Fourth Asian electoral
stakeholder’s forum (AESF-IV)
The
fourth Asian electoral stakeholder’s forum 2018 held in Sri Lanka Colombo. This
was the first time AESF was held in South Asia. It was jointly organised by election
commission of Sri Lanka and Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) to
discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. The AESF has been attended by more than 250 delegates from 45 countries.
With the
theme of ‘advancing election transparency and integrity promoting and defending
democracy together’ .
India is being represented
by chief electoral officer
History background of
AESF
ASEF
is the largest gathering of election management bodies and civil society organizations
in Asia. Its is being held to secure the broad establishment of democracy and
security when holding elections within the region.
It provides
opportunity for Asian election commissions, election observers, NGOs and
interstate bodies to gather and discuss state of elections and democracy in the
region. It also provides platform for institutionalizing capacity building efforts
to pave the way for more meaningful and credible election through cooperation among
stake holders.
In 2012,
representatives of Asian electoral management bodies and civil society organizations
met in Bangkok for the first-ever regional gathering to promote democratic, transparent
elections in the world’s, most populous continent.
The Second AESF was held in Dili, Timor Leste in 2015 and had established
Dili indicators of democratic elections.
The Third AESF was held in 2016 in Bali, Indonesia which had framed bail
commitment – eight keys to electoral integrity
