Role of electoral observer important in transparency & fairness of elections: Purushottam
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SEERVICE/ Dehradun
The chief electoral officer (CEO), Uttarakhand BVRC Purushottam has said that the role of an electoral observer is to contribute in strengthening transparency, fairness and public confidence in elections by monitoring the entire election process independently and impartially.
He was addressing a one-day international conference on “Model Standards for Electoral Observers” at Graphic Era Hill University on Friday. Over 400 participants from various faculties, including academics from over 20 universities and representatives from election management units from the United States, Romania, Ireland, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Hungary and Nepal participated in the conference that was held in a hybrid mode.
Purushottam said that the conference reflects the spirit of India during its presidency of International IDEA, under which efforts are being made to strengthen the election management units by bringing together academicians, election management units and international experts on one platform and exchanging knowledge.
Addressing the conference in a virtual mode the senior deputy election commissioner of the Election Commission of India, Gyanesh Kumar Bharti said that the active and impartial presence of observers makes the election machinery function more effectively, transparently and responsively during elections. He said that in a democratic system, the public’s faith in the electoral process should remain intact under all circumstances and this is the supreme responsibility of every observer.
The vice chancellor of the Graphic Era Hill University, Tavssum Naqvi, while delivering the welcome address, said that the efforts being made by the Election Commission to prepare modern training modules in coordination with various educational institutions and subject experts are commendable.
In the second session of the conference additional commissioner of CGST, Dehradun, Arun Kumar Gupta discussed in detail the role of expenditure observers in elections. He explained that there is potential for developing more effective monitoring mechanisms to monitor new methods of candidate campaigning on digital and social media platforms during elections.
State Police Training nodal officer Inspector General Anant Shankar Takwale elaborated on the role of police observers. He said that in the era of artificial intelligence, future challenges can be mitigated by developing election technology globally.
The additional CEO Vijay Kumar Jogdande elaborated on the role of observers in election management in various countries. Haridwar district magistrate Mayur Dixit highlighted the role of field machinery in election management for ensuring fair voting.
