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On 17 October, representatives from EU Member States and Western Balkans electoral authorities, independent institutions, civil society, and media experts gathered in Tirana for the regional conference “Overseeing Digitalization in Electoral Processes: Towards Closer Convergence Between the EU and the Western Balkans.” 

AI’s Nuanced Role in Democracy 

North Macedonia has emerged as a notable case study for better understanding foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)—how democratic and media vulnerabilities, societal divisions and domestic actors all play a part. Despite formal commitments to democratic reforms and European Union integration, the country remains vulnerable to corruption, and its regulatory gaps—combined with polarization and ethnic cleavages—make for a politicized media landscape.

Digitalization is transforming electoral processes across the European Union and its aspiring members. While it strengthens democratic participation, it also introduces risks, from opaque political financing and disinformation to foreign interference and cybersecurity threats. These challenges demand strong digital governance to keep elections free, fair and transparent within and beyond EU borders. 

This report analyses the European digital regulation and its impact on electoral integrity. Through a comprehensive approach, it examines how the EU digital playbook will play a role in regulating the main challenges of our (digital) democracies: data protection threats, cybersecurity attacks, content moderation, online gender-based violence, the use of AI in electoral management, online electoral campaigns, and the use of AI-generated content during elections. 

As Ukraine prepares for post-war elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) is assessing how artificial intelligence (AI) could strengthen electoral administration.

As part of the EU-funded INSPIRE UA project “Inclusive Support for Participation, Involvement, Representation, and Engagement of Ukrainians Abroad”, International IDEA facilitated a series of consultative visits by representatives of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Embassies of Ukraine to Finland, Denmark and Sweden on 8-16 September 2025.

According to democracy indices, elections fared somewhat better than Poland’s other democratic institutions during the period in question (2018–2023). Elections in Poland retained competitiveness and engagement, but the quality of public debate suffered and confidence in election administration and dispute resolution was undermined. The other powerful contributor to resilience of the electoral process was civil society mobilization.

The resilience of democracy increasingly depends on the integrity of the information space. International IDEA’s new report titled “Safeguarding Democracy: EU Development at the Nexus of Elections, Information Integrity, and Artificial Intelligence” examines seven country case studies that held elections in 2024.

Over the past decade, information integrity has emerged as a cornerstone of healthy democracies, underpinning public trust, accountable governance and meaningful citizen participation. As digital spaces have become increasingly polluted by disinformation and fake content, exacerbated by the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence, societies face growing challenges in distinguishing fact from fiction.

On 16 August in Chișinău, International IDEA brought together members and staff of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), chairpersons of District Electoral Councils (DECs) and representative of the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CICDE), for a hands-on workshop on electoral risk management. The training comes as Moldova prepares for its parliamentary elections on 28 September 2025.

This report delivers a comprehensive review of out-of-country campaign regulations across all 27 EU Member States. It synthesises legislative analyses, international standards and interviews to map rules on campaign events, media and public gatherings beyond national borders.

Statement on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the International Institute for 
Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Released by the Council of Member States on 12 June 2025

Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity, 10–12 June 2025

Preamble

Since the Stockholm Founding Conference in 1995, International IDEA has worked to deliver policy-relevant knowledge, capacity development, advocacy and dialogue facilitation to advance and protect sustainable democracy globally.

In 2023, International IDEA and the Australian Election Commission partnered to host a series of virtual seminars aimed at bringing together electoral practitioners from around the world to discuss topics relating to electoral integrity. These seminars were designed to stimulate discussion and exchanges on key themes underpinning public trust in elections, such as operational integrity, security of the process and the information environment around elections.

Mr. Oleh Didenko, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine and Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi, the State Election Commissioner of Albania, signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Election Commission of Albania and Ukraine in Tirana, Europe day, May 9, 2025.

Czechia is a multiparty parliamentary democracy, with a prime minister as head of the government and a president as head of state. The president, the parliament, and local and municipal councils are directly elected by the people. The electoral management body (EMB) follows a governmental model, with the permanent state-level Election Commission presided over by the minister of the interior.

Under the LEGITIMULT project, International IDEA hosted the ‘Lessons from Covid-19 Journalism in a Post-Pandemic Future’ media workshop at its headquarters in Stockholm. The workshop focused on key lessons and challenges from the pandemic and explored strategies for ethical, effective, and impactful reporting during crises. LEGITIMULT assesses the impact of the measures taken during the Covid-19 crisis by various international, national and subnational governments on multilevel institutions and intergovernmental relations. The insights from the media workshop will contribute to LEGITIMULT’s research, which seeks to develop a model for legitimate crisis governance.