Pune: A five-member delegation from Maharashtra, led by state Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, has been selected as international observers for the elections to the Congress in Colombia, scheduled on March 8.The selection is under the Election Commission of India‘s Global Engagement for Electoral Excellence (GEEE) initiative, which aims to study international best practices in electoral management and disseminate India’s institutional experience and expertise globally. As part of the initiative, specific countries have been assigned to state chief electoral officers for focused engagement, with Maharashtra allocated to the Republic of Colombia.The delegation will be part of the international observation mission from March 6 to 10. The invitation was extended by the president of the National Electoral Council of Colombia for the elections to the Colombian Congress, stated a govt resolution issued by the General Administration department.The delegation includes Solapur collector and district election officer Ashirwad Kumar, joint chief electoral officer and deputy secretary Manohar Ramchandra Parkar, electoral registration officer for the 59-Ramtek Assembly constituency Priyesh Lakhuchand Mahajan and booth level officer (Talathi-Ozar, Niphad) Sagar Ashok Shirke.The programme received necessary clearances from the Ministry of External Affairs and approval from the Election Commission through the Indian International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).Officials said the delegation will observe the electoral process and exchange insights on election management practices as part of India’s international cooperation in electoral administration. The entire duration of the visit will be treated as official duty, with expenses borne by the Election Commission of India and the Maharashtra govt under the election administration budget head.
