ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Election Commission ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA CEC Gyanesh Kumar to assume Chairship of International IDEA To Lead 35-Nation Forum - International IDEA in 2026 Posted On: 26 NOV 2025 4:18PM by PIB Delhi 1. The Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Gyanesh Kumar is all set to assume the Chairship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026. 2. The Chief Election Commissioner will take over the Chairship of IIDEA on December 03, 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. 3. International IDEA, established in 1995, is an inter-governmental 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 (List of Member Countries in Annexure). 4. 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). India, a founding member of IIDEA, has consistently contributed to the organisation’s governance, democratic discourse and institutional initiatives. 5. As Chair, Sh. Gyanesh Kumar 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. 6. Being the world’s largest electorate of nearly a billion electors and with well laid down and documented transparent electoral processes, India will endeavour to share its best practices with the EMBs across the world during the year. 7. 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.8. Since its inception, IIIDEM has been training election officials not only within the country but also across the world. Till date, IIIDEM has signed MoUs with 28 countries and has also trained 3169 officials from nearly 142 countries. 9. Under CEC’s leadership, IIDEA and ECI will work closely to document and disseminate ECI’s technological and administrative innovations and best practices internationally. ***** PK/GDH/RP ANNEXURE Member Countries of International IDEA Sl. Sl. Country Country No. No. 1 Australia 19 Luxembourg 2 Barbados 20 Mauritius 3 Belgium 21 Mexico 4 Benin 22 Mongolia 5 Botswana 23 Namibia 6 Brazil 24 Netherlands 7 Cabo Verde 25 Norway 8 Canada 26 Panama 9 Chile 27 Peru 10 Costa Rica 28 Philippines 11 Dominican Republic 29 Portugal 12 Estonia 30 South Africa 13 Finland 31 Spain 14 France 32 Sweden15 Germany 33 Switzerland 16 Ghana 34 Tunisia 17 India 35 Uruguay 18 Indonesia Observer Countries United States & Japan (Release ID: 2194702) Visitor Counter : 1611 Read this release in: Urdu , ही