Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA)

• 13 Aug 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Election Commission of India inaugurated the 11^th Annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of SouthAsia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2021.

Key Points

• About the Meeting:
  
  • Hosted By: Election Commission of Bhutan.
  • Chairmanship: The Election Commission of India handed over the chairmanship of FEMBoSA role to the Election Commission of Bhutan for 2021-22.
  • Thimphu Resolution: A resolution was unanimously adopted by the FEMBoSA members to extend the tenure of chairmanship to two years during the current pandemic situation.
    
    • Before this, the tenure of the chairmanship was one year.
  • Theme of Meeting: ‘Use of Technology in Elections’.
  • Digitization of Election: The technology is extensively used to make elections more participative, accessible and transparent.
    
    • It has become more important during the Covid 19 situation as it is helping in minimizing person-to-person contact.
• About FEMBoSA:
  
  • Establishment:
    
    • The forum was established at the 3^rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Countries in 2012.
      
      • SAARC comprises eight member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
  • Aim:
    
    • To increase mutual cooperation in respect to the common interests of the SAARC’s EMBs.
  • Significance:
    
    • FEMBoSA represents a very large part of the democratic world and it is an active regional cooperation association of EMBs.
    • Its logo with golden pearls stands for the eternal values of transparency, impartiality, democracy and cooperation.

Election Commission of India (ECI)

• The ECI is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
• The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25^th January 1950.
• Constitutional Provisions:
  
  • Part XV of the Indian constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters.
  • Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the members.
    
    • Article 324 provides for appointment of a Election commission to superintend, direct and control the elections.
• Structure :
  
  • Originally the commission had only one election commissioner but after the Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it has been made a multi-member body.
  • The commission presently consists of one Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners (ECs).
  • The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.

Source: PIB