In news– The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently hosted the virtual International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2022 for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from nearly 32 Countries and four international organizations.
About IEVP-
- India has been hosting the 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.
- 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.
- Ambassadors/High Commissioners and other members of the Diplomatic Corps based in India from nine countries also participated in this virtual IEVP 2022.
- Apart from 32 countries, 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.
- In the past, ECI has hosted IEVPs for foreign EMBs/Organizations on a few occasions including Lok Sabha elections 2014 and 2019 and for state assembly elections in Feb/March 2017.
- During the pandemic, ECI organized the first virtual IEVP in November 2020 during the Bihar Assembly elections.
- It was followed by another virtual IEVP in April 2021 during elections for Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB)-
- It is the largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) worldwide.
- Permanent secretariat of A-WEB is in Seoul, South Korea.
- It was founded with the shared vision among its members of achieving sustainable democracy around the world.
- A-WEB also undertakes Election Visitor and Observation Programmes in various countries to study various election management practices and share knowledge with other Member of EMBs.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/association-of-world-election-bodies-a-web/
Source: PIB
