India elected as new Chair of Association of Asian Election Authorities

[GS Paper 2 – International Organizations]

Context – India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive Board and General Assembly in Manila, Philippines.

Key Developments

• The Election Commission of India’s three-member delegation headed by Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Praveen Gupta, attended the Executive Board meeting in Manila.
• They presented the work plan for 2022-23 as also futuristic activities for 2023-24 to the Executive Board.
• The mission of the Association of Asian Election Authorities is to provide a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities to discuss and act upon ways to promote open and transparent elections with the objective of supporting good governance and democracy.

About AAEA

• In pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the 21st century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines, the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) was established in 1998. 
• Currently, 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA. ECI is a founder member of EMB of the AAEA and also served on the Executive Board of the AAEA as the Vice-Chair during 2011-13 and Chair during 2014-16.
• Delegates from AAEA have also been regularly participating in the International Election Visitors Programme organized by the Election Commission of India. 62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during Assembly Elections in 2022. 
• AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
• Officials from many AAEA member countries have been regularly attending International Training Programmes conducted by India International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) from time to time. 
• IIIDEM also conducts customized capacity development training programs for specific AAEA member countries.

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