Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer hosts global conference on polling day best practices

Jammu, June 23: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir hosted its first-ever International Conference on Global Best Practices in Polling Day Operations. The hybrid event drew 60 participants in person at Nirvachan Bhawan in Jammu, while an additional 115 international delegates joined virtually. Held under India’s Chairmanship of International IDEA, the conference is part of a broader thematic research project led by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management and the Election Commission of India, which focuses on a comparative analysis of polling-day procedures across 92 nations spanning Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania.

In his opening address, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Verma highlighted that managing a polling day requires simultaneously ensuring voting secrecy, equality, accessibility, and institutional integrity across thousands of locations under tight timelines.

Joint Chief Electoral Officer Anil Salgotra presented the research framework, which evaluates 5,000 data points across seven pillars of the polling cycle, including legal frameworks, voting equipment, security, accessibility, and post-poll processes.

The technical sessions featured expert insights from international and national speakers, including Antonio Spinelli of International IDEA, Jammu District Election Officer Rakesh Minhas, Khatia Lachashvili from the Central Election Commission of Georgia, and Neeraj Soni of IIM Jammu.