Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday flagged off Phase-II of International Election Visitors' Programme-2026 (IEVP), paving the way for foreign delegates to witness poll preparations and real-time voting in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on April 23, an official said.
As many as 34 delegates from 17 countries will travel to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on April 22 to visit dispatch and distribution centres, other facilities, including the District Control Rooms, and the Media Monitoring Centres. “They will also witness the actual polling in the morning of April 23,” said an official statement.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated the programme at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). The 34 delegates, including representatives from their Foreign Missions in Delhi and an International IDEA representative, will participate in the second phase of the programme, the statement said.
The participants will visit Tamil Nadu and West Bengal from April 22 to April 23, 2026. In the first phase, the delegates of the Programme visited Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry from April 8 to April 9, the statement said. The delegates were given a demonstration of the EVM at IIIDEM on Tuesday, and they took part in a mock poll using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to gain hands-on experience of the voting process.
The delegates showed keen interest in the technological interventions and administrative safeguards in India's election process. The delegates had an interactive session with the experts to clarify their doubts/queries, the statement said. The IEVP is a flagship programme of the Election Commission of India for international cooperation and engagement with the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of other countries and International Organisations.
The IEVP provides a comprehensive overview of India's electoral framework, institutional mechanisms, and operational architecture, while familiarising foreign EMB delegates with best practices and innovations in election management. The IEVP showcases the strengths of India's electoral system to the international community and shares the best practices adopted in the world's largest democracy for the conduct of elections, the statement said.