India, Libya ink agreement on electoral cooperation

New Delhi: India on Friday signed an MoU for electoral cooperation with Libya, which has evinced interest in seeking training and electoral assistance from the Election Commission. The agreement was signed between India`s Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and Deputy Chairman of Libya`s High National Election Commission Najeeb Abdessalam Mohammed Arrabiti.

Election Commissioners H S Brahma and Naseem Zaidi and their Libyan counterparts Altaher Abd Allah Graf, Mohammed Alsadig Abo Hedma and Masud Amr Alnami were also present at the event. The MoU aims at promoting exchange 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 among others. Sampath hoped the agreement would strengthen and improve mutual collaboration between the EC and the newly constituted Commission in Libya. Arrabiti praised the expertise and experience gained by the EC in conducting the largest elections in the world in a peaceful, transparent and credible manner. At their request, the Libyan delegation was given a detailed briefing on the Indian electoral system and management practices, and a demonstration on the working of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Arrabiti requested for training facilities for the new Libyan election officials through mutual visits in near future, and by making use of India Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). The EC has so far signed 16 MoUs with election management bodies and international organisations including those with Egypt, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and UNDP. PTI