Delegates from 17 countries to witness West Bengal, Tamil Nadu polling under ECI programme | India News
New Delhi: Representatives of 17 countries, including their foreign missions in Delhi, will witness polling in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Thursday as part of the Election Commission’s International Election Visitors Program (IEVP) 2026.This is the second phase of the program; In the first phase, 43 delegates from 23 countries experienced the polling process first-hand on April 8 and 9 in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated the second edition of IEVP at the Indian International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) on Tuesday. 34 delegates from 17 countries, including representatives from their foreign missions and a representative from International IDEA, are participating in the event.The delegation will visit Tamil Nadu and West Bengal from April 22 to April 23, 2026. They will visit transmission and distribution centers and other facilities including district control rooms and media monitoring centers. On the morning of April 23, delegates will witness the voting as it takes placeDelegates were given a demonstration of EVMs at IIIDEM on Tuesday. They participate in mock polls using machines, to experience the voting process. International visitors have expressed keen interest in technical interventions and administrative safeguards for the election process in India. Experts clarified the doubts/queries of the delegates in an interactive session.IEVP is a flagship program of ECI for international cooperation and engagement with Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of other countries and international organizations.The program provides a comprehensive overview of India’s electoral framework, institutional processes and operational architecture, while also introducing foreign EMB delegates to best practices and innovations in election management.
