• The Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) was set up in 1998 after a motion was passed at the Symposium on Asian Elections in the 21st Century, which was held in Manila, Philippines, from January 26–29, 1997.
AAEA is made up of 20 Asian organisations that keep an eye on elections. Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan, and the Philippines are among the new members of the Executive Board.
• The members of AAEA include: India, Russia, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, S. Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
• The Election Commission of India was one of the original members of the EMB of the AAEA. It also served on the AAEA’s Executive Board as Vice Chair from 2011 to 2013 and as Chair from 2014 to 2016.
India was chosen by all members of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) to lead the group from 2022 to 2024.
• AAEA is also a part of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), which has 118 members.
AAEA’s goal is to give election officials in Asia a place to talk about their experiences and the best ways to do things.
• To talk about and act on ways to encourage open and honest elections in order to support good government and democracy.
Since 2019, more than 250 officials from AAEA partner countries have been trained with the help of the IIIDEM.
• The ECI also set up the International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) and the International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IVEVP) for the member countries during the Assembly elections in 2022.
The World Election Bodies Association
• On October 14, 2013, in Song-do, South Korea, a group called “A-WEB,” or the Association of World Election Bodies, was set up.
• A-WEB is the first world organisation of election management bodies. There are currently 118 EMBs and 20 Regional associations that are members and associate members, respectively.
• Under the slogan “Democracy to Grow for All Worldwide,” the A-WEB Secretariat runs training programmes for election officials in member countries and, at the request of member organisations, runs country programmes to help improve election management.
The Indian Election Commission
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body that was set up to keep the Indian Constitution’s ideals of equality, fairness, impartiality, independence, and the rule of law in mind when it comes to overseeing, directing, and controlling how elections are run.
• Elections are covered in Part XV of the Indian constitution, which also says that the ECI will be set up.
• Articles 324–329 of the constitution talk about what the commission and its members can do, how long they can stay in office, who can be on the commission, etc.
• The President of India chooses the members of the ECI based on suggestions from the Prime Minister.
