3rd Confab Of Election Management Bodies Of SAARC Countries Begins

New Delhi, May 1, IRNA -- Third Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries kicked off Monday in New Delhi. The 3-day Conference, brings together the Chief Election Commissioners and senior election officials of the region on a common platform to share best practices in election administration and management. was inaugurated by Dr. S. Y. Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India. The discussions will focus on the final shape of the Forum of SAARC Election Management Bodies, which was agreed at the last Conference held in Islamabad. Speaking on the occasion, Quraishi, pointed to the common challenges before election managers in South Asia who deal with over a billion electorate which is 60 to 70 percent of the whole democratic world. He said that the Election Commissions of SAARC countries have to find innovative methods to deal with the new problems in the electoral field. Quraishi said, bitter political competition, the use of money power and apathy of citizens in the electoral process call for innovative methods and strategies. Bangladesh hosted the first Conference in May 2010 and the second Conference was held at Islamabad last year. Election Commission of India works in close collaboration with the Election Management Bodies of South Asian Countries. In the recent weeks, officials from the Election Commissions of Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan received training at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, IIIDEM of the Commission./end