EC hosts foreign delegates to witness Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi: With the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections been keenly observed across the globe, 80 delegates from as many as 39 countries will be witnessing the marathon exercise in the coming days.

Fifty delegates from 20 countries are here under the first ever Election Visitor Programme, while 30 others from 19 countries have reached Delhi as part of the Election Training Programme. These delegates will witness the elections in various parts of the country with some of them visiting polling stations here tomorrow for a first-hand experience. They will visit Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh between April 17 and May 7, DG in the Commission Akshay Raut told reporters here. These delegates are from the League of Arab States, Uganda, Kenya, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Malaysia and Myanmar among other countries. Those attending the training programme will be attending a two-week course on `emerging challenges` at the India International Institute of Democracy and election Management being run by the EC. The Institute aims at imparting training on electoral practices to meet domestic and international requirements.