The policy for foreign observers during the 12th national elections will be finalised in the first week of September, Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said today.

"The draft will be finalised in the first week of September. After it is finalised, the notification will be posted on the website as per the decision of the commission. They will apply. Foreigners can come as observers after getting approval as per the procedure following the application," he said after a meeting with concerned ministries on Wednesday (23 August).

He also said that a "user-friendly" observation policy will be made for foreign observers.

"We will opt for a policy that is helpful to them. User friendly. It is beneficial to discuss such matters. It will take a few more meetings. Then we will give the draft and after the approval of the commission we will finalise it," Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said.

"Today we had a preliminary meeting regarding the formulation of policies for the foreign observers who will come. We have to discuss it further. Today I had a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Board of Revenue and the Ministry of Information. Today was just a brainstorming session, there was no decision," he added.

He said there has been a discussion on the matter, saying that the policy has not been decided yet.

"We will decide later. The existing foreign observer policy has been reviewed. We will sit again next week," the official further said.