Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday took over as the 2026 chair of International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a Sweden-based intergovernmental organisation.

Kumar assumed the role at a meeting in Stockholm after the Council of Member States of International IDEA elected India as the chair for 2026.

“India’s chairmanship of International IDEA envisions to share with you all not only the learnings of the world’s oldest, largest, the most diverse and inclusive modern democracy, but also the democratic values and principles deeply enshrined in India’s civilisational heritage,” the CEC said.

He said India’s chairmanship would be “decisive, ambitious and action oriented, demonstrating to the world at large that democracies can lead t

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