ECI to organise conference of Chief Electoral Officers of States & UTs

This is the first such conference to be held since Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). A first, the CEOs have been instructed to nominate a DEO and an ERO to take part in the conference.

Gyanesh Kumar called all State CEOs to brainstorm and learn from each other's experiences during a two-day conference at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) on March 4-5, 2025.

Over 100 participants, including CEOs of all States/UTs, DEOs, and EROs, who comprise the key functionaries involved in election processes, will attend the conference.

He added that, in accordance with the Constitution of India and the electoral Laws, Rules, and Instructions issued therein, the Election Commission was, is, and will always be with the voters.

The CEO conference will provide a platform to further this vision with discussions on key themes, including Technology Architecture, the Statutory Role of different authorities in election processes, Communication, social media, and voter outreach.

On Day 1 of the Conference, participants will discuss key areas of modern election management, including IT Architecture, Effective Communication, enhancing social media outreach, and the statutory role of different functionaries in the electoral processes.

On the second day, the CEOs of States and UTs will present their respective action plans on thematic discussions of the previous day.

Earlier, newly appointed CEC Gyanesh Kumar had assumed charge on February 19 and, in his message to the voters, said that the first step for nation-building was voting.

He further stated that in accordance with the Constitution, the electoral laws and rules issued therein, the Election Commission always stood with the voters.

"The first step for nation-building is voting. Therefore, every citizen of India who has completed 18 years of age should become an elector and should always vote. In accordance with the Constitution of India, electoral laws, rules and instructions issued therein, the Election Commission of India was, is and will always be with the voters," Kumar said, speaking to the media.

Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre and is senior to the two other commissioners on the three-member panel led by Rajiv Kumar. The other commissioners are Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre, and Vivek Joshi.

The other newly appointed Election Commissioner, Vivek Joshi, also assumed charge as the Election Commissioner in pursuance of the Ministry of Law & Justice Gazette notification dated 17.02.2025. He is a 1989 batch officer of the IAS of Haryana carder.