Delhi Declaration 2026: Global Pact for Clean Voter Rolls & Election Tech

Hosted by the Election Commission of India, the three-day event brought together heads of election management bodies from 42 countries, experts from numerous institutions, and senior officials from across India to discuss ways to strengthen democratic processes worldwide.

The Delhi Declaration 2026 outlines five key pillars that participating nations have pledged to pursue through joint efforts.

The first pillar focuses on maintaining clean and accurate electoral rolls, which form the bedrock of any democracy. Election authorities are encouraged to issue photo identity cards to every eligible voter to ensure smooth and transparent voting.

The second pillar stresses that elections must be inclusive, participatory and fair. For this to happen, election bodies need to operate strictly in accordance with their constitutional or legal frameworks, delivering transparent, efficient and credible results.

Under the third pillar, the conference committed to producing an Encyclopedia of Democracies of the World. This ambitious project will include an atlas detailing electoral systems across countries, verified by each nation's election authority. It will also feature detailed reports on seven themes coordinated by International IDEA and 36 additional themes led by India's International Institute of Democracy and Election Management.

The fourth pillar addresses the responsible use of technology. Election bodies agreed to embrace modern tools to assist voters and combat misinformation, while always protecting electoral integrity as required by law. India has offered to share its experience with the ECINET digital platform, allowing other countries to develop similar systems adapted to their legal systems and languages.

The fifth pillar emphasises training and capacity building. India has extended an invitation for global election officials to benefit from its extensive expertise through training programmes and exchanges of best practices. The International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, recognised as the world's largest such facility, will make its resources available to help professionalise election management and voter roll preparation across countries.

In the declaration's conclusion, all participants resolved to put these five pillars into practice through collaboration, innovation and regular progress reviews. They agreed to hold an annual meeting to assess progress, with the next gathering scheduled for December 3 to 5, 2026, at the institute in New Delhi.

Adopted on January 23, 2026, the Delhi Declaration represents a collective commitment to safeguarding and advancing democracy through shared knowledge, technology and capacity enhancement on a global scale.

- IANS