Indian Economy News

India and Panama signed an MoU on Electoral Cooperation

The Election Commission of India and Electoral Tribunal (ET) of Panama today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Panama City to establish the institutional framework for their ongoing cooperation in the field of election management and administration.

A three-person ECI delegation led by Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India, spoke with the Presiding Magistrate, Electoral Tribunal of Panama, Mr. Alfredo Juncá Wendehake, about ways to improve communication and knowledge sharing between the two Election Management Bodies (EMBs).

Mr. Rajiv Kumar while speaking on the occasion stated that this memorandum of understanding (MoU) reflects the ECI's ongoing commitment to engage with electoral bodies across the globe and strengthen the democratic processes worldwide. He further added that while learning from best election integrity practices from world over, ECI is committed to sharing its expertise and knowledge in conducting free, fair, and transparent elections with its counterparts in other countries. During the interaction. Mr. Alfredo Juncá Wendehake discussed collaboration between the two EMBs on use of technology and social media in elections.

Through its "International Cooperation Programme," the Election Management Bureau (EMB) has been enhancing its relationships and cooperation with overseas EMBs. This is the fourth Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that ECI has signed with an EMB in the Latin American region after doing so with Mexico, Brazil, and Chile in recent years. ECI has signed 31 MoUs with EMBs and international organisations worldwide total.

The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) includes the Election Commission of India and the Electoral Tribunal of Panama as members. As the lead for the "Cohort on Elections Integrity" under the auspices of the "Summit for Democracy," representatives from ET of Panama also participated in the worldwide conference on "Inclusive Elections and Elections Integrity" held by ECI in March 2023. Additionally, during the State Assembly elections in April 2021, representatives from ET of Panama took part in the "International Election Visitors Programme" sponsored by ECI. In June 2021, they also attended a training session on election planning at IIIDEM as part of the ITEC Programme.

Representatives from both organisations were present for the signing ceremony. The 11th Executive Board Meeting of A-WEB and an international conference will both be attended by the ECI delegation in Cartagena, Colombia. The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), which has 119 EMBs as members and 20 regional associations/organizations as associate members, is the largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the world.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.