Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said India is leading the world’s major democracies in electoral transparency, with every stage of the election process being openly audited by political parties and candidates.
Speaking to reporters during his three-day visit to Kashmir, Kumar said India’s electoral process—from the preparation of voter lists to polling and counting—is conducted with complete transparency and oversight.
“We discussed the components of the world’s most transparent electoral process — preparation of the voter list, polling and counting. These are concurrently audited by all political parties and candidates,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Election Commissioner addressed a gathering of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Budgam district, where he praised their role in strengthening the democratic process.
Kumar also noted that India currently holds the chairmanship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organisation that promotes sustainable democracy across the world.
“Seeing this process of Indian elections, in 2026 Bharat is currently leading all the large democratic countries of the world, and is also the chairperson of International IDEA,” he said.
Describing Booth Level Officers as the pillars of democracy, Kumar extended his greetings to voters across Jammu and Kashmir, as well as BLOs, BLO supervisors, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs), acknowledging their contribution to conducting free and fair elections. (Agencies)
