New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday flagged off 14 participants of the International Election Visitors’ Programme 2025 to witness voting in the Phase-I of the Bihar Assembly Elections on November 6, an official said.

The participants from 7 countries, namely France, South Africa, Belgium, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Colombia, attended the inaugural session of the programme organised by the Election Commission of India at the India International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) here.

The participants were provided a demonstration of the EVMs followed by a presentation by senior Officers of ECI on various aspects of elections, including preparation of Electoral Rolls and the conduct of elections in India, said the official in a statement.

The IEVP includes a two-day tour of Bihar from November 5-6, where the participants will visit the EVM dispatch centres and witness the actual polling on November 6.

The IEVP is a flagship programme of the ECI for international cooperation and engagement with the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of other countries and international organisations.

Since 2014, the IEVP has been showcasing the strengths of India’s electoral system to the international community and sharing the best practices adopted in the world’s largest democracy for the conduct of elections, said the official statement.

Campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections ended on Tuesday evening. In the first phase, polling will be held on November 6 in 121 Assembly constituencies spread across 18 districts.

During the first phase political fate of a total of one thousand 314 candidates will be decided by more than three crore 75 lakh electorates.

In this phase, voters will exercise their franchise in the state, including Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur districts.

On the last day of campaigning, star campaigners and senior leaders from both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan made a last-ditch effort to woo the voters in support of their party candidates.

In the second phase, 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts will go to the polls on November 11, and the counting of votes will take place on November 14. A total of 90,712 polling booths will be set up for over 7.43 crore voters across the state.

–IANS

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