Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi today said that practices like paid news syndrome and use of money power have emerged as new challenges in the management of elections.

Addressing the third Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of the SAARC countries in New Delhi, Quraishi said it was important to curb such practices to ensure free and fair elections to strengthen democracy in the SAARC region.

He said that voter education had assumed greater importance as an area to maximise participation by people in the electoral process.

Dr Quraishi said the three-day conference was aimed at discussing good electoral practices and sharing of ideas among member countries. During the conference, India will make a presentation on the use of information-technology in conducting elections in the country.

The Chief Election Commissioner said that SAARC countries were holding a beacon of democracy to the world. He expressed the hope that they would emerge as the leader in the democratic world as 60 to 70 per cent or over 1 billion of the total electorate reside in the region.

Mr Quraishi called for using innovative methods and strategies to deal with new problems in election management and administration.

Speaking on the occasion, Election Commissioner V S Sampath emphasised on the need for continuous exchange of experience and expertise between the SAARC electoral bodies.