• The three-day international conference was organised by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) under the aegis of the ECI.

IICDEM 2026 Overview:
Theme: “Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient, and sustainable world”
Inaugural Reception: The conference began with a formal reception, where Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) along with Election Commissioners(EC) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, welcomed international delegates representing heads of election management bodies worldwide.
Launch of ECINET: The ECI launched the ECINET (Election Commission of India Network) at the IICDEM 2026.

• ECINET provides voter registration, Know Your Candidate (KYC), e-Voter Identification(ID) cards (e-EPIC) download, and Book-a-Call facilities with Booth Level Officers (BLOs), while also offering services for Divyang (Saksham) citizens and access to election-related learning material.
• It has been developed in English along with all 22 scheduled languages of India.

MoU Signed: India and Namibia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on election management on the sidelines of IICDEM 2026.
Adoption: On 23 January 2026, the ECI concluded the three-day IICDEM 2026 with the unanimous adoption of the ‘Delhi Declaration 2026’.

•  The election management bodies (EMBs) agreed to collaborate on the five pillars of the declaration: purity of electoral rolls, conduct of elections, research and publications, use of technology, and training and capacity building.

About India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM):
Establishment:  The IIIDEM was established in 2011 to train and equip election officials and stakeholders for the conduct of free, fair, credible, and error-free elections.
Location: Initially housed within the premises of the ECI, the Institute is now operating from a full-fledged campus at Dwarka, Delhi.