Indian delegation led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar visits Bhutan

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In order to explore opportunities for expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries on election matters, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday (today) held productive discussions with the Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan Dasho Sonam Topgay in Bhutan.

The discussions took place at Democracy House, Thimphu, Bhutan today.

According to an official press release by the Election Commission of India, the visit to Bhutan by CEC Rajiv Kumar happened almost after a decade, on the invitation of the CEC of Bhutan to further strengthen the cooperation between the two EMBs.

During the visit, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also called on the Prime Minister of Bhutan H.E. Lyonchhen Dr Lotay Tshering and discussed the excellent collaboration & partnership between the two Election Commissions, and commitment to strengthening it further, in keeping with warm bonds of friendship India shares with Bhutan.

Prime Minister of Bhutan in a tweet thanked CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar for ECIs support and cooperation to the Election Commission of Bhutan and mentioned the importance accorded to EC Bhutan which is critical to strengthen their democracy. CEC Shri Kumar updated the Prime Minister of Bhutan on the collaboration between the two ECs on research, ICT and training in the field of election management.

During the interaction, the CEC of India and Bhutan discussed further collaboration on Human resource development, research & training and leveraging technological advancements to further strengthen election management. Election Commissioners from the Election Commission of Bhutan, Dawa Tenzin and Mr Ugyen Chewang, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI Shri Nitesh Vyas were also present during the discussions, the official press release read.

CEC Rajiv Kumar also interacted with members of the Indian community in Thimphu.

Indian Embassy in Bhutan in a tweet mentioned that CEC during the interaction underlined the strength & vibrancy of Indian democracy, ECIs focus on enhancing voter participation in the electoral process and leveraging technology for free and fair conduct of elections.

He also explained to members of the Indian community about NRIs’ rights and processes available under electoral laws and explained in detail Indian election systems including various technological initiatives for citizens, political parties, and candidates and election machinery.

During the meeting, the NRI Community in Thimpu requested ECI to consider providing the facility of voting through the Indian embassy in Bhutan, during the elections in India.

The Election Commission of India has an active collaboration with the Election Commission of Bhutan in the field of election management.

According to the official release, the election officials from Bhutan have regularly attended training programmes organised by the India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM) from time to time. On a request from EC of Bhutan, IIIDEM organised a special training programme on the ‘Role of Media in Elections’ for Media officials from Bhutan from July 9-13, 2018.

Bhutanese election officials also participated in ECI’s International Election Visitors Programme. Following numerous rounds of consultations with the ECI, the Bhutanese Election Commission has likewise decided to deploy Indian-style EVMs.

The institutional cooperation between the Election Commission of India and Bhutan was formalised through an MoU in 2006, which was renewed in September 2011 for a period of five years. A fresh MoU was signed in New Delhi on January 24, 2019, for a period of five years.

ECI also has an active association and collaboration with the EC of Bhutan through regional & global organisations like the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA), the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA), the press release said. (AF)