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National Round Table Conference of ECI and State Election Commissioners, 2026 concludes in New Delhi

1. Election Commission of India (ECI) organised the National Round Table Conference of ECI and State Election Commissioners (SECs) today at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
2. The Round Table Conference was chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, in the presence of Election Commissioners, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi.
3. In his inaugural address CEC Shri Gyanesh Kumar underscored the importance of strengthening institutional coordination between the ECI and SECs within their respective constitutional mandates. He emphasised the need for harmonised approaches in electoral roll management, adoption of technology, and sharing of best practices to further enhance the integrity and efficiency of electoral processes in the country.
4. Election Commissioner Dr. S.S. Sandhu in his address exhorted the SECs to learn from each other and adopt each other’s best practices. Further, he underlined that trust is the foundation of every electoral process and thus it is important that both the ECI & SECs work in coordination.
5. Speaking on the importance of collaboration in digital technologies, Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi stressed upon leveraging the ECINET digital platform to build bridges between the functioning of the ECI and the State Election Commissions.
6. The deliberations provided a platform for constructive exchange of ideas and reinforced the spirit of cooperative federalism in electoral management. The participants adopted the National Declaration and resolved that the preparation of pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy. The declaration also states ECI will work with SECs to synergise laws relating to Panchayats and Municipal Bodies with those relating to the elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures and work towards furthering national and constitutional interest. (Full text of the joint declaration annexed)
7. During the Conference, the new ECI publication titled, ‘A Confluence of Democracies’ was launched. The publication is a comprehensive record of the recently held India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM) 2026, documenting the participation of nearly 100 international delegates from over 70 countries  along  with  international  and  national  experts,  deliberations  across  36

thematic sessions and bilateral meetings, and the formal adoption of the Delhi Declaration 2026.

8. The National Round Table Conference, successfully held after a gap of 27 years, paves the way for fostering synergies by way of sharing of technological solutions such as EVMs, ECINET, and the sharing of Electoral Rolls.

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PK/GDH/RP

 

24.02.2026

 

National Declaration 2026

National Round Table Conference of the Election Commission of India & State Election Commissioners

1. Preparation of Pure Electoral Rolls are the Bedrock of Democracy and transparent Conduct of Elections in an efficient manner strengthen democracy.
2. In National and Constitutional interest, ECI suggested to work out mutually acceptable mechanisms and legally viable frameworks to synergise with all SECs across the country for all possible election processes including the sharing of ECINET, EVMs, Electoral Rolls and the world-class Infrastructure at IIIDEM.
3. ECI and SECs will work together to synergise the Laws relating to the elections to Panchayats and Municipal Bodies with those relating to the elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.
4. ECI also requested the SECs to come forward and participate in international engagements of ECI and proposed to hold such National Round Table Conference with ECI once every year, preferably along with the international conferences being chaired by ECI.
5. All suggestions given by SECs in this National Round Table Conference will be studied in detail by a joint team of legal and technical officers led by concerned DECs of ECI. A State/UT-wise way forward will be submitted to the Election Commission of India in next three months for a best possible decision in National Interest.

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