Monday, December 20, 2010

Russia seeks India’s assistance in bolstering its democratic practices-Dec 20,/10

Russia seeks India’s assistance in bolstering its democratic practices


Dec 20, 9:21 PM

Russia has sought the help of India in bolstering its democratic practices. An official release of the Election Commission of India, ECI, said on Monday in New Delhi, the ECI and the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual understanding and cooperation in the field of elections tomorrow in presence of the visiting President Medvedev and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. AIR correspondent reports, the proposed MoU between the two Commissions covers exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of organizational and technical development of electoral process.

The accord on sharing best practices and experiences in holding elections indicates the shifting relationship between India and Russia, who are trying to reinvent their time-tested relations by focusing on relatively new areas of cooperation in their ties like trade and increased contacts between civil societies of the two sides.

The electoral accord comes at a time when Russia, known for its controlled top-heavy political system, is experimenting with electoral democracy and many elections have been held in the country in the past few years amid charges of rigging and fraud. Russia feels it can learn something from how the world's largest democracy has held elections over the years. Around 700 million Indians make up the electorate for the country's general elections.

The Memorandum will be signed by the Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. S. Y. Quraishi and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Yevgenyvich Churov. The ECI has already signed MoUs with the United Nations and the National Election Management Bodies of Cote D’ Ivoire, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Brazil. The Commission is slated to sign MoUs with Nepal and Mauritius soon.

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