The India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) celebrated its 15th Foundation Day on June 17, 2026, marking the occasion with a two-day Conference on Capacity Building and Strategic Roadmap held in New Delhi on June 16-17, 2026. The event brought together 450 participants including 250 National and State Level Master Trainers, academic partners, 80 IIIDEM participants, 30 Election Commission officials, and 100 BLO Supervisors from CEO Delhi to review achievements, discuss emerging priorities, and chart the future direction of electoral capacity building.
During the plenary session, Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar commended IIIDEM for its 15 years of service in electoral training and management, highlighting that during the Lok Sabha elections, the institute shoulders the responsibility of training nearly 1.8 crore officials to ensure they work according to the constitution, laws, and ECI instructions. Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi noted that IIIDEM can continue serving as a global training institution for election management beyond India's Chairship of International IDEA. Director General Shri Rakesh Verma described IIIDEM as a unique institution that brings together practitioners with vast experience in conducting Indian elections alongside academicians and researchers for mutual knowledge building and sharing.
The conference focused on four strategic pillars: strengthening national programmes, expanding global programmes and engagements, encouraging research and knowledge development, and promoting sustainable democracy and election management. Day one sessions included deliberations on the draft National Training Policy, training standards at state/district/assembly levels, new programmes for Election Management Bodies, and review of scripts for training videos and skits for grassroots election functionaries and voter awareness. Day two featured Training of Trainers sessions for STNOs, NLMTs, and SLMTs, review of progress of Thematic Groups by academic experts, and a Foundation Day Function.
Since its establishment in 2011, IIIDEM has conducted 1,885 training programmes reaching 120,883 participants across national and international platforms through both offline and online programmes, with its international training footprint extending to 142 countries. The institute collaborates with national and international partners to strengthen democratic governance and election management worldwide through training and capacity building, research and knowledge development, and promotion and advocacy.