Poll Body, State Panels Adopt National Declaration For Unified Voter Rolls

The National Round Table Conference of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and State Election Commissioners concluded in New Delhi with the adoption of the National Declaration 2026, placing renewed emphasis on unified and accurate voter rolls as the cornerstone of democratic governance.

The conference, held at Bharat Mandapam, was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. Addressing participants, Kumar underscored the importance of institutional coordination between national and state election bodies to ensure harmonised voter roll management and efficient conduct of elections within constitutional mandates.

The declaration affirms that pure voter rolls form the bedrock of democracy and emphasises that transparent and efficient election conduct strengthens public trust. It calls for mutually acceptable and legally viable mechanisms to enable closer cooperation across the country in key election processes, including the sharing of digital platforms, voter rolls, voting technology, and institutional training infrastructure.

It further commits the ECI and State Election Commissions to work towards aligning laws governing Panchayat and Municipal elections with those for Parliament and State Legislatures, aiming to bring greater coherence to India's electoral framework. The declaration also encourages wider participation of State Election Commissions in the ECI's international engagements and proposes that the National Round Table Conference be convened annually alongside global election management events.

Officials said recommendations made by State Election Commissioners during the deliberations will be examined by a joint team of legal and technical experts, with a State and Union Territory-wise roadmap to be submitted to the ECI within three months for further action.

During the event, the ECI launched a Confluence of Democracies, documenting deliberations from the India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management and the adoption of the Delhi Declaration 2026.