The State committee of the Indian Human Rights Movement (IHRM) has written to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Stockholm, Sweden, seeking an urgent review and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as India’s Chair/representative in the organisation.
India assumed chairmanship of the Council of Member Countries for 2026, with Mr. Kumar serving as Chair in his capacity as India’s representative. In a letter addressed to the Secretary-General of International IDEA, with copies marked to the organisation’s Chair, members and Board of Advisers, IHRM State president Felix J. Pulludan called for replacing Mr. Kumar as India’s representative in the chairmanship, or for the organisation to take any other measure legally available under its statutes and rules of procedure pending an independent review.
“It is essential that the person exercising this authority be beyond serious and credible questions concerning the integrity, independence, and impartiality of electoral administration. Mr. Kumar’s record as Chief Election Commissioner of India has increasingly become the subject of serious documented controversy. This is no longer merely a matter of political criticism by opposition parties or civil society organisations,” the letter said.
International IDEA must safeguard its own institutional credibility, Mr. Pulludan said. The issue is not whether Mr. Kumar belongs to one political camp or another. The issue is whether an individual whose conduct as the head of India’s election administration is subject to serious, documented questions should simultaneously exercise a leadership role in the world’s principal intergovernmental organisation dedicated to democracy and electoral assistance, he said.
He urged the organisation to ensure that Mr. Kumar does not participate in, influence or preside over any deliberations concerning his own position, so that there can be no question of conflict of interest or procedural unfairness. The letter further urged International IDEA to consider establishing, in consultation with relevant Indian stakeholders and in accordance with its mandate and applicable procedures, an independent international electoral integrity observation or assessment mechanism for India.
