CEC Rajiv Kumar invited as international observer for Nepal elections

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has been invited by the Election Commission of Nepal as an international observer for the forthcoming elections to Nepal’s House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly, the Election Commission said in a statement.

Elections are scheduled in Nepal on 20 November to elect 275 members of the Federal Parliament and 550 seats of the seven Provincial Assemblies.

Rajiv Kumar will be leading a delegation of ECI officials as State guest in Nepal from 18 November to 22 November, 2022, the poll panel said.

During his visit Kumar would be visiting Polling stations at Kathmandu and areas around.

ECI also has a similar International Election Visitors Program where members from other Election Management Bodies are invited to experience firsthand our General and Assembly Elections held periodically.

The Election Commission of India has always been in the forefront with fellow Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and relevant international organizations/associations in promoting the cause of democracy worldwide, through bilateral as well as multilateral interactions and has always endeavored to promote contacts, facilitate exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practices with a view to strengthen democratic institutions and processes.

ECI’s India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) has by far trained more than 2200 officers from 109 countries of whom 70 officers from Nepal have also been trained as part of capacity building initiatives.

A capacity building program for 25 officials from Election Commission of Nepal is also scheduled to be held from 13 to 24 March 2023 at IIIDEM.

ECI had been chairing the Association of World Election Bodies, which is the world’s largest international organization in the field of election management - since Sept 2019 to October 2022. A-WEB currently comprises 119 election management bodies (EMBs) from 109 countries.