Elections are the cornerstone of democratic political processes, serving as a mechanism for political parties or candidates to compete for public office under equal conditions before the electorate. For an election to be credible, the competition must be fair, requiring impartial management of the process. As described in International IDEA’s Handbook on Electoral Management Design (Catt et al.
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El domingo pasado, 21 de noviembre, se realizó en Chile la elección presidencial, parlamentaria y de Consejeros Regionales (CORES). En concreto se escogieron 155 diputados, 27 senadores (la mitad del Senado) y 302 CORES a lo largo de todo el territorio nacional y los dos cantidatos que pasaron a segunda vuelta presidencial que se definirá el 19 de diciembre.
Timor-Leste is deep into preparations for the upcoming presidential elections, anticipated in March 2022. Given the ongoing global Covid pandemic, the country’s two electoral management bodies (EMBs)—the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) and the National Commission on Elections (CNE)—are working to revise internal regulations and procedures to support Covid-safe elections.
Muchos gobiernos democráticos están adoptando cada vez más tácticas autoritarias, acentuadas por la pandemia de Covid-19, mientras que los regímenes autocráticos están consolidando su poder.
This press release is available in English.
Many democratic governments are increasingly adopting authoritarian tactics, accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, while autocratic regimes are consolidating their power.
Esta nota de prensa está disponible en español.
Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated these threats through the imposition of states of emergency, the spread of disinformation, and crackdowns on independent media and freedom of expression.
Recent declines in democracy have undermined some of the remarkable progress made in Africa over the past three decades, although bright spots remain. The Covid-19 pandemic, though seemingly less damaging to public health than elsewhere in the world, has added pressure on governance, rights, and social inequality. The report also covers the Middle East and North Africa which is one of the least democratic regions in the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic initially broke out in the Asia and the Pacific region in late 2019, with the first cases in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has served as a magnifier of pre-existing democratic strengths and weaknesses within governing systems around Asia and the Pacific. In the majority of cases, the region’s hybrid and authoritarian regimes tightened their grip on society in response to the pandemic. Quality of democracy continued to decline in number of region’s democracies.
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.
The number of democracies in the Americas remains the same as two years ago despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, most of the democracies in the region demonstrated great resilience in the face of the pandemic. Parliaments, the judiciary and the media of most democracies in the region managed to adapt and continue to exercise their control functions, even in the midst of numerous restrictions that hampered their work.
Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism.
International IDEA’s Annual Review of Constitution-Building Processes: 2020 provides a retrospective account of constitutional reform processes around the world and from a comparative perspective, and their implications for national and international politics.
International IDEA celebró un seminario web para presentar su nuevo documento de debate titulado "La democracia y el desafío del cambio climático" el 26 de octubre de 2021. El evento presentó el documento y brindó una plataforma para discutir las fortalezas de las democracias y las herramientas innovadoras a su disposición para abordar la crisis climática.
CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ— Una iniciativa de IDEA Internacional apoyada por 40 ex ministros de relaciones exteriores, solicita que en el marco de la 51 Asamblea General de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA), a realizarse entre el 10 y el 12 de noviembre de 2021, los cancilleres y jefes de delegación de la OEA convoquen a una Asamblea General Extraordinaria para tomar acciones enmarcadas en los compromisos de la Carta Democrática.
Against a background of deteriorating informational environments, falling trust in state institutions and growing electoral result disputation, electoral processes and those who administer them are increasingly being placed under the microscope.
International IDEA held a webinar to launch its new Discussion Paper entitled "Democracy and the Challenge of Climate Change” on 26 October 2021. The event presented the Paper and provided a platform to discuss the strengths of democracies and innovative tools available to them to tackle the climate crisis.
Los cuatro ex presidentes que suscribimos esta declaración junto con el Secretario General de IDEA Internacional lo hacemos bajo la misma convicción que nos ha guiado antes pronunciarnos en defensa de la democracia en nuestra región. Hoy nos convoca la grave situación de Nicaragua.
This statement is available in English.
PANAMA CITY— The general elections held November 7, 2021 in Nicaragua have greatly aggravated the crisis affecting that country.
CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ— Las elecciones generales del 7 de noviembre de 2021 en Nicaragua han agudizado la crisis de manera inquietante en ese país.
We, the four former presidents who sign this declaration, along with the Secretary General of International IDEA, do so following the same convictions that guided us before when we issued a statement in defense of democracy in our region. Today we are brought together by the grave situation in Nicaragua.