New Delhi: As many as 14 delegates from seven countries will witness the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections on Thursday as part of the Election Commission of India's International Election Visitors' Programme (IEVP). The participants hail from France, South Africa, Belgium, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Colombia.

The IEVP began with an interaction session led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi, where delegates were given a demonstration of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and presentations on various election-related topics, including electoral roll preparation and election conduct in India.

The two-day IEVP includes a visit to Bihar on November 5-6, where participants will tour EVM dispatch centres and witness actual polling during the first phase of the Bihar polls on November 6. These elections will be conducted in two phases, with the second phase scheduled for November 11, and vote counting set for November 14.

In the first phase, voting will take place in 121 assembly constituencies across 18 districts, while the second phase will cover 122 seats in 20 districts, for the 243-member Bihar assembly. The IEVP aims to foster international cooperation and share best practices in the world's largest democracy and has been showcasing India's electoral strengths since 2014.

With inputs from PTI