EC to host virtual meet of Asian Regional Forum aimed at making elections inclusive

The Election Commission (EC) will host a virtual meeting of the 'Asian Regional Forum' on Thursday on the theme of ''Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative''.

The meet is a precursor to the ''Global Summit for Democracy'' to be hosted by the National Electoral Institute of Mexico in the coming month, the poll panel said on Wednesday.

The global summit and the regional forum meet aim to generate synergy among international organizations and electoral bodies of the world, and promote intellectual and institutional mobilization to strengthen electoral democracy, it said.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey will preside over the Asian Regional Forum meet. The meet will see participation of election management bodies of Mexico, Mauritius, Philippines, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Maldives and representatives from International IDEA, Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

As part of the Global Summit for Democracy, five regional forums -- Africa, America, Asia, Europe and countries of the Arab states -- have been created. India is hosting the Asian Regional Forum meet of the election management bodies not only to institutionalize and mobilise them as a precursor to the Global Summit for Democracy but also to reflect upon the changing geopolitics, emerging technologies and their use in election management in view of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outcomes from the regional forum meets are aimed at generating an action plan and agenda to strengthen democracy around the world, particularly through robust election processes, the EC said.

So far, three regional forum meets for Europe, America and Africa have been held in the months of June and July 2022, the poll panel pointed out.