inner senses often outweighs their impediments. CEC also mentioned that directions have been issued to all Chief Electoral Officers for intensive efforts to ensure 100 % registration of Divyangjans in the electoral roll.

While addressing the meeting, Election Commissioner, Shri Anup Chandra Pandey stressed on the need to develop partnerships with CSOs, NGOs and national institutes, field infrastructure associated with DEPwD to further add value to ongoing efforts of ECI in reaching out to Divyangjans and ensuring their participation in the electoral process. He added training & sensitisation of election officials and development of accessible outreach material and use of available databases with DEPwD for targeted outreach is the need of the hour.

Secretary DEPwD Ms. Anjali Bhawra, gave a detailed presentation before the Commission highlighting the legal provisions as mandated under Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, initiatives taken by DEPwD including IT Applications like Sugamya Bharat app for grievance redressal, creating a national database of PwDs for Unique Disability Identity Card and flagship schemes of the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

A presentation covering various legal provisions in the RP Act & Conduct of Elections Rules 1961 for Persons with Disabilities and ECI initiatives like Voter EPICs in Braille and Braille features on EVMs,  PwD App mapping, Home voting facility through Postal Ballot, transport facility, special focus on enrolment of PwD electors during Special Summary Revision of Electoral Roll, Stakeholder engagement, sign language interpreters in significant meetings and Disability Coordinators for ensuring Accessible elections over the years, was given by Deputy Election Commissioner Shri Nitesh Vyas.           

Senior Officials from ECI and DEPwD were present during the meeting. Director, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities and representative from Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre also attended the meeting. A unique feature of today’s meeting was the initiative taken by CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar for capacity building and encouraging two differently-abled ECI staffers to anchor the proceedings of the meeting.

11-Aug-2022: ECI hosts virtual Asian Regional Forum meet on “Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted a virtual meet of the ‘Asian Regional Forum’ on the theme “Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative” at Nirvachan Sadan today. The Regional Forum meet was a precursor to the “Summit for Electoral Democracy'' to be hosted by the National Electoral Institute of Mexico in the coming month.

Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri Rajiv Kumar, in his keynote address said that democracy and democratic institutions flourish when all groups of people are fully represented. No democracy can ever be meaningful and aspirational, unless it is Inclusive for all citizens, Accessible without fear or favor and Participative despite differential social, political, economic vulnerabilities.

CEC exhorted all Election Management Bodies (EMBs) for a continuous self-evaluation and strengthening of their systems, to meet the rising expectations from citizens and deal with the emerging challenges during the electoral process. He added that the framework for assessment and so-called ranking of democracies by global evaluating agencies should be objective and contextual, factoring in the magnitude, socio, cultural & geographical context in which each country and EMB functions. Welcoming the idea for this global ‘Summit for Electoral Democracy’, Shri Rajiv Kumar said that integrity of elections and democracy go hand-in-hand and generate global peace, prosperity and stability.

Shri Rajiv Kumar in his address said that Inclusion must cover all manner of marginalized communities – those marginalized by region, geography, literacy, language, ethnicity, economy, gender, disability among others to ensure their voices are heard and they are able to express their voting rights. Access must be provided to these communities to ensure the entire process of casting a vote becomes easy and comfortable. Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens grapple with attitudinal bias, lack of access to information, infrastructural barriers and many more issues. He added that whenever a new technology is designed or a new service is adopted by the EMB, accessibility should be part of the design itself and not added on later as an afterthought. He further extended support to desiring EMBs in designing and strengthening various technological, legal and regulatory architecture.

CEC Shri Kumar while highlighting the daunting task of conducting elections in India, said that the Commission undertook a far sighted reform during the Covid-19 period by introducing the Postal Ballot facility for 80+ senior citizens, persons with disabilities and those who were COVID positive/suspect. He mentioned that over 7.7 million PwD voters and 15 million 80+ voters have been mapped by ECI for targeted interventions and meaningful outreach. ECI is constantly striving towards achieving 100 percent mapping of all PwD and senior citizen voters. The participation of women in the first Indian election was 78 million i.e. 45%. Over seven decades and 17 national elections later, women's participation has exceeded that of men and the gender gap has not only closed but reversed to +0.17% in 2019. India has witnessed a 235.72% increase in female electors since the 1971 election.

Shri Rajiv Kumar cautioned the EMBs about the opportunities and challenges emerging from ever increasing outreach through social media which also assumes criticality in terms of legal, regulatory framework and limitations across geographies to address fake news/narratives and surrogate advertising.

Complimenting the EMBs for various initiatives taken by them for Accessible & Inclusive elections, CEC said that there is scope to explore the possibilities of remote voting for inclusion of migrant voters as well as marginalized voters to end barriers in the electoral processes more effectively.

Election Commissioner, Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, in his address said that issues of accessibility are universal and most marginalized groups face barriers to their participation in elections which has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He urged all EMBs to make sustained efforts to engage and involve women, third gender, PwDs, senior citizens and other marginalized groups in the election process.

While emphasizing that electoral practices need to be inclusive, Shri Pandey mentioned noteworthy initiatives taken by the Election Commission of India over the years to ensure “No Voter is Left Behind” including ‘Basic Minimum Facilities’ at polling stations, All-women managed polling stations, separate queues & toilets for women, postal ballot facility, Braille EPIC, wheel chair facility with volunteers, transport to and from the polling station, a mobile app for Persons with Disabilities, recognizing transgender as third gender and creating an Accessibility Division within ECI among others.

Shri Pandey in his concluding remarks commended the Asia Regional Forum platform and participants for sharing their suggestions and innovative initiatives taken by respective Election Management Bodies towards participative, inclusive and accessible elections.

Welcoming the participants, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Shri Dharmendra Sharma, said that ECI is proud to be associated with this forum. Across the globe, initiatives have been taken by EMBs to ensure inclusive, transparent and ethical elections. This forum provides an opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other.

A recorded message from Mr. Lorenzo C. Vianello, President, National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico was also shared with the participants. Representatives from Election Management Bodies of Mexico, Mauritius, Philippines, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Maldives, International IDEA, Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) participated in the meet. Senior officials from Election Commission of India were also present during the meet.

This Asian Regional Forum (ARF) meet had two sessions. The first session on ‘Inclusive Elections: Enhancing Participation of Youth, Gender and Citizens in Remote Areas’ was co-chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner from Mauritius and Nepal. The second session on ‘Accessible Elections: Enhancing Participation of Persons with Disabilities & Senior Citizens’ was co-chaired by the Commissioner, COMELEC, Philippines and CEC of Uzbekistan.

As part of this ‘Global Summit for Democracy’, five Regional Forums namely Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and countries of the Arab States have been created. India hosted the Asian Regional Forum meet of the EMBs to reflect upon the changing geo-politics, emerging technologies and their use in election management in view of the challenges presented by COVID-19 pandemic.

10-Aug-2022: ECI organizes experience sharing & knowledge transfer conference of Chief Electoral Officers of States/UTs

The Election Commission of India today organized a conference with the Chief Electoral Officers of poll-gone and poll-going States/UTs at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, New Delhi. CEOs from other States/UT joined the conference via video-conferencing. The conference is organised to share experiences and learnings from recently held State Assembly Elections in 2021 and 2022, along with thematic discussions on election planning, expenditure monitoring, electoral roll, IT Applications, data management, EVM/VVPAT, SVEEP strategy, media and communication.

During his address, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar complimented CEOs of the poll-gone states for successfully conducting elections in testing times. He emphasised that initiatives and innovations by states need to be scrupulously replicated without compromising the integrity of the election processes. He added that individual initiatives and innovations by CEOs for use of IT in election management need to be comprehensively analysed with implementable features standardised and integrated with ECI IT systems/Apps to avoid duplication of efforts. Shri Rajiv Kumar also mentioned the need for scientific management of election materials for optimal utilisation as well as a digital portal for easy access of all outreach content developed by States and ECI. CEOs were directed to ensure that representatives from the National & State Disaster Response Force team are also called for coordination meetings. With changing connectivity and technological landscape, he highlighted that polling stations need to be geo-tagged and route charts need to be revised by district administration.

During the discussions on Voter Outreach campaigns, CEC stressed that SVEEP strategy needs to engage with grassroot level with emphasis on analysis of low voter turn-out polling stations and focussed targeted interventions. He urged CEOs to provide regular feedback to the ECI for systemic improvements and improvising voter facilitation.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey highlighted the need to brainstorm ideas and best practices being implemented in poll-gone states which can be emulated in other states. He added some of the best practices implemented by certain states in previous elections like integration of road maps by Tamil Nadu, Chatbot by Goa, Learning Management System by Assam, special initiatives for Divyaangs by Uttarakhand, Meghdoot postcard for awareness in association with postal department, mobile app ANUBHAV for facilitating PwDs by West Bengal. Shri Pandey stressed that CEO teams should remain vigilant to ensure that integrity of election processes are maintained and strict action is taken as per law against any violations.

On the recent drive by the Commission for voluntary collection of AADHAAR, Shri Pandey stressed on the need for strict adherence to ECI guidelines on collection of details. He complimented CEOs that since the launch of the drive w.e.f August 1, 2022, over 2.5 crores AADHAR have been collected voluntarily.

During the conference, the Commission also felicitated officials from Ministry of Home Affairs, Central Armed Police Forces and Ministry of Railways for their significant contribution in the conduct of elections in free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner during the Assembly Elections held in 2022. The forces had to move through difficult terrains and had also travelled long distances from one state to another as part of their election duty to ensure smooth conduct of elections. CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar complimented them for their meticulous planning and time bound movement of election personnel during assembly elections in 2022.  The Commission has also extended the grant of honorarium to ad-hoc Commandants/Commandants of Forces deployed on election duty for all elections conducted by the Election Commission of India.

On this occasion, the Commission also released the latest edition of A-WEB India Journal of Elections. It’s a prestigious international publication containing researched articles, papers & contributions from across the A-WEB community. A-WEB is the largest association of World Election Management Bodies.

CEOs of the poll-gone states gave detailed presentations about their experiences, learnings and innovative practices they adopted during the recently held state assembly elections. CEOs from the poll going states also presented their status of preparation for conduct of elections, ongoing SSR activities, focussed activities being undertaken to improve the health of electoral roll at each Assembly Constituency.

21-Jun-2022: ECI continues to nudge Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) for ensuring due regulatory compliances

The Election Commission of India issued an order dated May 25, 2022 to nudge the Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) for ensuring due compliances after Commission's meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey. In the said order, Chief Electoral Officers were directed to initiate action for enforcing due compliances by RUPPs for relevant sections 29A and 29C of the RP Act 1951.

As a follow up to the 25th May, 2022 decision to delete the 87 non-existent RUPPs, in the second phase of the current exercise,  the Commission today (20th June, 2022) decided to delete 111 additional RUPPs from the register. These 111 RUPPs, whose address of communication, was statutorily required as registration requirement under section 29A(4); any change in address was required to be communicated to the ECI under section 29A(9), which they have not complied with. CEOs have reported that these RUPPs either have been found to be non-existent on verification or the letters issued by them, in pursuance to the Commission's order dated 25.05.2022 have returned undelivered by the postal department. Commission further decided that any party aggrieved from this, may approach the concerned Chief Electoral Officer/ Election Commission within 30 days of the issue of this order along with all evidences of existence, other legal and regulatory compliances including year wise annual audited accounts, contribution report, expenditure report, updation of office bearers including authorised signatories for financial transactions (including bank account). The segregated list of such RUPPs shall be sent to respective CEOs and CBDT for requisite action under extant legal framework.

Further, a reference has also been sent to the Department of Revenue for necessary legal & criminal action against 3 RUPPs involved in serious financial impropriety. A list of 1897, 2202 and 2351 RUPPs for non-submission of Contribution Reports in FY 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively has also been shared for taking all consequential action as per RP Act 1951 read with the relevant provisions of the IT Act 1961. A list of 66 RUPPs which have claimed income tax exemption without submitting contribution reports as mandated under section 29C of the Act has also been shared with the Revenue Department.

This exercise which commenced on May 25, 2022 will continue to be in operation and will be systematically followed up.

17-May-2022: ECI to lead Democracy Cohort on ‘Election Integrity’ in partnership with 100 Democratic Countries consequent to ‘Summit for Democracy’

A four member US delegation led by HE Ms. Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights called upon Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey at Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi today. As part of ‘Summit for Democracy’, a decision has been taken to request India to lead the ‘Democracy Cohort on Election Integrity’ and share its knowledge, technical expertise and experiences with other democracies of the world. ECI has been requested to also provide training and capacity building programmes to Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world and provide technical consultancy as per needs of other EMBs.

During the meeting, CEC Sh. Rajiv Kumar and EC Sh. Anup Chandra Pandey shared the experiences of ECI and explained how ECI have not only been conducting free, fair, peaceful and credible elections but also making these inclusive and accessible. They shared the new initiatives taken by ECI, use of new information technology as a great enabler for not only voters at large but also for all stakeholders like political parties, candidates and other members of the society, making all election related processes and voter services seamless, hassle-free and participative.

Sh. Rajiv Kumar also spoke about recent best practices such as postal ballot facility to 80+ senior citizen voters and Persons with Disabilities. Election Commissioner Sh. Anup Chandra Pandey explained how the grass rooted education and awareness programmes like Electoral Literacy Clubs, Chunav Pathshalas, Voter Awareness Forums have been contributing to sensitize voters about their electoral rights and also providing services even in the remotest areas; how our electoral machinery engages with educational institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Icons, political parties and other stakeholders.

Ms. Uzra appreciated the role of ECI in modernizing the election services and making the elections more inclusive and accessible. She said India can take a leading role in sharing its experiences and expertise in providing capacity building programmes to other EMBs to strengthen the election system. In the Cohort led by India, New Zealand, Finland and the European Union have expressed interest to partner and other interested democracies could also join in. Several programs for cooperation and sharing experiences for capacity building are on the anvil. Based on the above a specific strategy and Action Plan will be prepared in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Today’s discussions were held in the backdrop of ‘Summit for Democracy’ which started as a two-day virtual event, hosted by the United States in December 2021 and is now a year-long activity with events and dialogues on themes related to democracy with participating countries. Leaders of more than 100 countries including India, civil society organizations, private sector, media and others participated in the first summit. The Prime Minister of India also spoke at the Leaders Plenary Session on December 9, 2021. Following this Summit, a "Year of Action" was proposed by the United States with events and dialogues on themes related to Democracy and to host an in-person ‘Leaders' Summit for Democracy’ at the end of 2022. The US Government has also developed two platforms - ‘Focal Groups’ and ‘Democracy Cohorts’ to facilitate participation in the Year of Action.

The 'Focal Groups' are for planning for the follow up Summit, proposing content for a summit outcome document, engaging with other participating Leaders on fulfilling their commitments, leveraging regional and multilateral meetings or thematic conferences. The Embassy of India in the United States is representing the Government of India in this Group which was launched in Washington.

The Democracy Cohorts platform is a thematic, multi-stakeholder group, open for official government and civil society participation. Other themes to be discussed under the Cohorts includes Free and Independent media, Fighting corruption, Bolstering democratic reformers, Advancing technology for democracy, Digital governance, Inclusive democracy, Disinformation, Anti-discrimination amongst others. These Cohorts would refine Summit's commitments, demonstrate progress on implementing those commitments, and develop new commitments for the follow up Summit.

15-May-2022: Shri Rajiv Kumar assumes charge as the 25th CEC of India

Shri Rajiv Kumar today assumed charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India at Election Commission of India, Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi in pursuance of the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India’s Gazette Notification dated May 12, 2022.

Shri Rajiv Kumar has been serving in ECI as Election Commissioner since September 1, 2020. During his tenure as Election Commissioner, elections have been held for State Assemblies of Bihar in 2020, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal amidst Covid concerns in March-April 2021 and also elections to Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh recently in early 2022.

After assuming charge as CEC, Shri Rajiv Kumar said that he is honoured to have been given the responsibility to lead one of the finest institutions gifted by the Indian Constitution - the institution that reinforces our democracy. He added that a lot has been done during the last seventy years by ECI to give our citizens free and fair elections, to ensure purity of the electoral rolls, prevent malpractices and enhance the quality of our elections. “The Commission will follow the time-tested and democratic methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any major reforms for dynamically evolving to changing contexts. And in matters for which it is responsible under the Constitution, ECI will not shy away from tough decisions”, he added.

Sh Kumar also said that Technology will further be made the major instrument for simplification of processes and practices for bringing about transparency and ease of voter services for better election management and operations.

12-May-2022: ECI organizes conference of Chief Electoral Officers from all States/UTs

The Election Commission of India today organized a conference with the Chief Electoral Officers of all States/UTs in New Delhi. The two day conference is organised to share experiences and learnings from recently held State Assembly Elections in five states along with thematic discussions on election planning, Expenditure monitoring, Electoral Roll, IT Applications, Data Management, EVM/VVPAT, timely resolution of grievances, SVEEP Strategy & Voter Outreach, media and communication.

During his address, CEC Shri Sushil Chandra said that such conferences are an excellent platform for sharing experiences and learning from each other. While complimenting the Chief Electoral Officers, he added that these five states' elections conducted amidst the pandemic were exemplary and had no previous examples or references. The extraordinary circumstances demanded extraordinary solutions from banning physical rallies, promoting digital campaigning and weekly reviewing the situation with critical stakeholders.

CEC Shri Chandra stressed on the need to continuously upgrade the services for voters through the entire election process, right from registration to voting. Elaborating further, he mentioned that CEOs are the face of the Election Commission of India in the States. and should ensure that they are accessible and visible to all stakeholders. While narrating instances, he urged CEOs to provide regular feedback to the ECI for systemic improvements and improvising voter facilitation. He urged CEOs to strengthen their outreach and communication to showcase their best practices and innovations in election management to the world.

CEC congratulated EC Shri Rajiv Kumar who has been appointed as new Chief Election Commissioner. He wishes that ECI attains greater heights under his leadership.

Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner designate Shri Rajiv Kumar while interacting with the Chief Electoral Officers said that with the mandate provided by the Constitution, ECI has developed extremely robust internal mechanisms and practices to ensure that elections are conducted in a free, fair, accessible and participative manner for each and every voter. With a legacy of the past seven decades, ECI has established exemplary vibrant and transparent processes for other democracies.  While narrating his experiences of conducting elections for the first time amidst the pandemic in Bihar till the recently held Assembly Elections in the five states, he mentioned that the journey has been full of challenges and learnings. He added that the unprecedented situation demanded dynamic decision making and pre-empting the misinformed narratives. He urged CEOs to carry forward the journey of reforms initiated during  the tenure of Shri Chandra for further streamlining the election processes.

During his address Shri Kumar added that while technology has been leveraged in a big way to enhance the accessibility and transparency of the election system, ECI has streamlined the entire IT infrastructure with focus on three critical stakeholders, namely voters, political parties and election management functionaries. He urged CEOs to strengthen their IT systems including training of the IT personnel for adapting to the latest advancements.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey in his address highlighted the agenda for CEOs for next few months including arranging logistics in states for upcoming elections for the office of President of India. He said that CEOs should utilise this lean period to strengthen and upgrade the fundamental features of the election system including updating the electoral rolls, infrastructure upgradation at polling stations, EVM-VVPAT storage and maintenance and training and capacity building of officials. He also asked CEOs to implement innovative SVEEP strategies to better connect with the voter.

Shri Pandey while complimenting CEC Shri Sushil Chandra for his leadership in steering the Assembly elections during difficult and challenging times amidst the pandemic, added that the handling of elections in India during the pandemic has been acknowledged internationally.

Secretary General Shri Umesh Sinha in his welcome address stated that this conference is a medium for us to reflect on our past experiences and new learnings. He added that the recent elections during the pandemic has brought a paradigm shift in conduct of elections for the whole world, with COVID-19 protocols becoming an integral part of the system.

During the conference the Commission today released the latest edition of ECI magazine ‘My Vote Matters’. This edition of the quarterly magazine includes a host of  articles on the initiatives and endeavours undertaken by the five poll-gone states in 2022 and election stories from the field. E link: https://eci.gov.in/files/file/14171-my-vote-matters-vol-iii-issue-2/

The Commission also released the Election Statistics pocket book. The data presented in this booklet makes an interesting read on the electoral journey made by the country from 2017 to 2021. It consists of highlights of all general elections and elections to Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils conducted during this period. Election Statistics Pocket Book has been a regular publication of Election Commission of India since 2014 providing data on Indian Elections in simplified form.

Along with the ‘My Vote Matters’ and the Election Statistics pocket book, the Commission also released the reprint of the Narrative Reports of Second to Seventh General Elections held between 1957 till 1977. The narrative report is a comprehensive document that has captured all the untiring effort of the Commission in making Indian elections free, fair, participative and inclusive

CEOs of the five poll-gone states gave a brief presentation about their experiences, learnings and innovative practices they adopted during the recently held state assembly elections.

The conference was attended by Chief Electoral Officers from all States/UTs, Senior DECs, DECs, DG and other senior officers from the Commission. A separate discussion on Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) strategy is also scheduled along with a visit to the newly launched Integrated Election Complex in Bakhtawarpur on the second day.

7-Mar-2022: ECI hosts International Election Visitors Programme 2022

The Election Commission of India (ECI) today hosted the virtual International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2022 for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from nearly 32 Countries and four international organizations. An overview of the ongoing Elections for Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh was presented to more than 150 EMB Delegates participating online. Ambassadors/High Commissioners and other members of the Diplomatic Corps based in India from nine countries also participated in today’s virtual IEVP 2022.

India has been hosting the International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) since 2012 elections where International delegates are invited to visit the Polling stations and see the electoral processes in practice for themselves in person. Even during the Covid pandemic with travel restrictions, IEVP in India has not been discontinued and continues to be held in an innovative virtual mode. During the half day session today, recorded video shots of the poll activities from the five states were shown to the participants. Live streaming of today’s poll activities from polling stations in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh was shown along with a detailed briefing session of the electoral process. In the concluding session, the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner’s addressed the delegates.

Addressing the International delegates, Chief Election Commissioner of India and Chairperson A-Web, Shri Sushil Chandra pointed out that despite COVID-19 pandemic posing several logistical challenges in conducting elections, India has yet again conducted elections in five States with 183.4 million electors across 690 Assembly Constituencies, making our electoral system more inclusive, accessible and participative. While highlighting the various initiatives taken by Election Commission of India for facilitating senior citizens, PwD and women voters, he appreciated the innovative and localized solutions implemented by field officers to overcome barriers faced by various categories of voters. He mentioned that over 11 million new voters were added for the ongoing elections in the five states. He added that the extension of postal ballot facility to senior citizens and PwD voters has taken ECI literally at the doorstep of voters and consistent efforts have led to enthusiastic participation of women voters in these elections as compared to their male counterparts. For instance in Uttarakhand, female voter turnout was 67.2% as compared to 62.6% male voter turnout; Goa recorded 80.96% female turnout while male turnout was 78.19%.

Shri Chandra informed that in view of COVID social distancing norms and reduced number of electors at polling stations, a total of over 2.15 lakh polling stations were set up in five states which has been an increase of nearly 31,000 polling stations from previous elections of 2017. Ensuring the motto of ‘No Voter to be left behind’, our polling personnel crossed tough terrains and snow covered regions in Uttarakhand and also reached out to remote and sensitive regions in Manipur, even if the polling parties had to be airlifted or traverse on foot in those regions.  In border areas to ensure security, drones were pressed into surveillance. Vigil on social media posts was also kept to ensure no undue misinformation vitiated the poll process. Efforts by expenditure monitoring teams ensured inducement free elections.

CEC in his address also highlighted the special adaptive changes made by ECI during the ongoing elections to five states, to mitigate the risk of spread of covid-19 and making the polling stations a safe place for the voters. Virtual mode of campaigning for a larger part of the period, stress on total vaccination status in poll bound states, regular interactions with health authorities, helped ECI ensure COVID safe elections.

Acknowledging the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar said that the Commission’s aim has been to work with three broad objectives - Covid safe Elections, hassle-free comfortable voting experience and maximum voter participation. While elaborating on the special measures undertaken by ECI to ensure COVID safe elections, he mentioned that the Commission took a graded response keeping a balance between the candidates and parties right to campaigning and with evolving COVID-19 situation, ensuring safety of voters and polling personnel. Highlighting facilitation for different categories of voters in the current elections, Shri Kumar mentioned that ECI reached out to nearly 5.3 lakhs service voters, 13 lakh PwD voters and a large number of centenarian voters.

Welcoming the delegates, Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey highlighted the major milestones including the adoption of the Model Code of Conduct, system of deputing Election Observers, EVM-VVPAT and Information & Communication Technology in the glorious journey of Indian elections in the last 70 years for ensuring free, fair, transparent and ethical elections. He also gave an overview of the various initiatives taken by ECI including voter connect through SVEEP and voter friendly polling stations to ensure ease of voter registration and facilitation for various categories of voters for enhanced electoral participation.

Secretary General and Head of India A-WEB Centre at ECI Shri Umesh Sinha while giving an overview of the Election Commission of India’s association with Election Management Bodies across the world said that this IEVP Programme provides a platform for exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences, best practices and skills in the field of Electoral Management with various countries. The International Election Visitors Programme interactions in India and initiatives and learn from each other’s experiences to adopt best practices suited for their specific requirements.

Over 150 Delegates from nearly 32 countries across the world including Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Croatia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Guinea, Guyana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar,  Philippines, Romania,  Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Suriname,  Tanzania and Uzbekistan and 4 international organizations including International IDEA, International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and Community of Democracies participated in IEVP 2022 today. Mr. Jonghyun Choe, Secretary General, Association of World Election Bodies, High Commissioners and Diplomats from Australia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Fiji, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Switzerland participated in the event.

8-Dec-2021: ECI organises 2 weeks capacity building course for officers of National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone

A seven member delegation from National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (NEC SL) led by Director, External Relations of NEC SL Mr. Albert Massaquoi called on the Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri Sushil Chandra at Nirvachan Sadan today. The officials from NEC SL are undergoing a capacity building training course being held at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), the training institute established under the aegis of ECI.

Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sushil Chandra during his interaction with the delegation emphasised the usefulness of such capacity building courses providing an opportunity for exchange of best practices and learnings from each other's experiences and challenges faced. CEC assured that ECI would extend all possible support to the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone for their request of IT infrastructure and development of e-learning portal for exchange of ideas and training of officials.

During their two weeks training course on various aspects of election management, the officials have undergone training on ICT Applications related to Voter Registration, Election Results Management, Grievance Redressal, Data Analytics &  Management. As part of the training program, the officials have also been attached for a 3 days IT Applications and Cyber Security  hands-on experience at ECI. The officials also visited a Voter Registration Centre at Agra and NIC Data Centre at Delhi as part of field visits.  This training module was planned after a series of meetings and a Training Need Analysis (TNA) workshop conducted for the election officials of NEC, Sierra Leone.

23-Nov-2021: ECI organizes conference of Chief Electoral Officers from all States/UTs

The Election Commission of India yesterday organized a conference with the Chief Electoral Officers of all States/UTs in New Delhi. The conference was organized to discuss and review various thematic issues related to Electoral Roll, Polling Stations, ongoing Special Summary Revision, IT Applications, timely resolution of grievances, EVMs/VVPATs, training & capacity building of polling staff, media & communication & extensive voter outreach program amongst others.

During his address, CEC Shri Sushil Chandra stressed on the significance of effectiveness and visibility of CEOs, as CEOs represent the Commission in the States. He asked CEOs to ensure purity of the electoral roll, availability of Assured Minimum Facilities and to ensure better facilities at all Polling Booths for all voters. He asked the CEOs for expeditious redressal of all pending applications especially with regard to voter registration. He reiterated that all efforts should be made to ensure better voter experience in reality. He added that the CEOs should have regular interaction with political parties to redress their grievances, if any.

CEC Shri Sushil Chandra during his address added that the objective of this conference is to identify the gaps and challenges to ensure instructions of the Commission are implemented uniformly in all States /UTs across the country. CEC also emphasised that new initiatives and best practices by the CEOs for election related activities should be regularly disseminated through media for enhanced outreach.

Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar while interacting with the Chief Electoral Officers said that the legal and regulatory framework of the elections is quite robust, however the implementation of various instructions of the Commission at the field is very critical. He stressed that CEOs need to be innovative, more active and should learn from each other's best practices and challenges. He urged CEOs to regularly interact with DEOs for coordination and monitoring and visit the field for critical feedback to ensure necessary course corrections.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey stressed upon Training & Capacity Building of BLOs as effectiveness of ECI’s activities depends upon the effective implementation by field level election officials. He also emphasized on the involvement of different stakeholders and officials in the field for outreach & SVEEP activities at the ground level throughout the year even in non-election period.   He emphasized that CEOs need to ensure that correct information and facts are regularly shared with local media for enhanced outreach.

Secretary General Shri Umesh Sinha in his welcome address stated that this conference is being organized to understand the field level functioning, coordination with different stakeholders and implementation of instructions of the Commission. He stressed that CEOs need to be active throughout the year and ensure regular engagement with election officials for assessment and necessary course corrections.

During the conference the Commission yesterday released ‘Compendium of Cases on Election Law’. The Commission also released a Coffee Table Book “Conduct of General Elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly 2021”, and a short video titled “Call of Duty” developed by CEO Assam. The video highlights various challenges faced by election officials in setting up polling stations in remote & difficult terrains. A voter anthem titled “Power of 18” prepared by CEO Manipur for the new voters was also released during the Conference.

A multimedia exhibition of SVEEP activities for Special Summary Revision of Photo Electoral Roll 2022(SSR2022) by States /UTs was also displayed during the conference. Various audio visual creatives, print advertisements and messages from State Icons for SSR 2022 received from States /UTs were showcased.

The conference was attended by Chief Electoral Officers from all States/UTs, Senior DECs, DECs, DG and other senior officers from the Commission. A separate one day review meeting with all the poll going states is also scheduled at ECI today to discuss various matters related to election management.

17-Nov-2021: ECI releases five International Training Modules on Election Management Modules developed by IIIDEM in collaboration with IFES

The Election Commission of India today released five International Training Modules on Planning for Elections, Political Finance, Voter Registration, Election Technology, and Political Parties & EMBs. This is part of a total ten modules under preparation by India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in collaboration with International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The Modules were virtually launched by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioners Shri Rajiv Kumar & Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, along with the President, IFES, Mr. Anthony Banbury and his team joining from Washington, through a video conference.

CEC Shri Sushil Chandra in his address emphasized that the Election Commission of India places high value on innovation and technological up-gradation to ensure meticulous, accurate, voter friendly implementation of election processes by committed, competent, credible and skilled managers. Shri Sushil Chandra welcomed the development of these well-informed updated subject specialized modules for international trainees who will be trained at IIIDEM. He appreciated the wide range of topics being covered to address the key dimensions in any election management process.

Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar in his message spoke about the importance of these module designs, considering the ever-increasing challenges in various aspects of election administration as seen internationally and faced by the Election Management Bodies worldwide. He noted that the modules are designed in a versatile pattern, so as to render them compatible with face-to-face, online and e-Learning training hybrid modes.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey highlighted that the Modules can serve as informative material for understanding the process of election management on a wide range of topics of significant importance towards training and capacity development in preparation of election management plans, observation procedures, electoral technology, electoral systems, legal framework.

The President of IFES, Mr. Anthony Banbury gave a brief overview of the IFES-ECI partnership & the modules. He assured ECI of IFES-IIIDEM continuing partnership in knowledge sharing.

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is a Washington DC based non-governmental organisation which supports citizens’ right to participate in free and fair elections. ECI had initially signed a MoU in May 2012  with IFES for developing training modules and capacity building.  Recently in 2019, after the visit of the then CEC to Washington, IFES agreed to update the eight existing International Training modules and create two new modules namely Political Parties & EMBs and Social Media & Elections. Contract for this was signed on August 5, 2020.

DG IIIDEM and Senior DEC Shri Dharmendra Sharma also informed that the Hon’ble Commission has approved the translations of portions of these modules into Spanish, French and Portuguese as part of the commitment made by the then CEC of India in September 2019 as chair of A-Web, in response to request of several Least Developed Countries for IIIDEM to embark upon “foreign language assisted modules”.

21-Sep-2021: ECI organizes National Conference on Accessible Elections

The Election Commission of India today organised a virtual National Conference on Accessible Elections 2021 with the objective to assess the present accessibility policies and discuss strategies for addressing barriers to enhance participation in electoral process for voters with disabilities. The virtual conference was attended by Chief Electoral Officers, Civil Society Organisations representing various disabilities and representatives from Government Ministries and Institutions.

Reaffirming Election Commission’s commitment to make elections more inclusive, accessible, and voter friendly for PwDs, Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sushil Chandra said that the Commission values the decision making role of primary stakeholders - the voters including persons with disabilities, who can and should play a key role in electoral process. CEC added that all the meaningful inputs and recommendations suggested by Persons with Disabilities and their representative organisations are taken into consideration while framing guidelines for enhancing inclusivity and accessibility at every step of the electoral process. Shri Chandra reiterated ECI’s commitment in various international resolutions and mandates emphasising the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the electoral process. He emphasized the need for pleasant and dignified polling experience to PwDs. He mentioned that all polling stations are on ground floor equipped with ramp and wheelchairs, sufficient volunteers are kept at polling stations for smooth and hassle free election experience.

Election Commissioner Sh. Rajiv Kumar said that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 provides for a legal mandate to ensure all polling stations to be made accessible for persons with disabilities and all material related to electoral process are easily understandable and usable by them. He added that the collective efforts of election officials and CSO stakeholders have contributed significantly in reaching out to a large number of electors with disabilities across the country, apart from building the electoral process accessible, safe and respectful for different population groups.

Election Commissioner Sh. Anup Chandra Pandey emphasised on the need for Community support systems to be strengthened by ways of advanced data processing, identifying community referral points and creating harmonised echo systems for specific citizens groups such as persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Shri Pandey added that Accessible Elections have always been a thrust area of the Commission, whereby ECI specifically focuses on the inclusion of all target groups, ensuring that everyone has equal access throughout the entire electoral process.

Secretary General, Shri Umesh Sinha said that ECI has timely organised this conference when the Commission is preparing for the forthcoming State Assembly Elections. Inputs received from various CEOs, CSOs and ECI Icons will be incorporated in the planning and preparation for elections to be more accessible, inclusive and voter friendly for PwDs and Senior Citizens.

It was informed that as on today about 77.4 lakhs PwDs are registered voters. Recognising that a strong and vibrant democracy is founded on the bedrock of inclusion and participation, today’s deliberations focused on themes of Identification/ mapping of PwDs, Accessible Registration, Facilitation at Polling Stations, Efficient use of Technology for Accessible elections, Accessible Voter Education and Leveraging Partnerships & Collaborations and Media Outreach. Significant Speakers from different CSOs including Director AADI, Executive Director, National Association of Deaf, Director, SPARC-India, Executive Director, NCPEDP, Executive Director BPA, representatives from ISLRTC & PDUNIPPD, as also ECI National Icon, Dr. Niru Kumar shared valuable inputs for making the election accessible and inclusive.

Based on suggestions received from different stakeholders, a resolution was adopted to pave the way forward to further streamline the policy framework on ‘Accessible Elections’, for future elections. Comprehensive monitoring mechanism and Accessibility Assessment of all polling Stations; Integration of all mainstream policies & programs for PwDs; training & sensitization of election personnel; increased awareness to improve understanding of disability ; improvised methods of data collection; awareness on postal ballot facility for PwDs; robust IVRS Helpline and online grievance mechanism and deployment of accessibility observers and micro observers to ensure accessibility at all levels of electoral process were some of the ideas discussed during the virtual conference.

During the conference, Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra along with the Election Commissioners Shri Rajiv Kumar & Shri Anup Chandra Pandey released the following;

1. Crossing the Barriers- Accessibility Initiatives 2021. The Booklet is a compilation of innovative practices & accessibility initiatives for facilitating and empowering PwD electors.
2. Braille Language versions of recently launched initiatives like Voter Guide, Letter to the new voter, and a Song Booklet of 50 motivational songs on voter awareness.
3. Sign Language versions of two awareness videos of Voter helpline app and EVM-VVPAT
4. An evaluation study of Outcomes of SVEEP Activities and Facilities provided to PwDs in General Assembly Election 2018 & Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Karnataka was also released by the Commission.

A presentation on accessibility initiatives taken so far by the Election Commission including the learnings & experiences from the recently poll gone states, was also shared with the participants.

26-Aug-2021: ECI organizes two-day SVEEP Consultation Workshop

The Election Commission of India organized a two-day SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) Consultation Workshop on August 25-26, 2021. The agenda of the workshop was to review State SVEEP Plans & conduct extensive deliberations on the important aspects of SVEEP for a comprehensive strategy for the forthcoming elections.

Addressing the participants, Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sushil Chandra, observed that each voter interacts with the election machinery at two critical stages namely enrollment and polling day. He stressed that the field teams should ensure that the enrolment process is seamless and polling experience remains pleasant and hassle free for the voters. He added that it is imperative that we evaluate our strategy & current interventions at regular intervals; identify critical gaps and address the challenges to devise deliverable action points. He emphasised that implementation of the strategy at the ground level is important. Shri Chandra stressed on the need for a 360 degree SVEEP - Communication Strategy to ensure that voters have access to all election related information.

Shri Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar unveiled a new initiative to reach out to new voters through a personalized letter from the Commission when sending out their Voter ID Cards. The package would include a Voter Guide for new voters along with a congratulatory letter and a pledge for ethical voting.

Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar said that the need for communication is self-evident in today’s world. He highlighted the role of social media and the new mediums of communication in outreach efforts. Shri Kumar elaborated on the importance of content strategy and distribution channels as part of the holistic communication plan. He said partnering with district level local icons will help strengthen our messaging with our voters.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, while interacting with the teams on the previous day highlighted the importance of synergy between the use of social media &traditional forms of communication in the SVEEP strategy. Shri Pandey said that the state teams should further conduct similar workshops and deliberations with District Electoral Officers and their teams in respective states.

Secretary General, Shri Umesh Sinha during his welcome address said that the consultation workshop would help revisit the fundamentals of SVEEP Programme& take a fresh look at different interventions and approach. He added that SVEEP is a 360-degree communication plan with the objective to reach each and every voter.

The Commission also launched the latest issue of the ‘My Vote Matters- a Quarterly magazine of the Commission; a document on Online Activities for Electoral Literacy Clubs and a song booklet with a compilation of lyrics of motivational SVEEP songs .

The two-day consultation workshop was attended by Chief Electoral Officers and SVEEP Nodal Officers from Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. To further enrich the idea & knowledge exchange, Senior officers from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting were also invited for this consultation workshop. The workshop was also attended by Senior DECs, DECs, DGs, CEO Delhi and senior officials from the Election Commission.

As part of the consultation workshop, brainstorming sessions were held on broad themes including Critical Gaps Analysis & Targeted Interventions (Gender, Youth & Service Electors); Persons with Disabilities & Senior Citizens; Mainstreaming of Electoral Literacy & Revitalizing ELCs, Chunav Pathshala & Voter Awareness Forums; Utilizing Media & Social Media to amplify SVEEP Outreach; Leveraging Collaborations & Partnerships and Preparation of Booth, AC, District wise SVEEP Plan with special focus on Low Voter Turnout areas.

Based on the inputs of the thematic discussions, CEOs presented their State specific SVEEP Plans for the forthcoming elections.

Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education & awareness, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.  SVEEP’s primary goal is to build an inclusive & participative democracy by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision & ethical choice.

18-Jun-2021: ECI releases an Atlas on General Elections 2019

Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey released ‘General Elections 2019 – An Atlas’ on June 15, 2021. Shri Sushil Chandra commended the officers of the Commission for compiling this innovative document and hoped that this would inspire academicians and researchers to further explore the vast landscape of the Indian elections.

The Atlas encompasses all the data and statistical figures of this monumental event. It has 42 thematic maps and 90 tables depicting various facets of the elections. The Atlas also shares interesting facts, anecdotes and legal provisions related to the Indian elections.

Since the first General Elections in 1951-52, the Commission has been publishing compilation of electoral data in the form of narrative and statistical books. 17th General Elections conducted in 2019 were the largest democratic exercise in human history which witnessed the participation of 61.468 crore voters at 10.378 lakh polling stations spread over 32 lakh square kilometer territory of India.

In Indian elections, electoral data is primarily collected during the preparation of Electoral Roll by the Electoral Registration Officers and also in the process of conduct of elections by the Returning Officers. This data is then collated by these statutory authorities. Thereafter, after the culmination of the electoral process, the Election Commission of India collects this electoral data and prepares various reports for compilation, record and dissemination purposes.

In October 2019, the Commission released statistical reports based on the electoral data made available by the Returning Officers of 543 Parliamentary Constituencies. The maps and tables as placed in this Atlas depict that information and provide for better understanding and appreciation of electoral diversity of the country. In addition to contextualizing the data, these detailed maps reveal electoral patterns at various levels as well as indicate its spatial and temporal settings. With an aim to better visualize and represent the electoral data, this Atlas serves as an informative and illustrative document that brings to light the nuances of the Indian electoral process and empowers readers to analyse trends and changes.

The Atlas brings out salient features such as data of the 23 States and UT's where women voting percentage was more than the male voting percentage; information about the largest & smallest parliamentary constituency in terms of electors, candidates and performance of political parties amongst other parameters.

The Atlas depicts the electors data in different categories and through various comparison charts like Elector Gender Ratio and electors in different age categories. The 2019 General Elections witnessed the lowest gender gap in the history of Indian elections. The Elector Gender Ratio which has shown a positive trend since 1971 was 926 in 2019 General Elections.

The Atlas also compares the average number of electors per polling station in different states during 2014 & 2019 General Elections. The Election Commission of India set up over 10 lakh polling stations in General Elections 2019 with the lowest number of electors per polling station (365) in Arunachal Pradesh.       

Amongst the various other categories, the atlas compares the number of contesting candidates in the General Elections since 1951. In the 2019 General Elections, there were 8054 qualified contesting candidates after rejection of nominations & withdrawals from a total of 11692 nominations filed across the country.

To check out the details, the e-Atlas is available at https://eci.gov.in/ebooks/eci-atlas/index.html. Suggestions, if any, can be shared with the EDMD division of the Commission.

9-Jun-2021: Shri Anup Chandra Pandey takes over as new Election Commissioner

Shri Anup Chandra Pandey today assumed charge as the new Election Commissioner (EC) of India. Shri Pandey joins the Election Commission of India as second Election Commissioner in a three- member body headed by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar.

Born on 15th February 1959, Shri Anup Chandra Pandey has been a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer. During the span of about 37 years of distinguished Government of India service, Shri Pandey has worked in various Ministries & Departments at the Centre and his state cadre of Uttar Pradesh.

Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, a career bureaucrat holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College and a Master’s degree in Materials Management from Panjab University. Shri Anup Chandra who has a keen interest in study of history holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Ancient Indian History from Magadh University.

Shri Pandey superannuated as Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh in August 2019. Prior to joining the Election Commission of India, Shri Pandey served as a Member National Green Tribunal Oversight Committee, Uttar Pradesh.

Under his administrative leadership as Chief Secretary, the state successfully organized the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj and Pravasi Bhartiya at Varanasi Diwas in 2019.

Earlier, Shri Anup Chandra served as Industrial Development Commissioner of the state and successfully organized a mega Investor’s Summit at Lucknow in 2018. He also introduced various policy reforms in the industries and business sector including single window Nivesh Mitra Portal.

As Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), Government of Uttar Pradesh. Shri Pandey’s endeavours led to successful designing, planning and implementation of Uttar Pradesh Farm Loan Waiver Scheme.

Shri Pandey has held diverse portfolios during his deputation with the central government.  He served as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour &Employment, Government of India where he represented the country at various international forums like G20 and International Labour Organization. He was also Director in Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Department of Consumer Affairs.

Shri Pandey has a keen interest in writing and has authored a book titled “Governance in Ancient India” which explores the evolution, nature, scope, functions and all related aspects of ancient Indian Civil Service from the Rig Vedic period to 650 AD.

13-Apr-2021: Shri Sushil Chandra takes over as the 24th CEC of India

Shri Sushil Chandra today assumed charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner of India, succeeding Shri Sunil Arora. Shri Arora demitted the office on 12th April, 2021 after completing his tenure.

Shri Chandra has been serving in the Commission as Election Commissioner since 15 February 2019.He is also Member of Delimitation Commission since 18th February 2020 looking after Delimitation of Jammu Kashmir UT. Having held several posts in the Income-Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Sushil Chandra had also been CBDT Chairman from 1stNovember 2016 – 14th February 2019.

Since his tenure as Chairman, CBDT itself, Chandra has played an active role in unearthing illegal money often used during Assembly Elections. With his continuous monitoring the seizures of cash, liquor, freebies, narcotics have increased substantially in recent elections. He has constantly emphasized the concept of "Inducement-Free" elections and it has become an important aspect of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections. Process of focused and comprehensive monitoring through deployment of Special Expenditure Observers, activating the role of many more enforcement agencies in the process of Election Expenditure monitoring, more exhaustive and frequent reviews of observers and other agencies are few of the aspects of electoral management encouraged by him. His contributions are also reflective in systemic changes like the Form 26 that has now become an integral part of essential paperwork. Shri Chandra as Chairman CBDT took special efforts in the area of verification of affidavits filed by the candidates before elections. In 2018 in his role as Chairman CBDT, Shri Chandra was instrumental in evolving a uniform format of sharing details of all assets and liabilities not mentioned in the affidavits of the candidates. Facilitation through innovative IT applications in Election systems have been a unique contribution of Sh Sushil Chandra to the 2019 17thLok Sabha Elections and the Legislative Assembly Elections held since in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi.

Holding of elections to State Assemblies of Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal amidst Covid concerns and making processes such as nomination and filing of papers online, extending option of postal ballot to the specific categories of senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities, essential services personnel as also Covid patients/suspects, has seen Sh Chandra lead from the front with an iron will to work despite challenges.

The ECI family bid a warm farewell to outgoing Chief Election Commissioner, Sh. Sunil Arora on 12th April, 2021. After a fulfilling tenure of nearly 43 months in Commission and nearly 29 months as CEC, Arora demitted office having successfully steered the 17th Lok Sabha election in 2019 and  elections to 25 State Assemblies since joining ECI in September 2017.

Bidding farewell to Arora, Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar recalled various initiatives taken up by the Commission during the tenure of Sh. Arora like providing optional postal ballot facility to senior citizen and PwD electors, setting up of India A-WEB Centre, and Voluntary Code of Ethics. He said that Shri Arora has laid special emphasis on ensuring inclusive and accessible elections during the term. He also added that Shri Arora would continue to be a source of strength to the entire ECI family.

Shri Sunil Arora in his remarks thanked all the members of the Commission and wished for the successful conduct of all future elections. Shri Arora recalled every election presents unique challenges but conducting elections to the 17th Lok Sabha and the decision to conduct Bihar assembly elections during a pandemic was the most difficult. He congratulated all the officials involved in the exercise for their meticulous planning and hard work to ensure the smooth and successful conduct of these elections.

5-Apr-2021: ECI hosts 2 day International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IVEP) 2021 on April 5-6, 2021

Election Commission of India today hosted International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2021 for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) /Organisations from 26 countries  and three International Organisations during the ongoing elections for Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sunil Arora in his inaugural address said that the Covid 19 has led to an unprecedented disruption in election schedules all over the world and while the challenges for conducting elections were numerous, it also has presented an opportunity that brought Election Management Bodies together to share and learn from each other's best practices. Adding further, Shri Arora also touched upon ECI’s experience of conducting elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly during these tough and testing times. Shri. Arora stressed that the objective of the Election Commission amidst pandemic is to conduct free, fair, transparent, robust and safe elections.

On the sidelines of IEVP 2021, the Chief Election Commissioner also released the maiden issue of A-WEB Journal of Elections today. Shri Sunil Arora while releasing the journal, emphasized that this academic journal would bridge the gap between academics and practice in electoral landscape. He further added that this scholarly journal is aimed at specialists, researchers and experts. He also appreciated the tremendous support received from Mr. Jonghun Choe, Secretary General, A-WEB and his colleagues in this endeavour.

Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar gave the overview of the magnitude of the ongoing Assembly elections in four States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry which involved over 187.2 million voters spread over 824 Assembly constituencies. He added that the Commission has enhanced use of Information and Communication Technology to strengthen citizen participation and transparency.

Secretary General  ECI, Shri Umesh Sinha  while giving an overview of the International Virtual Election Visitor Programme 2021 stressed that Election Commission of India has been very proactive in enhancing co-operation with Election Management Bodies across the world. He mentioned that over 106 delegates from over 26 countries are participating in the IVEP 2021.

A short film on the glimpse of ongoing elections in the states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and UT Puducherry and also on the A-WEB Journal was showcased to the delegates.

The Journal, published by the India A-WEB Centre (http://indiaawebcentre.org/) which was set up at ECI in 2019, highlights research papers, articles, book reviews, etc. from eminent writers, experts, researchers  and practitioners from the A-WEB Community and from across democracies of the world in the area of Elections and Electoral Democracy.  A-WEB India Journal of Elections is envisaged to be a Journal of the highest international standards and will include peer reviewed contributions from members of the A-WEB community and beyond.

Over 106 delegates from over 26 countries across the world including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia,Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Madagascar,   Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives,Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal,Panama, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Suriname, Ukraine,  Uzbekistan and Zambiaetc. and 3 international organizations (viz. International IDEA,  International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES) and Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) are participating in the IEVP 2021.  The Ambassadors of Georgia and Uzbekistan, Acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and other members of Diplomatic Corps are also attending the IEVP 2021.

IEVP 2021 would provide 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, ECI’s response to the changing needs of training and capacity building and the new formats necessitated by COVID-19 and provide insights into the elections underway in the states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry.  On the 6th of April 2021 the delegates will be given a virtual tour of live snapshot of how elections are conducted at some polling stations including familiarization with the electoral process, polling station arrangements, facilitation of Persons with Disabilities and senior citizens and  interaction with various stakeholders.

20-Sep-2020: ECI to host International Webinar on ‘Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting Elections during COVID-19 : Sharing Country Experiences’ on 21st September 2020

The Election Commission of India is going to organize  an International Webinar on 21st September 2020, on the Theme ‘‘Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting  Elections during COVID-19 : Sharing Country Experiences’ on its completion of one year of Chairmanship of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).

The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) is largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) worldwide. At present A-WEB has 115  EMBs as Members & 16 Regional Associations/Organisations as Associate Members.  ECI has been very closely associated with the process of formation of A-WEB since 2011-1    ECI hosted   the 4th General Assembly of A-WEB on 03 Sep 2019 at Bengaluru and took  over as Chair of A-WEB for 2019-2021 term.

In accordance with the decision taken at the Extraordinary meeting of the A-WEB Executive Board held at Bengaluru on 02 Sep 2019,  an India A-WEB Centre  has been established at New Delhi,  for world class documentation, research and training for sharing the best practices and capacity building of officials of A-WEB members.     ECI has provided all the resources for this Centre.  A number of initiatives, led by  Shri Sunil Arora, Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of India and Chairperson, A-WEB are being taken under the aegis of India A-WEB Centre.

This is the first Webinar being held by the India A-WEB Centre.   Over 120 delegates from 45 countries across the world (viz.   Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of  Congo, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz Republic,  Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Tonga, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Zambia) and 4 international organizations (viz. International IDEA,  International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and European Centre for Elections)   are going to participate in the Webinar.  

The India A-WEB Centre   has, in a very short period of its existence,  come out with two very useful publications viz. ‘Brief Profiles of the Countries, member EMBs and Partner Organisations of A-WEB’  and ‘COVID 19 and International Election Experience’ which will be released at the Webinar for the benefit of the entire A-WEB community.   The Centre is going to bring out a number of publications and documents, including a world class quarterly ‘A-WEB India Journal of Elections’.  A brochure on the Journal is  also being released at the Webinar.      

At the Webinar, presentations will be made by participating EMBs and organisations.  Session I which will be chaired by Shri Sushil Chandra, Hon’ble Election Commissioner will include presentations by Fiji, Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan  as well as International IDEA and A-WEB  where these EMBs and organisations are going to   share the   challenges faced as well as their experiences  and perspectives for  holding elections during COVID 19.   Session II, which will be chaired by Shri Rajiv Kumar, Hon’ble Election Commissioner will have presentations from  South Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Malawi and IFES.

It is hoped that interactions and discussions at the International Webinar on 21 Sep 2020 will provide a good opportunity to all the participants to exchange ideas and learn from each other's experience of holding and managing elections in challenging times of COVID 19 pandemic to ensure free, fair, transparent as well as safe elections.

3-Apr-2020: ECI further defers Rajya Sabha poll in view of COVID-19

In view of the current unforeseen situation of public health emergency, Election Commission of India invoking its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India read with section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 has further extended the period of Rajya Sabha election beyond the prescribed term(s) of 18 seats across seven States.

It may be recalled that on 25.02.2020 and vide notification dated 6th March 2020, Election Commission of India had announced Elections to the Council of States to fill up 55 seats, from 17 States, of Members retiring in the month of April 2020. After the last date of withdrawal on 18.03.2020, respective Returning Officers declared 37 seats from 10 States filled as uncontested. Thereafter as per the reports received from the concerned Returning Officers, the biennial elections for 18 seats from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Rajasthan were to be conducted  on 26.03.2020 and election process was to be completed by 30th March 2020.

The validity of the term of the 18 remaining seats is as follows:

09.04.2020

1. Andhra Pradesh          –          04
2. Jharkhand                    –          02
3. Madhya Pradesh         –          03
4. Manipur                      –          01
5. Rajasthan                    –          03
6. Gujarat                        –          04

                                                     17

12.04.2020

1. Meghalaya                  -           01

Total         -           18;

Election Commission of India vide notification dated 24.03.2020, in view of unforeseen public health emergency emerging from COVID-19 and invoking section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 had extended the period of completion of election including postponing the date of poll and counting concerning elections to the Council of States, since the electoral process necessarily involves movement and gathering of polling officials, agents of political parties, support officials and members of respective Legislative Assemblies on the poll day, which may put public safety at risk and create public health hazard.  

Commission has now further reviewed the prevailing situation after taking all facts and circumstances in view and concluded that continuing electoral process in the current environment may not be feasible in view of the restrictions for the maintenance of public safety and avoiding health hazard.

The list of contesting candidates, already published for the said elections by the respective Returning Officers shall remain valid for the purposes of remaining activities, as prescribed under the said notifications. Fresh date of poll and counting for the said biennial elections shall be intimated in due course after reviewing the prevailing situation.