Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | Foreign delegation to arrive in state to witness polling process, says EC

Thiruvananthapuram: A foreign delegation will arrive in Kerala on Wednesday to witness the election process ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, the EC said.

The group will arrive in the state capital in the morning and will visit various polling booths to observe the electoral procedures, the Election Commission (EC) said.

The delegation is arriving as part of the EC's International Election Visitors’ Programme (IEVP) 2026 that was inaugurated a day ago by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

In the first phase, the delegates will visit Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on April 8 and 9 and in the second phase, they will go to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu from April 20 onwards, the EC said.

It said that 43 delegates from 23 countries, including representatives from five foreign Missions in Delhi, will be participating in the first phase of the programme.

In Kerala, the delegation will meet Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar in the afternoon and then visit a dispatch centre at Vazhuthacaud here to observe the process of distributing polling materials, an EC statement said.

On Thursday, the group will observe a mock poll at a booth in Vazhuthacaud in the morning and then will visit a few polling stations and the control room at the collectorate in the state capital, the statement said.

The delegation will leave in the evening, it added.

The IEVP is a flagship program of the EC for international cooperation and engagement with the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of other countries and international organisations, the EC has said.

"The IEVP provides a comprehensive overview of India’s electoral framework, institutional mechanisms, and operational architecture, while familiarising foreign EMB delegates with best practices and innovations in election management," it has said.