Poll bodies of 42 nations to work together on key issues

The Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) of 42 countries agreed on Friday, January 23, 2026, to work together on five key issues, including the purity of voter rolls, the conduct of elections and the use of technology.

As part of the Delhi Declaration adopted on the outcome day of the three-day International Conference on Democracy and Electoral Management (IICDEM) 2026, EMBs also decided to work together on research and publication, use of technology, training and capacity building.

The notification was read by Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners (EC) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

Chairmen of 42 Election Management Bodies, experts from over 70 national institutions and senior officials of the Election Commission and 36 Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of States/UTs were present at the closing session.

The participants also agreed to review their progress periodically and proposed to meet at the Indian International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi from 3 to 5 December 2026.

The EMBs also decided to co-develop the curated Encyclopedia of World Democracies, comprehensive reports on the seven themes managed by International IDEA and the 36 themes managed by IIIDEM, and to jointly develop digital platforms similar to ECINet.

CEC Mr. Kumar, in his opening remarks, said the conference sparked discussions on international election standards.

The three-day conference, the first and largest of its kind, was attended by nearly 1,000 people, including international delegates from 42 EMBs and Heads of Mission from 27 countries.

India has assumed the Chairmanship of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for 2026, focusing on the theme “Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient and sustainable world”.