New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Friday, completed the two-day interaction session with more than 1,000 Central Observers, who will be deployed in about a dozen poll-bound states, this year. During the meeting at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM), elaborate discussions took place on maintaining the fairness and integrity of the electoral procedure and the observers were briefed by the top ECI office-bearers on the electoral preparedness.

The observers were briefed on various aspects of preparation, including electoral rolls, election expenditure, Information Technology.  They were also given a demonstration of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) functioning. This was the third batch of central observers, getting direct briefing from the Election Commissioners, where they were impressed upon about new tools and techniques being introduced into elections and also their doubts were addressed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The briefing session was held in three batches on February 5 and 6 and this saw participation of 1,444 officers, including 714 general observers, 233 police observers and 497 expenditure observers. CEC Gyanesh Kumar, addressing the observers, asked them to ensure zero-tolerance in following the ECI norms and guidelines in conducting elections while also cautioning them against any deviations from the process. The CEC also told that in addition to the electoral practices, many new initiatives are being introduced in the forthcoming Assembly polls and it was incumbent upon them to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

Election Commissioner S.S. Sandhu said that the central observers, being the representatives of ECI, have big responsibility on their shoulders and it was imperative that they maintain highest levels of conduct while carrying out their duties. Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi called upon the election observers to promptly address the grievances and complaints received by them. "This helps build the trust of the people and the political parties in the electoral process," he said, while apprising them about new initiatives undertaken by the poll panel in the past one year. Notably, the ECI appoints central observers during Assembly and Parliamentary elections, under the plenary powers conferred on it by Article 324 of the Constitution, and assists the poll panel in conduct of free and fair polls.