Poll bodies of 42 nations to work together on key issues

The Election Management Bodies (EMB) of 42 countries on Friday (January 23, 2026) resolved to work together on five key issues, including purity of electoral rolls, conduct of elections, and use of technology.

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

The declaration was read out by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners (ECs) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

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

The participants also resolved to review their progress periodically and proposed to meet from December 3-5, 2026 at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi.

The EMBs also decided to bring out a co-curated Encyclopaedia of Democracies of the World, comprehensive reports on the seven themes which are being led by International IDEA and 36 themes led by IIIDEM and co-develop digital platforms, similar to ECINet.

In his keynote address, CEC Mr. Kumar, said that the conference has ignited conversations regarding model international electoral standards.

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

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