About the Chairship of the Council of Member States

The primary responsibility of the Chair is to lead the governance agenda of the Institute. This includes, amongst others, the following responsibilities:  

• Chairing International IDEA’s governance meetings, initiating Council activities and decisions as well as overseeing nominations processes
• Ensuring strategic communications with Member States and other governance bodies
• Acting as the Secretary-General’s line manager
• Ensuring a successful handover with the incoming Chairship troika

The Chair meets with the Secretariat on a regular basis throughout the Chairship year and may engage in joint activities with the Institute’s regional, country and liaison offices. The Chair also supports the advocacy and representation of International IDEA and can utilize the Chairship to convene regional or global events on selected democracy priorities.  

In addition to providing leadership to the Institute, the Chair selects a priority theme and objectives for its Chairship. The 2026 Chair, India, has selected “Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient and sustainable world” as its Chairship theme, reflecting a global and ambitious Chairship agenda. India's Chairship will address two major pillars:

• Pillar 1: Reimagining Democracy for the Future
• Pillar 2: Strong, Independent & Professional Electoral Management Bodies

Previous Chairship themes include Switzerland's 2025 Chairship focus on the interplay between democracy, inclusion and prosperity, Luxembourg's 2024 Chairship priority on gender and democracy, the emphasis on learning of the Dutch Chairship of 2023 and the focus on the challenges of disinformation of the Canadian Chairship of 2022.