Siliguri: A 13-member team of foreign delegates, along with three Indian representatives from the Election Commission of India, visited the Distribution Centre and Reception Centre (DCRC) at Siliguri College on Wednesday as part of the International Election Visitors' Programme.

Apurva Kumar Singh, Deputy Director of the Election Commission of India, said: "The team has come to observe the election process as a part of the International Election Visitors' Programme. They will only visit polling stations and observe the situation. On April 23, on the day of the polls, they will see the actual polling process."

The delegation, comprising members from Namibia, Georgia, Nepal, the Philippines, Gambia, Switzerland, Kenya and the International IDEA (an intergovernmental organisation with a mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide) arrived in Siliguri on Wednesday morning. They are currently staying at a hotel in the New Chamta Tea Estate area. In the afternoon, the team visited the DCRC centre and inspected the election preparedness. They interacted with polling personnel and were briefed on the overall election process by the district administration.