Odisha’s five-member delegation visits Poland Strengthening bilateral cooperation and enhancing election management systems

Bhubaneswar December 2025: A five-member delegation from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), has completed a five-day official visit to Poland. The delegation from Odisha has embarked on a first of its kind visit for an international engagement, which aims at deepening and strengthening bilateral ties with democracies around the world. This visit is expected to provide impetus to the election management practices through mutual learnings.

The Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, Shri R. S. Gopalan (IAS), while expressing optimism about the outcomes of the engagement stated that the visit is not only a matter of pride for Odisha, it is expected to bring valuable insights in terms of election and electoral roll management practices for Odisha.
The delegation included Additional Secretary and National-level Master Trainer Shri Shatrughna Kar, Additional Secretary and National-level Master Trainer Shri Pramod Kumar Sahu, District Election Officer, Khordha Shri Amrit Ruturaj, Sub-Collector, Bhubaneswar, Dr. Manoranjan Sahu, and Booth Level Officer of Booth No. 144 -112 Assembly Constituency Shri Chinmaya Kumar Seet.

During the visit, the delegation called on the Head of the Indian Mission in Warsaw and later held an extended meeting with two Election Commissioners of Poland and the Director (International Relations) of the National Election Commission. Two Election Commissioners (who are Judges) of the National Electoral Commission, along with the Director (International Relations), interacted with the delegation for more than ninety minutes. The exchange covered best practices and their observations on strengthening election delivery.

During this interaction, three focused presentations were made: an overview of India’s election process by Shri Satrughna Kar, a briefing on EVMs, polling day arrangements and counting procedures by Shri Pramod Kumar Sahoo, and a detailed presentation on electoral roll preparation and field-level challenges by the District Election Officer, Khordha, Shri Amrit Ruturaj. The delegation highlighted India’s extensive election operation, including the use of EVMs and VVPATs, technological interventions, large-scale voter management, and mechanisms for independent audit and scrutiny.

Polish authorities appreciated the depth of these presentations and shared insights into their contemporary democratic practices, own electoral system, political framework and use of modern tools in election management.

The Odisha delegation also visited polling stations, voter registration centres and district election offices to observe pre-poll preparations, polling logistics and post-poll procedures. These visits offered a close look at Poland’s administrative practices and voter service arrangements.

Saurav Pradhan,
Public Relations Officer
Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha