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In order to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region, the fourth edition of the Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum (AESF-IV) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, making it the first ever AESF that has been held in South Asia. This event was mutually organised by Asian network for free elections (ANFREL) and Election Commission of Sri Lanka.
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What is AESF-IV?
The AESF-IV theme was Advancing Election Transparency and Integrity: Promoting and Defending Democracy Together. There were almost 250 delegates from 45 countries that went on to attend the event and India was represented by the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Ashwini Kumar and NGO.
This event comprised of a wide array of crucial election issues that includes the current state of democracy in Asia, along with the common electoral challenges in the region, and several other useful practices employed that could make elections better. The event ended with an endorsement of the landmark document that urged election stakeholders from Asia and beyond to support and defend democracy in the region.
Let’s take a look at Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF)-
The Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum is the largest gathering of election management bodies (EMBs) as well as the civil society organizations (CSOs) in Asia, which is held in order to secure the broad establishment of security and democracy while holding elections within the region.
This presents an opportunity for Asian election commissions, non-government organizations (NGOs), election observers and interstate bodies to assemble and discuss the state of elections and democracy that takes place in the region and also provides a platform for regulating capacity building efforts to flag a way for more meaningful and credible election via cooperation among stakeholders.
Earlier too, the Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum gatherings were helpful in establishing benchmarks and guidelines on handling truly democratic elections which respect internationally recognized human rights and election principles and norms. The first Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum took place in Thailand in 2012 where it had endorsed the Bangkok Declaration on Free and Fair Elections, whereas the second Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum took place in Dili, Timor Leste in 2015 that had established Dili Indicators of Democratic Elections. The third Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum took place in 2016 in Bali, Indonesia which had framed Bali Commitment: Eight Keys to Electoral Integrity.
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