New Delhi, March 13, 2026
Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, on Friday highlighted the importance of innovation in strengthening the democratic and electoral process, an official said.
Addressing officer trainees of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and the Royal Bhutan Service (RBS) at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM), Gyanesh Kumar called upon officials to exploit the potential of innovation in public services.
Gyanesh Kumar is himself credited with implementing a range of initiatives to enhance India’s electoral process.
Soon after taking charge in February 2025, he rolled out 30 key measures under his leadership, focussing on stakeholder engagement, electoral reforms, technological advancements, ensuring the integrity of voter rolls, improving voting accessibility, and strengthening capacity building.
In December 2025, CEC Kumar formally accepted the Chairship of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026.
At the event, he emphasised India’s long democratic heritage and the Election Commission of India’s decades-long experience in conducting transparent and credible elections.
Addressing representatives of member countries, observer nations and officials of International IDEA, Gyanesh Kumar delivered his acceptance remarks first in Hindi and then in English.
He described the ECI as a constitutional body entrusted with conducting elections to the offices of the President, Vice President, Parliament and state legislatures.
The CEC noted that India, with over 900 million voters across 28 States and eight Union Territories, has a robust and well-established electoral system refined over nearly 75 years.
He also highlighted the scale of India’s election management, stating that during Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission becomes “the largest organisation on the planet,” deploying more than one million personnel across the country.
The CEC said India takes pride in being elected Chair of the Council of Member States of International IDEA, an intergovernmental body consisting of 35 democratic nations and two observer countries.(Agency)
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