By Admin 
Voting for the first phase of assembly elections is going on in Bihar on Thursday (November 6, 2025). Before the elections, 16 representatives from seven countries reached Patna under the International Election Visitor Program (IEVP) of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and saw the arrangements for the first phase of Bihar elections.
Representatives from Indonesia, Colombia, Philippines, France, Belgium, South Africa and Thailand came to see the Commission’s arrangements for voting. The inaugural session of IEVP 2025 was held on Tuesday at the India International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi. All 16 delegates representing seven countries participated in this session.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi talked to 16 participants from these seven countries. During the conversation, he was informed about the strong electoral structure of India. Along with this, a demonstration of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) was shown to these representatives. Senior Election Commission officials briefed them on key aspects of election management such as preparation of voter lists and conducting free and fair elections.
Under this program, 16 representatives from 7 countries have reached Bihar. This tour started on Wednesday. During the Bihar tour, these representatives visited EVM dispatch centers and saw the voting process directly.
The IEVP is one of the major initiatives of the Election Commission for international cooperation and engagement with Election Management Bodies (EMBs) around the world. Since 2014, IEVP has been showcasing the strengths of India’s electoral system to the international community and sharing best practices for voting in the world’s largest democracy.
Voting for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections started at 7 am on 121 seats in 18 districts of the state. There are 1,314 candidates in the fray in this election, including 1,192 male and 122 female candidates. According to the Election Commission, there are a total of 3,75,13,302 voters in this election, which includes 1,98,35,325 men, 1,76,77,219 women and 758 voters of third gender. The total number of polling stations is 45,341, which includes 36,733 polling stations in rural areas and 8,608 polling stations in urban areas.
The Election Commission has declared 320 model polling stations in these districts, out of which 926 are managed by women and 107 are managed by persons with disabilities. Webcasting will be available at all polling stations. There are 5,677 polling stations in the capital Patna, including 541 only for women, 49 model polling stations, 14 disabled-friendly polling stations and three youth-centric polling stations.