As part of the #Protagonistas: Parity-Power-Youth campaign, an initiative undertaken by International IDEA and the Coordinadora de la Mujer, with backing from the Swedish Embassy, five virtual meetings were held in the autonomous regions of La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Tarija and El Beni.

There is a spark of light in the current darkness. The magnitude and multifaceted effects of the coronavirus pandemic have drawn attention to the need for evidence-based policy responses. Even some of the most reluctant political leaders are returning to experts and established knowledge to aid their decision making in this time of crisis. If experts are indeed back in from the cold and this not just a temporary anomaly, this is good news for democracy.

Burundians will go to the polls on 20 May 2020 for presidential, legislative and local elections in spite of the risks posed by the coronavirus. As of 17 May, there were 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus and one death in the country, but the total figure of cases is believed to be higher.

The global spread of COVID-19 has already profoundly impacted the health and welfare of citizens around the world. Decisions being made about how elections are run during the pandemic will have a further profound effect, shaping the health of democracy in the future.

The COVID-19 outbreak has substantially increased the presence of experts in national politics. As Sam van der Staak writes, however, experts on democracy have so far had relatively little involvement in government responses to the pandemic. He argues that once the crisis shifts beyond the immediate disaster-control phase, democracy experts should seek a central role in shaping what comes next.

Rather than focusing solely on a questionable constitutional interpretation process, complementary democratic pathways through the COVID-19 emergency and election delay should also be considered.

Nearly two months after Poland’s political leadership began to contemplate how presidential elections could be held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan still hangs in uncertainty, partisanship has run its full course and institutional checks and balances are in severe disarray.

Parliaments and Crisis is the new Parliamentary Primer produced by the INTER PARES project, funded by the European Union and delivered by International IDEA. Written in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the Primer looks at how democratic parliaments play a crucial role in making good decisions and protecting citizens’ rights during a crisis.

In the early 2000s, a sense of euphoria about online voting could be felt in many countries and election expert communities alike. After all, this seemed the logical next frontier of the internet: making elections more convenient, accessible and cheaper.

‘"A free press and an active political opposition constitute the best early-warning system a country (…) can have”