New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday received a surprise call from Mosotho Moepya, Chairperson of South Africa’s Electoral Commission, who extended best wishes for the conduct of the Bihar elections, one of the largest democratic exercises in the world, with nearly 75 million eligible voters.    

Moepya said that South African parliamentarians are planning to visit India soon to study the country’s electoral management system, often hailed as one of the most transparent and efficient globally.

This call comes on the day when Bihar is witnessing the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections.

In the first phase, a total of 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.

The second phase of Bihar assembly elections will be conducted on Novermber 11.

To ensure, free, fair, inclusive and transparent elections, the ECI has designated 320 model booths, 926 women-managed stations, and 107 managed by persons with disabilities.

Tight security arrangements are in place to ensure smooth polling.

Over 15 battalions of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the 18 districts, with special attention to sensitive and Naxal-affected areas where voting will conclude an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Mock polling exercises were conducted early in the morning to verify systems before the start of voting.

Notably, the ECI today welcomed 16 delegates from six countries under its International Election Visitors’ Programme (IEVP).

The initiative, aimed at fostering global cooperation and transparency in electoral processes, saw participants from Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, and South Africa witnessing the on-ground arrangements of one of the world’s largest democratic exercises.

According to the ECI , the IEVP 2025 began earlier this week at the India International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi on November 4.

The inaugural session was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi, who interacted with the visiting delegates and briefed them on India’s robust electoral framework.

During the Delhi leg, participants were given a detailed presentation on the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), voter roll management, and logistical preparedness.

–IANS

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