AMN / WEB DESK
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has urged members of the Indian Community to register as Overseas Voters. He also told the NRI community that extension of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility to overseas voters is being contemplated.
A delegation led by Mr Chandra visited South Africa and Mauritius. During this visit, a series of meetings were held with the Election Commission of South Africa and Mauritius as well as interactions with the large NRI community in the two countries.
During interaction with the members of the Indian community, CEC urged them to register as overseas voters as the present numbers are abysmally low.
Mr Chandra expressed profound appreciation for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa for organizing this meeting. He said that South Africa has made big strides in democracy and would be hosting the next General Assembly of the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) in October 2022. He said, India has a very intense and active association with AWEB. Both India and South Africa are the founding members of this organization.
The CEC also met with Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius Mohd. Irfan Abdool Rahman at Port Louis. During this meeting, he stated that the two countries shared a filial bond of brotherhood, ancestry, kinship and affection. Mr Chandra said, the two Election Management Bodies are not only closely connected through the formal relationship of MoU, but also by a close relationship of understanding of each others’ systems.
During the visit to the two countries, a briefing-cum-interaction was organized with the NRI community at Cape Town and Johannesburg and at Port Louis. He said, over the past few years, Indian elections have made steady progress towards making elections inclusive and accessible which has led to greater participation of women, persons with disabilities and senior citizens in Indian elections.