CEC Gyanesh Kumar to chair International IDEA in 2026, signifying global recognition for ECI

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar is all set to assume the Chairship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026, the ECI said on Wednesday.  

The CEC will take over the Chairship of IIDEA on December 3, 2025, in the meeting of the Council of Member States of International IDEA to be held in Stockholm, Sweden.

As Chair, he will be presiding over all council meetings during the year 2026.

International IDEA, established in 1995, is an intergovernmental organisation committed to strengthening democratic institutions and processes across the world. With a current membership of 35 countries and the United States and Japan as Observers, the organisation promotes inclusive, resilient, and accountable democracies.

“The Chairship marks a significant milestone, reflecting global recognition of the Election Commission of India as one of the world’s most credible and innovative Election Management Bodies (EMBs),” the ECI said in its press note.

India, a founding member of IIDEA, has consistently contributed to the organisation’s governance, democratic discourse and institutional initiatives.

“As Chair, CEC will leverage the country’s unmatched experience of conducting the world’s largest elections to shape IIDEA’s global agenda. The collaboration will strengthen knowledge-sharing, reinforce professional networks among EMBs, and support evidence-based global electoral reforms,” the ECI said.

Being the world’s largest electorate of nearly a billion electors and with well-laid-out and documented transparent electoral processes, India will endeavour to share its best practices with the EMBs across the world during the year.

“Joint programmes, workshops, and research collaborations between ECI’s training institute - India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) and IIDEA will further enhance global readiness to respond to challenges such as disinformation, electoral violence, and erosion of voter trust,” it added.

Since its inception, IIIDEM has been training election officials not only within the country but also across the world. To date, IIIDEM has signed MoUs with 28 countries and has also trained 3169 officials from nearly 142 countries.

Under CEC’s leadership, IIDEA and ECI will work closely to document and disseminate ECI’s technological and administrative innovations and best practices internationally.

Notably, CEC, along with, Election Commissioner, with a delegation from IDEA led by Secretary General Kevin Casas Zamora, Chief of Staff, Jessica Kehayes and Secretary (West), Sibi George, at the poll panel’s headquarters in New Delhi in October.

This comes months after CEC delivered the keynote address at the Stockholm International Conference on Electoral Integrity in June.

--IANS

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