India inks MoUs with 4 countries on sharing experience in holding elections

NewDelhi: India today signed MoU with the election commissions of Australia, Fiji, Nepal and Bosnia-Herzegovina to share its experience in organising elections. The major aims of these MoUs are promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in the field of organisational and technical development related to management of elections, an Election Commission statement said here today.

The cooperation will relate to strengthening the administration of electoral processes; exchange of information, material, expertise and technical know-how relating to electoral processes and systems; training of personnel and development of human resources, and organisational development and capacity building. The MoU was signed at a seminar ‘Strategies for Empowering Young and Future Voters’ held ahead of National Voters Day tomorrow.

Election Commission of India has so far signed MoUs with more than 20 Election Management Bodies and international organisations across the world for cooperation in election administration and management. In his inaugural address at the seminar, Dr Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner reiterated ECI’s resolve to uphold the rich democratic traditions of India and the sanctity of free, fair and peaceful elections.

He highlighted the major initiatives taken by the ECI, including the Flagship Programme ‘Systematic Voters Education Electoral Participation (SVEEP) which comprises several thrust areas for young people such as Social Media, Campus Ambassadors and National Service Scheme volunteers in awareness campaigns for electoral engagement, enrolment and active participation in ballot exercise. He also briefed the delegates about the ‘Interactive School Engagement’ Programme launched in January this year for school children with a strategic focus on future voters in the age group of 15-17 years. (UNI)