Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, Sh. A. Sreenivas said that the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sh. Gyanesh Kumar, will assume the chairmanship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026. He said that 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.
He will be presiding over all Council meetings during the year 2026. He said that 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.
He said that the Chairship marks a significant milestone, reflecting global recognition of the Election Commission of India (ECI) 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.
He said that 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.
With 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. He further said that 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.
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.
He said that under Chief Election Commissioner's leadership, IIDEA and ECI will work closely to document and disseminate ECI's technological and administrative innovations and best practices internationally.This chairmanship stands as testament to India’s strong democratic traditions and its global leadership in election management.