India, Mauritius ink pact on election management

New Delhi: India and Mauritius today signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of election management and administration. Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath and Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius Mohammad Irfan Abdool Rahman signed the MoU in the presence of Election Commissioners HS Brahma and Nasim Zaidi, diplomats and senior officials of poll bodies of the two nations.[caption id=“attachment_697242” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chief Election Election Commissioner VS Sampath. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The memorandum of understanding aims at promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes, exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel, production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters’ education and awareness and participation of women and minorities in electoral process. Sampath described the pact as a landmark and an important mechanism for strengthening and deepening mutual collaboration between the election offices of both the countries. Expressing confidence that the MoU will facilitate sharing of best practices, skills and experiences between the two institutions for mutual benefit, he said the partnership between India and Mauritius augurs well not only for the region but for the whole world. Brahma offered available expertise and facilities in India for strengthening the electoral system in Mauritius. The Mauritian Electoral Commissioner praised the expertise and experience gained by the EC over six decades in conducting the largest elections in the world in a peaceful, transparent and credible manner. Rahman acknowledged that the Model Electoral Code of Mauritius has drawn inspiration from India’s Model Code of Conduct. The EC has so far signed seventeen MoUs with election management bodies and international organisations across the world, including those with Egypt, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme in the recent times. PTI