Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) | 13 Aug 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Election Commission of India inaugurated the 11th 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 3rd 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 25th 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