IFFCO Chairman Dileep Sanghani is among 25 cooperative leaders from 24 countries contesting the 15 At-Large Director positions on the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Global Board, with the crucial elections scheduled to be held at the ICA General Assembly in Panama on September 15, 2026.
Sanghani’s candidature gives India a prominent presence in the global cooperative movement at a time when the country is pursuing an ambitious expansion of its cooperative sector. His bid is also significant for IFFCO, one of India’s leading cooperative organisations, and comes amid growing international attention on India’s cooperative-led development initiatives.
The 2026 ICA General Assembly will elect the ICA President and 15 At-Large Directors who will serve on the Global Board. Ariel Enrique Guarco of Argentina is the sole candidate for the presidency, putting him in line to continue leading the ICA.
The 30-member ICA Global Board comprises the President, four Vice Presidents representing the organisation’s four geographical regions, eight representatives nominated by ICA Sectoral Organisations, the Presidents of the Youth Committee and Gender Equality Committee, and 15 At-Large Directors elected directly by ICA members.
The At-Large Director contest has attracted candidates representing a broad cross-section of the international cooperative movement. Besides India’s Sanghani, candidates include Márcio Lopes De Freitas of Brazil, Marie-Josée Paquette of Canada, Yuyan Wang of China, Maria Eugenia Pérez of Colombia, Mesfin Gebreselassie of Ethiopia, Bastien Sibille of France, Bahman Abdollahi of Iran, Attolio Dadda of Italy, Yoshito Shinno of Japan, Abdel-Fattah Shalabi of Jordan, James Njue Njiru of Kenya, Abdul Fattah Abdullah of Malaysia, José Ricardo Téllez Barragán of Mexico and two candidates from Nigeria, Ojo Oladayo Akindehinde and Adeyemi Emmanuel Badejo.
The candidate list further includes representatives from Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam, underlining the wide geographical spread of the election.
For Sanghani, the election provides an opportunity for India to further strengthen its voice in global cooperative policymaking. India has been seeking greater international collaboration and visibility for cooperatives, particularly in areas such as agriculture, food security, rural development, technology, value addition and cooperative entrepreneurship.
The ICA Global Board has a wide-ranging governance mandate. It is responsible for setting strategic policy direction, overseeing financial stability, monitoring organisational performance and holding the Director-General accountable against agreed objectives. The Board also exercises oversight of risk management and audit functions while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
ICA Director-General Jeroen Douglas said democracy is a core principle of cooperation and welcomed the strong participation of members in the election. He said the Board carries enormous responsibility in guiding the organisation through the challenges facing the cooperative movement.
The last elective ICA General Assembly was held in Seville, Spain, in 2022. The Panama election will therefore mark a key opportunity for ICA members to shape the organisation’s global leadership and priorities for the next four years.
