The seventh meeting of Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) was held from 02-04 August 2016 at Bandos Island Resort, Maldives. Member countries of the forum; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the meeting. As decided on the previous FEMBoSA meeting, the theme for this year’s forum was “Technology for Credible Elections”.

2 August 2016

Day 1: Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Opening Session, Day 1: Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Opening Session
08.30	Opening ceremony
10.45	General session 1 Opening Statement Current Chair: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya, Elections Commission of Sri Lanka
10.55	General session 1 Handing over of the chair from Elections Commission of Sri Lanka to Election Commission of Maldives
11:05	General session 1 Acceptance Speech New Chairperson: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives
11:10	General session 1 Adoption of Meeting Agenda
11:45	General session 1 FEMBoSA Stewardship Report
11:45	General session 1 Session Closure Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives
12:00	Lunch
13:00	Technical Session 1 (45 Mins) Topic: Use of GIS (Geographic Information System) in Elections Presented by: Afghanistan (15 mins) Chair: Nepal Discussant: Bhutan (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
14:15	Technical Session 2 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Use of Technology in Elections Management in Bangladesh Presented by: Bangladesh (15 mins) Chair: Maldives (5 mins) Discussant: India (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
15:00	Tea Break
15:30	Technical Session 3 (Total 45 mins) Topic: SMS based Poll Information System – Prompt and Efficient Election Result Compilation Presented by: Bhutan (15 mins) Chair: Pakistan (5 mins) Discussant: Nepal (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
16:15	Technical Session 4 (Total 30 mins) Topic: Some Observations and Considerations Regarding the Use of Technology in the Electoral Process Presented by: Former Elections Commissioner of Maldives, H.E, Mr. Ibrahim Waheed (15 mins) Chair: Maldives (5 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (7 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session:
16:45	Concluding Day 1 Sessions Topic: Recap of Technical sessions 1, 2 & 3 Forum Chair: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives
20:00	Official Dinner

 

3 August ,2016

Day 2: Wednesday, 3 August 2016

Technical and General Sessions, day 2; Wednesday , 3 August 2016

Technical and General Sessions
08.30	Technical Sessions 5 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Information and knowledge sharing with stakeholders Presented by: India (15 mins) Chair: Sri Lanka (5 mins) Discussant: Maldives (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
09:15	Technical Sessions 6 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Election Modernization Presented by: Maldives (15 mins) Chair: Afghanistan (5 mins) Discussant: Srilanka (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
10:00	Coffee Break
10:30	Technical Sessions 7 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Use of Technology in Voter Registration in Nepal Presented by: Nepal (15 mins) Chair: Bangladesh (5 mins) Discussant: Pakistan (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
11:15	Technical Sessions 8 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Use of Mobile SMS for broadcasting voting information Presented by: Pakistan (15 mins) Chair: Bhutan (5 mins) Discussant: Afghanistan (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
12:00	Lunch
13:30	Technical Session 9 (Total 45 mins) Topic: Use of ICT in the Election Commission Presented by: Sri Lanka (15 mins) Chair: India (5 mins) Discussant: Bangladesh (7 mins) Forum: Open Discussion (15 mins) Recap & announcement of Next session: Forum Chairperson, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives (3 mins)
14:15	General Sessions 2 - Next Step for FEMBoSA - Suggestions for Draft Work plan 2016-2017 - Plenary Session for Maldives Resolution - Discuss a theme for next FEMBoSA meeting. Forum Chair: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives
15:15	Tea Break
15:45	General Sessions 3 - Forum summary Report - Adoption of Maldives Resolution and Signing - Finalizing the theme for next FEMBoSA meeting. - Concluding remarks by participants Forum Chair: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives
16:30	Concluding Sessions Concluding remarks: Chairman, H.E, Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman, Elections Commission of Maldives Vote of Thanks by: Commissioner, H.E, Mr. Abdul Rahman Hotaki, Independent Elections Commission of Afghanistan
17:00	Press Conference
19:00	Hulhumale' Tour

 

4 August ,2016

Day 3: Thursday, 4 August 2016

Atoll Session, day 3; Thursday, 4 August 2016

Atoll Session
09:00	Atoll Tours