Source: PIB
Subject: Polity
Context: India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will assume the Chair ship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) on December 3, 2025, in Stockholm.
About The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA):
What it is?
- An intergovernmental organisation dedicated exclusively to supporting and strengthening democratic institutions, processes and norms worldwide.
Establishment: Founded in 1995 as a global platform for democracy support, with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.
Membership:
- Started with 14 founding members including India, Norway, Spain, Australia and South Africa.
- Today has 35 member countries, with the US and Japan as observers.
- Holds UN General Assembly Observer Status since 2003.
Aim: To advance and safeguard sustainable democracy by generating comparative knowledge, strengthening electoral institutions, supporting reforms, and promoting rule of law, participation, and inclusion.
Core Functions:
- Knowledge Production: Research on elections, political parties, constitutions, governance and democratic innovations.
- Capacity Building: Training Election Management Bodies (EMBs), political parties and democratic institutions.
- Advocacy: Promoting global democratic standards and electoral integrity.
- Dialogue Convening: Facilitating international exchanges among policymakers, civil society and regional bodies.
- Technical Assistance: Advising countries on electoral reforms, institutional design and democratic resilience.
Significance:
- Only global intergovernmental organisation with a sole mandate to support democracy.
- Provides a “virtuous cycle” of research → capacity building → advocacy → policy reform.
- India’s chair ship enhances its global leadership in election management, sharing expertise from administering elections to 90+ crore voters.
