India's electoral system among most transparent, credible worldwide: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Moradabad (UP), Jul 16 (PTI) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday said India's electoral system is among the most transparent, impartial and credible in the world, asserting that free and fair elections backed by error-free electoral rolls form the foundation of a strong democracy. Addressing booth-level officers (BLOs) and supervisors at an interaction programme held at Teerthanker Mahaveer University here, Kumar said the role of BLOs is crucial in ensuring accuracy of electoral rolls. "India's electoral system is among the most transparent, impartial and credible in the world," he said. During the programme, he interacted with BLOs and supervisors and issued guidelines on purification of electoral rolls, transparency in the electoral process and conduct of free and fair elections, asserting that an error-free voter list is foundational for a strong democracy. Talking to reporters after the event, the CEC said he was pleased to interact with election officials during his visit to Moradabad and emphasised that he would hold similar interactions with BLOs during future official visits across the country. He said India is chairing the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in 2026, describing it as a recognition of the country's democratic institutions at the global level. Kumar said the three key stages of the electoral process -- preparation of electoral rolls, polling and counting of votes -- are conducted under a transparent system. He said political parties and contesting candidates continuously scrutinise these processes, which contributes to the credibility and transparency of India's election management system. PTI COR ABN ARB ARB