Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday (December 3, 2025) assumed charge as Chairman of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for 2026.
In his acceptance speech at Stockholm, Sweden, Mr. Kumar highlighted the scale of India’s democratic exercise, noting that the country has over 900 million electors across 28 States and eight Union Territories.
In the 2024 General Election, India witnessed a breathtaking democratic spectacle in which over 20,000 candidates from 743 political parties, including six national and 67 State parties, participated. Over 20 million election personnel, including over a million Booth-Level Officers and five million polling staff were engaged in the exercise, he said.
Stating that, since Independence in 1947, the country has witnessed 18 General Elections to Parliament, and over 400 elections to State Legislatures, the CEC said that India sought to share with all not only the learnings of the world’s largest, and most diverse and inclusive modern democracy, but also the democratic values and principles deeply enshrined in India’s civilisational heritage.
India’s chairmanship of the International IDEA council would be decisive, ambitious, and action-oriented, he said. India will endeavour to ensure that every vote counts, every voice matters, and that democracies worldwide become more inclusive, peaceful, resilient, and sustainable.
