Srinagar, June 29 : Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said India has emerged as the world’s leading major democracy in terms of electoral transparency, with every stage of the election process being audited by political parties and candidates.
Addressing reporters during his three-day visit to Kashmir, Kumar said the country’s electoral system ensures transparency at every stage, including the preparation of electoral rolls, polling and counting of votes.
“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 CEC interacted with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Budgam district, around 12 kilometres from Srinagar, where he highlighted their crucial 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 dedicated to promoting sustainable democracy across the world.
“Seeing the Indian electoral process, Bharat in 2026 is 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 the voters of Jammu and Kashmir as well as to BLOs, BLO supervisors, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and District Election Officers (DEOs) for their contribution to the electoral process.
