ECI

Election Commission of Bhutan hosted an interactive session in Thimphu with FEMBoSA Members on 26th April, 2022 virtually as per the Thimpu Resolution of the 11th Meeting of FEMBoSA.

Resolution: 3rd SAARC EMBs meeting, India 2012

FEMBoSA Charter: 3rd SAARC EMBs meeting, India 2012

Program: 3rd SAARC EMBs meeting, India 2012

Conference Report: 2nd FEMBoSA meeting Sep 2011 Islamabad

Minutes: 2nd FEMBoSA meeting Sep 2011 Islamabad

Conference Program: 2nd FEMBoSA meeting Sep 2011 Islamabad

Concluding Statement

EMBs Meeting at Dhaka May 2010 Concept Note

Saarc EMBs Conf Program May 2010 Dhaka

4th FEMBoSA meeting Oct 2013 at Thimphu - Resolutions

4th FEMBoSA meeting Oct 2013 at Thimphu -  Stewardship Report

Thimpu Resolution: 11th Meeting of the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA)

Approved at the 11th FEMBoSA Meeting on 11th August 2021 at Thimphu, Bhutan

Presentations:
Afghanistan: Use of Technology for Voter Awareness and Registration. Role of Technology in Public Awareness in Afghanistan  Bangladesh: Use of Technology in Election Management 5-11 India Use of Technology in Elections Maldives: Use of Technology for Improving Efficiency and Credibility of Elections  Nepal: Use of Technology to Improve the Capacity of Stakeholders in the Election Process  Sri Lanka: Use of Technology in Media Monitoring including Social Media in Elections  Bhutan: Use of Technology for Enhancing Transparent, Accessible and Inclusive Voting

Country Paper:
Afghanistan: Use of Technology for Voter Awareness and Registration. Role of Technology in Public Awareness in Afghanistan  Bangladesh: Use of Technology in Election Management 5-11 India Use of Technology in Elections Maldives: Use of Technology for Improving Efficiency and Credibility of Elections  Nepal: Use of Technology to Improve the Capacity of Stakeholders in the Election Process  Sri Lanka: Use of Technology in Media Monitoring including Social Media in Elections  Bhutan: Use of Technology for Enhancing Transparent, Accessible and Inclusive Voting

The 11th Annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2021 was hosted by the Election Commission of Bhutan in Virtual mode amid Covid-19 pandemic. Delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the day-long meeting.
Election Commission of India, the outgoing Chair of FEMBoSA, virtually handed over the Chairmanship of FEMBoSA to H.E. Dasho Sonam Topgay, Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan at the meeting. On behalf of the Election Commission of Bhutan, H.E. Major General Vetsop Namgyel, Ambassador of Bhutan to India accepted FEMBoSA Logo from Mr. Sushil Chandra for Election Commission of Bhutan assuming the role of new Chair of FEMBoSA for 2021-22. 

he 11th Annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2021 was hosted by the Election Commission of Bhutan in Virtual mode amid Covid-19 pandemic. Delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the day-long meeting.
Election Commission of India, the outgoing Chair of FEMBoSA, virtually handed over the Chairmanship of FEMBoSA to H.E. Dasho Sonam Topgay, Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan at the meeting. On behalf of the Election Commission of Bhutan, H.E. Major General Vetsop Namgyel, Ambassador of Bhutan to India accepted FEMBoSA Logo from Mr. Sushil Chandra for Election Commission of Bhutan assuming the role of new Chair of FEMBoSA for 2021-22.

The fifth meeting of the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) took place from 29 to 30 November, 2014, in Kathmandu on the theme of “Campaign Finance”. The Election Commission, Nepal (ECN) takes immense pleasure from the opportunity to host the meeting in Nepal.

The 10th meeting of FEMBoSA was organized by the Election Commission of India on 24 January 2020 in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by the Chairwomen/Chairmans/Chief Election Commissioners, Election Commissioners and other dignitaries from seven member Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of FEMBoSA. The summary of the 10th FEMBoSA meeting held on 24 January 2020 is as follows-
Mr. Umesh Sinha, Secretary General, ECI welcomed the esteemed members at the meeting. Mr. Sinha apprised all members of the ECI’s commitment of mutual cooperation with the member organizations in the sharing of Electoral Best Practices and organization of Capacity Building programs.
In his address, Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh and Chairperson of FEMBoSA, Mr. K.M. Nurul Huda stated that in keeping with the objectives of the Forum, members have been sharing experiences and skills and taking steps to enhance cooperation with other EMBs.   Hon Mr. Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, Election Commissioner of Bangladesh presented the Stewardship Reporton the activities of FEMBoSA members during the 2019. Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh then handed over the Chairmanship of FEMBoSA to the Election Commission of India for the year 2020 and presented the Logo of FEMBoSA to Mr. Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner of India.
Mr. Sunil Arora, after accepting the responsibility as Chairperson of the Forum, thanked the delegates for the trust and confidence reposed in the Election Commission of India. Mr. Arora said that ECI look forward to further strengthen its interaction with FEMBoSA member EMBs in promoting the activities of the Forum as per its objectives, and empowering the fellow EMBs through sharing the skills and capacity building efforts in cooperation with the members. Mr. Arora said that regular and periodic elections are an essential feature of a democratic polity. Free, fair, transparent, credible and ethical elections are critical to the legitimacy of a democratic government. Over the last more than six decades, ECI has developed new skills and is constantly striving to widen the inclusive framework, thus strengthening the voting process. Innovation along with engagement of technology in all parts of polling process has now become a distinct feature of elections in India. Besides use of EVM VVPAT machines, extensive use of Technology has been harnessed in various facets of Indian Electoral process, which includes updating the electoral rolls, use of video/still cameras and Webcasting; Video conferencing; and use of GPS for tracking vehicles etc. Mr. Arora added that for Capacity Building, Election Commission of India has established the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in June 2011 and members are invited to participate in the training programmes offered by IIIDEM.
On this sidelines of the meeting,  Mr. Sunil Arora along with the two Election Commissioners of India Mr. Ashok Lavasa and Mr. Sushil Chandra and Secretary General Mr. Umesh Sinha also launched the 10th  Issue of ECI’s magazine – ‘VOICE International’ which carries articles on the theme of “Innovative Methods of Voter Registration”.
The members of the Forum discussed and unanimously adopted the “New Delhi Resolution”. The Members resolved to : Implement the Work Plan for 2020 as approved by the member EMBs; Cooperate in capacity building of the member countries; Host election visitor programmes in the respective countries as feasible; Provide technical assistance to the members as requested and as feasible; Actively share best practices and knowledge in ICT tools and modules being used by the member EMBs and to develop standards for sustainable use of ICT in elections; Take steps to curb use of money power and muscle power; Enhance and ease participation of Persons with Disabilities and Senior Citizens in the election process; Maintain the permanent content management based web portal of FEMBoSA to share information among the EMBs through the www.fembosa.org web portal; Design and implement regional research projects.
It was also decided that the theme of the next FEMBoSA Meeting to be held in Bhutan will be ‘Use of Technology in Elections’. 
On the sidelines of the FEMBoSA meeting, Election Commission of India also renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the field of election management with the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. The MOU was signed by H.E. Mrs. Hawa Alam Nooristani, Chairwoman, IEC Afghanistan and by Mr. Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner on behalf of Election Commission of India.   
  
An MoU for cooperation in the field of election management was also signed with the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) of Tunisia.  The MOU was signed by H.E. Mr. Nabil Baffoun, President, ISIE of Tunisia and by Mr. Sunil  Arora.

FEMBoSA Work Plan-2020
(Common Theme for Work Plan: Use of Technology)
NO.
Tasks
EMB
Remarks
1.
Use of technology  for Voter Awareness and Registration
 
Afghanistan
 
 
 
 
 
-Approved   at the 10th FEMBoSA meeting on 24 Jan 2020 at New Delhi.
2.
Use of technology in election management
 
Bangladesh
3.
1. Use of technology for enhancing transparent, accessible and inclusive voting 
2. To Host 11th annual meeting of FEMBoSA
 
Bhutan
4.
1. Establish and maintain a permanent official web-portal for FEMBoSA; 
 
2. Use of technology in Capacity Building programmes for member EMBs
 
India
5.
Use of technology for improving efficiency and credibility of elections
 
Maldives
6.
Use of technology to improve capacity of Stakeholders in the election process
 
Nepal
7.
Use of technology in media monitoring including social media in elections 
 
Sri Lanka
        
Theme approved for the next FEMBoSA meeting:  ‘Use of Technology in Elections’

10th Meeting of Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia
Afghanistan:
H.E. Ms. Hawa Alam Nooristani, Chairwoman, Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan Mr. Mohammad Shafiq Basharyaar, Sr. Advisor of External Relations, Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan Bangladesh
H.E. Mr. K M Nurul Huda,  Chief Election Commissioner, Bangladesh Election Commission H.E. Mr. Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury,  Election Commissioner, Bangladesh Election Commission Mr. Md. Abdul Halim Khan, Deputy Secretary, Election Commission of Bangladesh Bhutan
H.E. Mr. Ugyen Chewang, Election Commissioner, Election Commission of Bhutan Mr. Mani Kumar Ghalay, Chief Planning Officer, Election Commission of Bhutan Mr. Sonam Rinzin, ICT Officer, Election Commission of Bhutan India  
H.E. Mr. Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India  Mr. Umesh Sinha, Secretary General, Election Commission of India  Maldives
H.E. Mr. Ahmed Shareef, Chairman, Elections Commission of Maldives H.E. Mr. Fuwad Thowfeek, Commissioner, Elections Commission of Maldives Ms. Fathmath Shausaun, Assistant Director, Elections Commission of Maldives Nepal
H.E. Mr. Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of Nepal Mr. Surya Prasad Gautam, Under Secretary, Election Commission of Nepal Sri Lanka
H.E. Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya, Chairman, Election Commission of Sri Lanka Mr. Rizan Manzil Abdul Hameed, Assistant Director and Coordinating Secretary to the Chairman, Election Commission of Sri Lanka
 

FEMBoSA Charter
We, the Heads of Election Management Bodies/Representatives of AFGHANISTAN, BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA, MALDIVES, NEPAL, PAKISTAN AND SRI LANKA;
CONFIRMING our abiding faith in the objectives and principles of SAARC contained in the SAARC charter;
RECOGNIZING that the Election Management Bodies of SAARC countries can benefit from one another’s experience and mutual cooperation and;
REALIZING that such cooperation may be strengthened through a permanent common Forum of the Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries;
DO HEREBY
AGREE to establish an organization to be known as the Forum of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries, hereinafter referred to as the Forum, with the following objectives, and institutional and other arrangements;
Article-1
OBJECTIVES
Objectives of the Forum shall be to:
promote contact among the Election Management Bodies of the SAARC countries; share experiences with a view to learning from each other; and cooperate with one another in enhancing for capabilities of the Election Management Bodies towards conducting free and fair elections. Article-2
ORGAN OF THE FORUM
The operational arm shall be the Council of the Forum of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC countries.
Article-3
COUNCIL
The Council shall be the supreme authority of the Forum and comprise the Heads of the Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries, or such other Election Commissioner/Member/ authorized representative as may be deputed by the Head of the concerned Election Management Body.  The Council shall meet at least once a year in one of the Member countries selected, as far as possible, on the basis of alphabetical rotation; the place and dates to be determined by Council. The meetings of the Council will be held with all members attending. The Head of the Election Management Body of the Host Country shall be the Chair of the Council from commencement of the meeting to be commencement to the next, and will also discharge secretarial functions during this period. The Council shall; Approve the programmes of the Forum; Decide subjects for discussion in any Conference/ Meeting of the Forum; Consider and decide all matters concerning the Forum and Conduct of the Council; Frame Rules for the conduct of the business of the Forum; and Fix the date and venue of Conferences/ Meetings of the Forum. Adopt an acronym and Logo for the Forum, if possible by circulation. Article-4
FUNDING ARRANGEMENT FOR MEETINGS
Expenses on local hospitality, logistic support and internal travel for any meeting of the Forum shall be borne by the Election Management Body hosting the meeting. Expenditure of on international travel shall be borne by the respective visiting delegations. Article-5
GENERAL PROVISION
Decisions  at all levels of the Forum  shall be taken on the basis of unanimity; Bilateral and contentious issues should be excluded from the deliberation of the Forum. The agreement shall not affect the right of any of the Forum members to interact, cooperate or enter into MoU with other members of the Forum or any other organizations. Article-6
INTERACTION AND COORDINATION
The Forum may establish and maintain relations with other regional and international Electoral Organizations. The Council, in agreement with the organizations concerned, shall determine the nature and forms of such relations; The chairperson, or a member EMB as decided by the Chairperson, will represent the Forum, at their own cost, in meetings of similar other associations or bodies, when invited. The members of the Forum will implement recommendations and decisions adopted by the Forum from time to time. Article-7
DISSOLUTION
A member of the Forum may be leave the Forum after due written notification of its decision. The Forum may be dissolved by a resolution of the Council. Upon such dissolution, the Council shall further decide concerning the disposal of the assets and payment of liabilities if the Forum. In faith whereof We Have Set out Hands Hereunto.
Done in New Delhi, on this the 1st Day of May the year Two Thousand Twelve.

Stewardship Report by Sri Lanka (2015-2016)
The Commissioner of Elections of the Department of Election of Sri Lanka, assumed the Chair of Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia ( FEMBoSA) at the Sixth Forum meeting held at Hotel Galadari in Colombo , Sri Lanka on 1st and 2nd October, 2015 on the theme “Free and Fair Election - Pride of Nation”.
This report covers the FEMBoSA work plan and activities carried out by member EMBs for the period starting from October 2015 to August 2016.The EMBs assigned to carry out these tasks have done an excellent job in this regard. Due to some inconvenience encountered in communication, heavy work load or lack of time or for any other reason or reasons, the EMBs would not have been able to communicate, complete or carry out such tasks the way they had planned. I hope that all EMBs of FEMBoSA would still find time to collaborate and to continue carrying out these tasks in future.

Work Plan: 7th Meeting of Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia