Parliamentary delegation from Sweden visits Election Commission

A ten-member delegation of MPs of the Committee on the Constitution of Swedish Parliament visited the Election Commission on Wednesday and met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

New Delhi:A ten member delegation of MPs, of the Committee on the Constitution in Riksdag, the Parliament of Sweden, visited the Election Commission of India on Wednesday.

The delegation was led by Karin Enstrom, MP and Chair of the Committee on the Constitution in Riksdag, accompanied by two Parliamentary officials and two diplomats from the Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi.

The delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora and the Election Commissioners, Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

Chief Election Commissioner of India, delegation from Sweden said that the EC uses modern tools of Information and Communication Technology, several innovative measures to make electoral process hassle free and voter friendly.

He said that special attention was paid to make elections accessible for Persons with disabilities and senior citizens.

Arora also briefed the visiting parliamentarians and officials about the international cooperation programme of the ECI, including setting up of India A-WEB (Association of world Election Bodies) Centre in New Delhi for documentation, research and training with the objective of sharing the best practices and capacity building of the 115-member Association.

Sushil Chandra, Election Commissioner briefed the delegates about the steps taken by ECI to curb use of money power in elections.

Karin Enstrom, MP and Chair of the Committee on the Constitution in Riksdag thanked the Commission for the warm welcome accorded to the Swedish delegation.

She gave an overview of the Swedish electoral system wherein simultaneous elections are held for municipal, county and national elections for Riksdag. Ms. Enstrom further stated that the delegation was impressed with the magnitude of Indian elections and the way this work is done by the ECI.

This was followed by a Question and Answer session wherein queries from the delegates relating to secrecy of voting, voting by overseas electors, facilities for voting by differently-abled persons, inclusive electoral participation, curbing money power etc. were answered.

ANI Report