Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) A five-member delegation from Maharashtra, headed by the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam will travel to Columbia as International Observers in the International Observation Mission for the elections to the Congress of the Republic of Columbia from March 6 to 10. The elections in Columbia are slated to be held on March 8 this year.

Along with Chockalingam, the delegation includes, Ashirwad Kumar District Election Officer & Collector, Solapur; Manohar Ramchandra Parkar, Joint Chief Electoral Officer & Deputy Secretary, Maharashtra; Priyesh Lakhuchand Mahajan, Electoral Registration Officer, 59-Ramtek Assembly Constituency and Sub-divisional Officer, Ramtek, Nagpur and Sagar Ashok Shirke, Booth Level Officer (Talathi-Ozar), Niphad, Nashik.

Under the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Global Engagement for Electoral Excellence (GEEE) initiative, a comprehensive exercise has been undertaken to examine international best practices in electoral management and to disseminate India’s institutional experience and expertise at the global level.

In furtherance of this initiative, specific countries have been identified and allocated to the respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the State for focussed engagement.

The State of Maharashtra has been assigned the Republic of Colombia for this purpose.

Accordingly, as directed by the Commission, a five-member delegation, led by the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra, shall undertake an official visit to the Republic of Colombia from March 6 to 10 to advance the objectives of the said initiative.

As part of this initiative and as elections for the Colombian Congress are scheduled on March 8, Presidente, Consejo Nacional Electoral, Colombia vide his letter has invited the five-member delegation headed by S Chockalingam, Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra as International Observers in the International Observation Mission for the elections to the Congress of the Republic.

Indian International Institute of Democracy and Election Management has obtained required clearance for the visit from the Ministry of External Affairs and approval from the Election Commission of India and has communicated to this office vide their letter dated February 10 this year.

–IANS

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