PH Commission on Elections Invited by India to Observe General Elections

COMELEC Commissioner Inting and delegation calls on Ambassador Ignacio at the Embassy. (New Delhi PE photo)

NEW DELHI, 10 May — Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner Socorro B. Inting was in India from 03 May to 09 May 2024 to lead a COMELEC delegation in observing the ongoing multi-phase elections taking place across India.

The COMELEC officials were part of a group of 75 foreign election officials from 23 countries invited by the Election Commission of India (ECI) under its International Election Visitors’ Programme to observe the ongoing polls to elect the members of India’s 543-seat lower house, the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

With about 970 million voters spread across the subcontinent’s 28 states and 8 union territories, India’s elections are scheduled in seven phases lasting from 19 April to 01 June, in the world’s largest electoral exercise.

A day after arriving in New Delhi, Commissioner Inting, COMELEC Director Celia B. Romero and Executive Assistant Ms. Leslie Ann C. Conquilla were received by Philippine Ambassador to India Josel F. Ignacio on a courtesy call and a welcome luncheon.

The foreign election observers were spread by the ECI to observe polling in selected constituencies on May 7 -- phase 3 of the election calendar covering 94 constituencies in 10 States and two Union Territories.

Commissioner Inting and team were paired with the eight-person delegation from Sri Lanka. They observe elections in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh State. 

In Bhopal on 06-08 May, they visited the voting material distribution center and observed the conduct of polling. The Philippine and Sri Lankan teams were accompanied by Joint Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Khatri, Collector and District Election Officer Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, CEO District Panchayat Rituraj Singh. 

They were briefed on the election process as and key elements and processes of the exercise, the electronic voting machine (EVM), the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). polling team formation, and voting material distribution, monitoring and security. A debriefing meeting was held before the team returned to New Delhi on 09 May. Commissioner Inting and team flew back to Manila the same day. END

Ambassador Ignacio and the Embassy team hosted a lunch for COMELEC Commissioner Inting, Director Romero and Ms. Conquilla.

For more information, visit https://www.newdelhipe.dfa.gov.ph, or https://www.facebook.com/Philippine-Embassy-in-India-348528665275556/.