Organising the first post-war elections will pose unprecedented challenges for Ukraine, as a significant part of the electoral infrastructure has been damaged, and millions of voters are now displaced within or outside the country.
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International IDEA facilitated the discussion on the role of the open government for Ukraine's democratic resilience and reconstruction in the framework of the 8th Open Government Partnership Global Summit, which took place on September 6-7, 2023 in Tallinn, Estonia.
The involvement of youth in electoral and democratic governance processes is crucial for inclusive democratic governance globally, including the strengthening of Sierra Leone's democracy.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is implementing a two-year European Union-funded project titled: ‘Sierra Leone Democracy Strengthening Project’.
The European Union, Member States and election bodies need to explore the possibilities to provide support for Ukraine to ensure that the millions of displaced voters due to the Russian aggression can vote in the first post-war elections, according to a dialogue of European lawmakers, election management bodies and experts.
Local governance comprises a set of institutions, mechanisms and processes through which citizens and their groups can articulate their interests and needs and mediate their differences. The participation of citizens in governance is one of the underlying components of democracy. Engaging citizens in the act of governance engenders transparency, improves accountability and public resource management and brings about good policy outcomes, development and the social well-being of citizens.
The European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) covers six countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The Covid-19 pandemic put a strain on fledgling democracies in the EaP region, aggravating pre-existing concerns, such as the weak rule of law, insufficient accountability of executive branches vis-à-vis legislatures and fragile media freedoms (see International IDEA 2022).
Excellencies,
Russia’s war of choice has wrought enormous infrastructural and human damage across Ukraine. The international community broadly accepts the necessity of providing significant financial and technical assistance for reconstruction in Ukraine, but equally vital is the provision of concomitant support for Ukraine’s work to preserve and reconstruct its democracy and democratic institutions on its own terms.
International IDEA deplores the illegal and illegitimate holding of referendums in Ukraine's occupied territories on joining the Russian Federation. Staged to imitate the pursuit of self-determination of people, they are an egregious abuse of this direct democracy tool by a hostile occupying power.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Meta announced a stark change in its policy.
In April 1953, six weeks after the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, eight years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, and three years before Soviet tanks crushed the Hungarian Revolution, US President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his "
In the weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the dominant Western narrative has focused on the need to defend not just Ukraine but “democracy.” Experts and leaders have equated support for Ukraine with the defence of the legitimacy of the democratic model of governance.
Opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.
The experience of the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan illustrates the risks as Europe tries to find alternatives to Russian energy.
Opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.
Excellencies,
Increasing authoritarianism in some countries, such as Russia, coupled with gradual democratic erosion around the world, poses an exceptional threat to a rules-based global order, and consequently to peace and prosperity. The invasion of Ukraine is the most blatant and tragic realization of this threat.
By partner organizations in the Global Democracy Coalition and others in solidarity with Ukraine and its people
Today will live in infamy. A few hours ago, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine, a sovereign nation and a democracy.
In cooperation with the State Electoral Office of Estonia, International IDEA convened a group of European electoral management bodies on 15 December 2021, to discuss the cybersecurity aspects of elections, five years after the initial wave of cybersecurity concerns emerged. The EMBs participated from Austria, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.
For more than a decade, a majority of Europe’s established democracies have seen the quality of their democracies stagnate—or even decline—rather than improve. Some show the clear erosion of democratic processes and fundamental rights; several have deteriorated to the point where they can hardly be qualified as democracies any longer. The arrival of the Covid-19 global health crisis has added to the strain.