Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of India is attending the International IDEA Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity from June 10-12, 2025. CEC Kumar will deliver the keynote address, highlighting India's election management practices and focus on inclusive participation for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) through initiatives like online voter registration and electronic postal ballot transmission. The conference, organized by International IDEA in collaboration with several national electoral bodies and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will gather representatives from approximately 50 countries to discuss challenges to electoral integrity, including disinformation, digital disruption, and the role of AI. CEC Kumar will also hold bilateral meetings with Chief Election Commissioners from approximately 20 countries and interact with senior officials from International IDEA and various electoral commissions, reinforcing India's commitment to global democratic cooperation and exchange of best practices. A delegation of senior officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI) are accompanying CEC Kumar.
Key Entities Referenced
Overseas Citizens of India: Citizens of other countries who have Indian ancestry (OCIs).
OCIs: Abbreviation for Overseas Citizens of India
Election Commission: The Election Commission of an unspecified country (likely India, based on context).
CEC Gyanesh Kumar: Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. Likely of the Election Commission of India.
International IDEA Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity: A conference focused on electoral integrity taking place in Stockholm.
Stockholm: The capital of Sweden, location of the International IDEA Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity
09 JUN 2025: Date of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Delhi press release.
PIB Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Delhi.
Sweden: Country being visited by CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Indian Diaspora: Indian expatriate community in Sweden.
NonResident Indians: Indians who are not residents of India (NRIs).
NRIs: Abbreviation for Non-Resident Indians
Online Voter Registration System: An initiative aimed at enabling greater participation of overseas voters.
Electronic Transmission of Postal Ballot Management System: An initiative aimed at enabling greater participation of overseas voters (ETPBMS).
ETPBMS: Abbreviation for Electronic Transmission of Postal Ballot Management System
India: The country that Shri Gyanesh Kumar represents.
Election Management Bodies: Organizations responsible for managing elections (EMBs).
EMBs: Abbreviation for Election Management Bodies
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance: Organization co-organizing the conference (International IDEA).
International IDEA: Abbreviation for International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: One of the organizing bodies of the conference.
Swedish Election Authority: One of the organizing bodies of the conference.
Australian Electoral Commission: One of the organizing bodies of the conference.
Mr. Kevin CasasZamora: Secretary General of International IDEA.
United Kingdom: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Netherlands: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
France: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
South Africa: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Indonesia: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Mexico: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Mongolia: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Switzerland: One of the countries whose Chief Election Commissioners will be meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Ms. Leena Rikkil Tamang: Director AsiaPacific, International IDEA.
Dr. Elsie T. Nghikembua: Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia.
Electoral Commission of Namibia: The election commission of Namibia
Mr. Abdool Rahman Mohammad Irfan: Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius.
Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius: The electoral commissioner of Mauritius.
Artificial Intelligence: One of the key focus areas to deliberate contemporary challenges to electoral integrity.
India International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management: An institute for electoral management excellence (IIIDEM).
IIIDEM: Abbreviation for India International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management
ECI: Election Commission of India, employing the officials leading a delegation.
Shri Rakesh Verma: Director General of IIIDEM.
Shri Vijay Kumar Pandey: DDG Law.
Shri Rahul Sharma: Principal Secretary.
PKGDHRP: Release ID prefix.
2135105: Release ID number.
Election Commission
CEC Gyanesh Kumar to deliver keynote address at
the International IDEA Stockholm Conference on
Electoral Integrity tomorrow
CEC holds memorable interaction with Indian
Diaspora in Sweden
Posted On: 09 JUN 2025 3:23PM by PIB Delhi
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, who is visiting Sweden to attend the
International IDEA Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity, being organised from June 10-12, 2025, had
a memorable interaction with the Indian Diaspora in Sweden. The CEC reiterated the Election Commission’s
focus on inclusive participation and civic engagement among Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas
Citizens of India (OCIs). He highlighted initiatives such as the Online Voter Registration System and the
Electronic Transmission of Postal Ballot Management System (ETPBMS), aimed at enabling greater
participation of overseas voters.
Underlining India’s leadership in election management, Shri Gyanesh Kumar has been invited to deliver the
inaugural keynote address at the Conference beginning tomorrow. The massive scale of the Indian elections
and the magnitude of the logistics involved in the exercise evinces keen interest amongst the Election
Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world. Over 100 participants representing around 50 countries are
taking part in the Conference, which is being organised by the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in collaboration with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Swedish Election Authority, and the Australian Electoral Commission.
The CEC will begin his meetings with the senior officials of International IDEA, including the Secretary
General, Mr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General of International IDEA today. This would be followed
by detailed one-to-one bilateral meetings with the Chief Election Commissioners of nearly 20 countries
including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, and
Switzerland amongst others, further reinforcing India’s commitment to global democratic cooperation and the
exchange of best practices in the coming days.
Besides others, Sh. Gyanesh Kumar would also be interacting with other senior international counterparts,
including Ms. Leena Rikkilä Tamang, Director (Asia-Pacific), International IDEA; Dr. Elsie T. Nghikembua,
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia; and Mr. Abdool Rahman Mohammad Irfan, Electoral
Commissioner of Mauritius.
The Stockholm Conference brings together heads of EMBs, policymakers, and institutional leaders to
deliberate on contemporary challenges to electoral integrity. Key focus areas include disinformation, digital
disruption, electoral security, climate-related risks, and the role of Artificial Intelligence in elections. As the
world’s largest democracy, India has maintained a longstanding partnership with International IDEA,
contributing actively to global discourse through its institutional innovations and democratic experiences.
Through various capacity building programmes and conferences, the India International Institute of
Democracy and Electoral Management, IIIDEM is also emerging as a premier institute for electoral
management excellence.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar is leading a delegation comprising senior officials from ECI including the Director
General of IIIDEM, Shri Rakesh Verma, Shri Vijay Kumar Pandey, DDG (Law) and Shri Rahul Sharma,Principal Secretary.
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PK/GDH/RP
(Release ID: 2135105)