Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy has described India’s election management system as a global benchmark in transparency, scale, and legal integrity during a high-level interaction with European officials in Brussels.
Reddy led a delegation that met H.E. Annabelle Hageman, Director General of FPS Interior, along with senior European Parliament representatives. He presented India’s electoral processes as a model for handling complexity, diversity, and scale.
Largest democratic operation in the world
Reddy noted that the Election Commission of India conducted the 2024–25 election cycle for nearly 979 million voters with the deployment of over 20 million personnel. He called it the largest election exercise ever undertaken globally.
He emphasized that Indian democracy operates across 23 official languages, multiple religions, and extreme geographical terrains from Himalayan hamlets to island settlements. Polling booths have served between one and 1,500 voters depending on location.
India maintains the world’s largest electoral roll, updated year-round with four qualifying dates. Of nearly a billion names listed in January 2025, authorities resolved over 20 million claims and objections. Only 89 appeals were eventually filed, showcasing the robustness of the verification process.
EVM-VVPAT system praised for security and transparency
Reddy underscored the integrity of India’s Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). He said the machines are standalone, non-networked, and tamper-proof. During the 2024 general elections, 705 million votes were counted in one day using 6.2 million EVMs. Voters viewed over 817 million VVPAT slips, and verification of 16 million slips showed no mismatches.
He added that the Supreme Court had dismissed all 41 legal challenges to EVMs over the last 35 years, reinforcing public confidence.
Elections in India are conducted under constitutional and statutory frameworks and are monitored by general, police, and expenditure observers. The system also integrates a growing digital ecosystem that includes voter and candidate apps for transparency.
“India has earned public trust through hard work and absolute transparency,” Reddy said. “The Election Commission today sets the global gold standard for elections held as per law.”