(Commonwealth)_ A five-day Commonwealth training programme in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 5–9 May 2025, brought together leading electoral administrators of six Commonwealth Asia Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to explore the promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in election management. It was a platform for regional collaboration, information sharing, and strategic plotting on how AI can contribute to democratic processes without undermining public confidence.
The training was the final regional capacity-building event of the third phase of the Commonwealth Election Professionals (CEP) Initiative, an initiative that began in January 2021 and is funded by the Australian Government. The phase closed with a comprehensive workshop that covered emerging trends, ethical challenges, and practical applications of AI in election contexts. The discussions were placed against enhancing electoral integrity, transparency, and inclusiveness through responsible innovation.
In his keynote speech, the Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka stated the growing significance of AI in government, communication, and opinion-building. He informed us that we must wisely manage AI, which is no longer a future vision but a present force. Considering local initiatives, he mentioned Sri Lanka’s early steps toward accepting AI for purposes such as cleansing electoral rolls and improving accessibility features, particularly translations, for the nation’s multiethnic provinces.
But the overall message reinforced the necessity for human domination of election-related affairs. The conference reminded everyone that, although AI might be an extremely powerful tool, it must be a helper and not a replacement for human judgment in electoral administration. The integrity of elections, attendants agreed, ultimately rests with institutions led by humans, not algorithms. Throughout the five-day course, delegates glanced at the evolving electoral integrity context and gained insights into the fundamentals of AI technology. The course educated them through practical examples of AI’s application in global election processes, providing lessons for both inspiration and caution. Sessions also examined the legal and regulatory framework of leveraging AI tools, particularly where sensitive activities are involved, like voter education, campaign observation, monitoring of misinformation, and developing training materials for election officials.
The training workshop gave participants the chance to critically consider how they could responsibly employ AI to enhance the efficiency, scope, and security of their respective EMBs. Many of the participants felt more confident in identifying where AI could serve to simplify their electoral processes, namely in civic education, public awareness campaigns, and social media tracking.
With the closing of this stage of the initiative on a high note, the CEP programme will be commencing the fourth stage on 1 July 2025. With the Australian Government’s support still ongoing, the subsequent phase will be focused on scaling up the learning, deepening regional collaborations, and addressing emerging technologies like AI at an even higher level.
Through pioneering proactive engagement with AI in the form of combined training and common standards, Commonwealth EMBs are taking constructive steps toward making electoral systems future-proof and strengthening public trust in the democratic process.
