Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra

    Asian Electoral Stakeholders’ Forum IV (AESF –IV) was held on 27th and 28th August, 2018 at Colombo,Sri Lanka to discuss the state of election and democracy in Asia. The event was organized by Election Commission of Sri Lanka and Asian Network for Free Elections. The theme of the conference was ‘Advancing Election transparency and integrity promoting and defending democracy together’. It was attended by 250 delegates from 45 countries. The Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, Shri. Ashwani Kumar made a presentation on ‘Widening the space for participation of Indigenous People (Best Practices)’ in the conference.

    A 2-day interactive training programme was organized for all the Dy. DEOs who are District Level Master Trainers (DLMTs) and some EROs (Electoral Registration Officers) from the 36 districts of Maharashtra on 4th and 5th September, 2018 at YASHADA, Pune. Practical demonstration of the activities mentioned in the ELC resource guide was provided to help DLMTs understand the approach and methodology of conducting training in ELCs for new and future voters. The DLMTs in turn will train the nodal officers of the established ELCs.

    A workshop was organized for all the Collectors and Dy. DEOs of all the 36 districts of Maharashtra regarding first level checking of EVM/VVPATs on 6th September, 2018 at YASHADA, Pune. Hands-on training of EVMs & VVPATs were conducted under the professional guidance of technical team from BEL.

    National Voters’ Day was celebrated all over Maharashtra on 25th January 2018 with joy and enthusiasm. Various programmes such as public rallies, drawing competitions, sports and various cultural programmes were organized in order to educate and create awareness among young voters. In order to reach out to the voters in the remote and tribal area, it was decided to organize the 8th State level National Voters’ Day at Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. Nandurbar is a tribal district situated in the northwest corner (Khandesh Region) of Maharashtra in India. It is also the first district of Maharashtra on electoral map. In addition to senior officials and functionaries, some of the youth icons and dignitaries present on the dais were as follows: - Smt. Nilima Mishra, Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and noted social worker, Smt. Kavita Raut-Tungar, Olympic athlete – participated in Rio Olympics in 2016, Smt. Nilanjana Valvi, noted social worker,Dr. Shashank Kulkarni, noted doctor and social worker, Shri. Shivaji More, a Person with Disability and noted social worker, and Shri. Kisan Tadavi, noted international athlete and SVEEP brand ambassador, Nandurbar district.