The Election Commission has addressed the long-felt need for constructive discussions with the National and State Political Parties across all levels in the past six months, by having several rounds of meetings with the representatives of all recognised Political Parties in a structured manner.

 

 

These meetings were envisaged by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi at the Conference of Chief Election Officers (CEOs) held in March this year.  

 

 

Accordingly, four thousand 719 structured meetings with all political parties were conducted, comprising 40 meetings by CEOs, 800 by District Election Officers, and 3,879 by Electoral Roll Officers, engaging over 28 thousand representatives of various political parties. These meetings provide a platform for Party heads to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the Commission.

 

 

The commission said that these proactive meetings are a new initiative by the Commission and a departure from the earlier mode of interaction with political parties, which were prompted solely by the representation from political parties. It added that this initiative aligns with the Commission’s broader vision of further strengthening the electoral process in accordance with the existing legal framework, with all stakeholders.