Election officials, legal experts, and international delegates convened at Nirma University in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, 21 July for a thematic symposium on electoral transparency, examining how political parties can serve as 'concurrent auditors' of the election process. The event brought together voices from across India and abroad to interrogate institutional accountability, technology-driven election management, and public trust in democratic systems.

About the Symposium

Titled 'Electoral Transparency: Political Parties as Concurrent Auditors', the symposium was organised by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Gujarat, in collaboration with the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi, and partner organisations. The agenda was structured around five thematic sessions covering institutional frameworks, political party-based oversight, verification continuity across the electoral cycle, public trust, technology auditability, and accountability through monitoring.

International Perspective: Lessons from the Philippines

Among the notable international participants were election management representatives from the Philippines — Atty. Jovencio G. Balanquit and Atty. Zennia S. Ledesma. Opening the symposium, Balanquit congratulated India on the sustained conduct of elections in what he called the world's largest democracy.

Drawing parallels between the electoral systems of India and the Philippines, Balanquit said: 'Maintaining credible electoral rolls, ensuring the presence of political party representatives during polling and vote counting, taking effective action against violations of election laws, and adopting modern technology were all essential elements of a transparent election process.'

He stressed the limits of institutional authority alone: 'Election authorities alone cannot ensure complete transparency. Political parties, civil society organisations and the media function as watchdogs and auditors in the electoral process.' He warned that opacity erodes democratic legitimacy — 'If the electoral process is not transparent, public trust declines, and democracy becomes weaker.'

What Indian Officials Said

Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Naveen Mahajan pointed to existing structural safeguards, noting that the participation of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), polling agents, and candidates' representatives at every stage — from electoral roll preparation to vote counting — was evidence of transparency already embedded in India's process. He also highlighted the Election Commission of India's partnerships with educational institutions to boost young voter awareness and participation.

Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer Sandeep Sagale acknowledged that the growing use of technology — including electronic voting systems, digital electoral rolls, result management platforms, and data-driven processes — had opened new opportunities while simultaneously raising concerns around auditability, cybersecurity, and public confidence. 'In such circumstances, dialogue and the exchange of experiences among election management institutions, political parties, legal experts, academicians and other stakeholders have become increasingly important,' he said.

Sagale described young people as the foundation of democracy and called for their active participation in electoral processes.

Who Attended and What Was Covered

The symposium drew a cross-section of stakeholders: Anand Collector Praveen Chaudhary, IAS officer Rinkesh Patel, vice-chancellors, registrars, academicians, researchers, legal experts, election management officials, and senior journalists from law universities across India. Mahajan also engaged with students in a question-and-answer session on the symposium's themes.

According to Sagale, the outcomes of the symposium are expected to contribute to a better understanding of existing transparency mechanisms, help identify emerging challenges, document best practices from varied electoral systems, and support evidence-based policy recommendations.

What Comes Next

The ideas and recommendations emerging from the Ahmedabad symposium are anticipated to feed into broader policy discussions on electoral reform. As technology continues to reshape election management across democracies, the question of who audits the auditors — and how — is likely to gain urgency in legislative and administrative forums alike.