2026 FIDE Congress: List of Federations with Voting Rights
FIDE Congress 2026: List of Member Federations Entitled to Vote
The 2026 FIDE Congress will be one of the most important events in the calendar of the global chess organization. Representatives of national chess federations will gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the FIDE General Assembly scheduled for September 26–27 as the central event. Key decisions concerning the future of FIDE will be made there, including the election of the organization's leadership for the next four-year term.
With the elections approaching, the question of which federations will be able to participate directly in the vote has taken on particular importance. FIDE has officially published the current list of member federations entitled to vote at the 2026 General Assembly.
As of September 9, 2026, the list includes 202 federations.
Why the List of Federations Matters
The General Assembly is FIDE's highest decision-making body. It deals with the organization's most important matters, and in 2026 its role is particularly significant because of the presidential election.
According to the rules published by FIDE, each federation represented at the General Assembly has one vote. This means that a federation's influence is not directly determined by the number of registered chess players, the strength of its national team, or its position in the world rankings.
As a result, the vote of a small chess federation formally carries the same weight as that of one of the world's leading chess powers.
When and Where Will the General Assembly Take Place?
The FIDE Congress will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, as part of the organization's major chess program in 2026.
According to the official schedule:
* September 26 — General Assembly and presidential election;
* September 27 — continuation of the General Assembly;
* the Congress as a whole will include meetings of the General Assembly, FIDE Council, Continental/Zonal bodies and the organization's commissions.
The FIDE presidential election is scheduled for September 26, 2026.
Which Federations Have the Right to Vote?
The list published on September 9 contains 202 federations. The FIDE document includes not only the name and code of each federation, but also the president and delegate representing it at the General Assembly.
For convenience, the list can be considered alphabetically.
Federations from Afghanistan to Burundi
1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. Andorra
5. Angola
6. Antigua and Barbuda
7. Argentina
8. Armenia
9. Aruba
10. Australia
11. Austria
12. Azerbaijan
13. Bahamas
14. Bahrain
15. Bangladesh
16. Barbados
17. Belarus
18. Belgium
19. Belize
20. Bermuda
21. Bhutan
22. Bolivia
23. Bosnia and Herzegovina
24. Botswana
25. Brazil
26. British Virgin Islands
27. Brunei
28. Bulgaria
29. Burkina Faso
30. Burundi
Note: In the official document, federations are listed alphabetically according to their English names and assigned consecutive numbers. When checking the original source, the official federation codes should therefore be used as the primary reference.
Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas
The full official list covers virtually every region of the chess world. It includes China, India, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, England, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada and many others.
Importantly, the list includes not only major chess powers but also federations representing smaller states and territories, such as Nauru, Kiribati, Tonga, San Marino, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and others.
This highlights FIDE's global nature: the General Assembly represents not only the world's leading chess nations but the international chess community as a whole.
Full List of Federations Entitled to Vote
According to the official FIDE document dated September 9, 2026, the list includes:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The official FIDE document contains a specific note regarding Kosovo in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.
Who Will Represent the Federations?
The FIDE document separately lists the presidents and delegates of the member federations. However, the presence of a registered delegate does not, by itself, confirm voting eligibility. The right to vote is determined by the official electoral list. This distinction is particularly important in a presidential election year.
In some cases, the document lists only one name, while for certain federations the president or delegate is missing or marked as N/A. Nevertheless, the federation itself may still appear on the list of those entitled to vote.
Representatives of major chess powers listed in the current document include those from India, China, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, England, Spain, Poland, Norway, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, among others.
Why Is 2026 Particularly Important?
In an ordinary year, FIDE's electoral list would primarily be an administrative document. In 2026, however, the situation is very different.
FIDE is holding a presidential election that will determine the organization's leadership for the next four years. Three presidential tickets have completed the nomination process:
* Jan Henric Buettner — Malcolm Pein;
* Vadim Rosenstein — Gordon Tang;
* Timur Turlov — Viswanathan Anand.
As a result, every federation's vote takes on particular significance.
The General Assembly will also address other important issues. Among them, FIDE has indicated that the Assembly will determine the host of the 2030 Chess Olympiad.
What Does It Mean If a Federation Does Not Have the Right to Vote?
The right to attend FIDE events and the right to vote are not the same thing.
The electoral regulations establish a separate procedure for determining which federations are eligible to participate in voting. FIDE publishes the relevant electoral list alongside information about suspended federations. Therefore, simply being a national chess organization within the FIDE structure does not automatically mean that its representative will be able to vote on all matters before the General Assembly.
That is why the list published on September 9, 2026 is such an important document ahead of the General Assembly.
The Main Question: Who Will Shape FIDE's Future?
The year 2026 could become a turning point for FIDE. In Samarkand, the discussion will go far beyond formal procedures. The delegates will be choosing the direction in which the world's largest international chess organization will develop.
On one side are the presidential candidates and their programs. On the other are 202 federations, each of which, subject to the applicable representation requirements, has the opportunity to influence the decision-making process of the General Assembly.
This makes the electoral list much more than a routine administrative document. It is effectively a map of the federations that will have the opportunity to directly influence the leadership of world chess.
On September 26, voting will begin in Samarkand, determining a new chapter in FIDE's history. The published list of federations already makes it possible to understand who will have the opportunity to cast their vote and help shape the future of the organization.