Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar leads Indian ECI delegation to Greece

The ECI delegation led by CEC Rajiv Kumar will interact with the Indian Diaspora in Greece to explain them about registration and participation of overseas Indian Voters.

Athens, Dec 19: A high-level Election Commission of India (ECI) delegation led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar is in Greece to meet the Co-lead members of the Democracy Cohort on Election Integrity, the Indian Embassy to Greece said on Twitter.

"ECI delegation will also have bilateral meetings with the Directorate of Elections, Ministry of Interior, and the Hellenic Republic to discuss bilateral cooperation on Election Management and Integrity," read the Embassy tweet. It also posted a photos of Kumar being welcomed in Athens.

During the visit, the delegation will interact with the Indian Diaspora in Greece to brief them about registration and participation of Overseas Indian Voters, the tweet further stated.

It may be recalled that a German delegation led by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met CEC Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. In a statement, the ECI claimed that the German Foreign Minister was accompanied by four Members of Parliament and other officers from her Foreign Office.

The idea of democracy is deeply rooted in India's historical context and traditions, Kumar said. Explaining about the magnitude of Indian elections, he informed the German delegation of the detailed exercise that ECI conducts for over 950 million voters across 1.1 million polling stations, co-opting 11 million Polling Personnel ensuring robust electoral processes for conducting free, fair, inclusive, accessible and participative elections. He highlighted that the agency ensures disclosures and participation of political parties at every stage.

Kumar said that apart from the logistical challenges, the disruptive impact of fake social media narratives potentially affecting free and fair elections is fast emerging as a common challenge for most Elections Management Bodies. The German Foreign Minister while interacting with the Commission appreciated the vast exercise of electoral management by ECI in the largest democracy in the world given the challenges of diverse geography, culture and electorate in India.

The Election Commission of India had successfully conducted assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat along with by-polls in a few states. In the recently-held elections, the BJP retained Gujarat while Congress returned to power in Himachal Pradesh.

With inputs from ANI