Key Points

As per the statement from the Election Commission of India, Kumar, who is in Sweden to attend the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity, being organised from June 10-12, had a memorable interaction with the Indian Diaspora in Sweden.

The CEC reiterated the Election Commission's focus on inclusive participation and civic engagement among Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). He highlighted initiatives such as the Online Voter Registration System and the Electronic Transmission of Postal Ballot Management System (ETPBMS), aimed at enabling greater participation of overseas voters.

The official statement noted that underlining India's leadership in election management, CEC Gyanesh Kumar has been invited to deliver the inaugural keynote address at the Conference beginning tomorrow.

The massive scale of the Indian elections and the magnitude of the logistics involved in the exercise evince keen interest amongst the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world. Over 100 participants representing around 50 countries are taking part in the Conference, which is being organised by the International IDEA in collaboration with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Election Authority, and the Australian Electoral Commission.

As per the statement, the CEC will begin his meetings with the senior officials of International IDEA, including the Secretary General, Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General of International IDEA on Monday. This would be followed by detailed one-to-one bilateral meetings with the Chief Election Commissioners of nearly 20 countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, and Switzerland amongst others, further reinforcing India's commitment to global democratic cooperation and the exchange of best practices in the coming days.

Besides others, CEC Gyanesh Kumar would also be interacting with other senior international counterparts, including Leena Rikkila Tamang, Director (Asia-Pacific), International IDEA; Dr Elsie T Nghikembua, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia; and Abdool Rahman Mohammad Irfan, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius.

The statement highlighted that the Stockholm Conference brings together heads of EMBs, policymakers, and institutional leaders to deliberate on contemporary challenges to electoral integrity. Key focus areas include disinformation, digital disruption, electoral security, climate-related risks, and the role of Artificial Intelligence in elections.

As the world's largest democracy, India has maintained a longstanding partnership with International IDEA, contributing actively to global discourse through its institutional innovations and democratic experiences. Through various capacity building programmes and conferences, the India International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management, IIIDEM is also emerging as a premier institute for electoral management excellence.

The statement mentioned that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is leading a delegation comprising senior officials from ECI, including the Director General of IIIDEM, Rakesh Verma, Vijay Kumar Pandey, DDG (Law) and Rahul Sharma, Principal Secretary.

- ANI