The nine-member Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq is in New Delhi to learn the art of conducting free and fair elections from its Indian counterpart. On Wednesday, members of the commission, led by senior-most member Faraj Mirza latif Al-Haydari, met Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy.

The delegation will go through a 12-day interactive programme to be conducted by present and former election officials and CECs. They will not only learn how to prepare clean electoral rolls and manage the election process, but also how to remain independent of the government.

On Thursday, former CEC and Rajya Sabha member M S Gill will give them a daylong lecture on election management and share his experience of running the Commission. This will be followed by an interaction with S K Mehendiratta, the EC’s legal adviser, on electoral law. “The panel wants to focus on issues such as maintaining neutrality, setting up rules and regulations and basics of running an independent Commission,” Mehendiratta said. The workshop will end on June 8.