Heads of Central Election Commissions of Commonwealth Countries Meet in Saint Petersburg
03 February 2026
Heads of Central Election Commissions of Commonwealth countries will meet in Saint Petersburg.
From 18 to 20 February, the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) will host the international conference “Building Trust in the Institution of Elections and Referendums: the Role of International Observation”
The event is dedicated to the anniversary of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD), whose establishment 20 years ago ended the monopoly on assessing the democratic nature of elections in sovereign states.
The program will include a meeting of the Consultative Council of Heads of Electoral Bodies of CIS Member Nations, to be held under the chairmanship of Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov.
Heads of Central Election Commissions of Commonwealth countries and other states, MPs, and experts will take part in the conference events.
The key topics of the conference will include:
— Artificial Intelligence and Its Application in Electoral Process: Protection Against Fakes and Risks of Digital Interference;
— Law, Rights, and “Rules” in International Observation: Who Sets Standards of “Fair Elections”?
— International Observation and Protection of Sovereignty;
— Beyond Unipolar Templates: How CIS Member Nations, African Countries, and Latin American Countries Cooperate in Monitoring Electoral Integrity.
On the sidelines of the conference, the exhibition “Elections of the Victors” will be presented, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the first post-war elections. Commonwealth countries will also showcase modern equipment used in elections.
The conference will open on 18 February with a Youth Day.
