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Achieving gender equality and political empowerment of women is now more relevant that ever and it is a responsibility that pertains to all the local, national, regional and international actors.

This Policy Brief is based on the International IDEA Discussion Paper ‘Sanctions, Rewards and Learning: Enforcing democratic accountability in the delivery of health, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene’.

Banning donations by foreign interests to parties or candidates is a common regulatory measure.

“The rationale is quite simple: (…) to protect the principle of self-determination and national sovereignty,” International IDEA’s political finance expert Sam Jones stated in his testimony to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Australian Parliament, given on 16 February.

Aclaración: Las opiniones expresadas en este artículo son exclusivas de su autor e independientes de intereses nacionales o políticos particulares. Además, estas opiniones no representan necesariamente la posición institucional de IDEA Internacional, su Junta de Asesores o su Consejo de Estados Miembros.

Stellan Vinthagen, the Endowed Chair in the Study of Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Resistance at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the United States of America, gave a talk at International IDEA about the relationship between democratisation and resistance, on 24 January 2017, co-hosted by International IDEA and the Swedish Development Forum (Föreningen för Utvecklingsfrågor, FUF).

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this commentary are those of the staff member. This commentary is independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.

A constitutional text that enshrines and protects gender equality and women’s rights is a significant achievement.

However, a new constitutional text marks only the beginning, and not the end, of the road to achieving substantive gender equality. The constitutional provisions and the principles on which they are based must be put into practice through the processes of constitutional implementation.

This Policy Brief shares documented examples and lessons from approaches to results management and evaluation in democracy assistance work that have successfully enabled flexibility, learning and ownership.

Voter turnout is an important indicator of how citizens participate in the governance of their country.

Higher voter turnout is often a sign of the vitality of democracy, while lower turnout is usually associated with voter apathy and mistrust of the political process.

Results management approaches can play useful roles in making democracy assistance projects more effective and enhancing their impact.

Robust and relevant approaches to planning, implementation and monitoring of projects, and feeding back learning, have proved useful for achieving and assessing results in democracy assistance.

This year will be remembered as the year that put direct democracy back on the agenda.

Granting citizens a direct say in political decisions is often part of the political system in a country.

It is crucial to make a clear distinction between the different mechanisms and procedures of direct democracy. The terminology used by the jurisdictions can vary to describe the various direct democracy instruments. Therefore it is essential to agree on common definitions for the same institutions and processes.

The case for direct democracy

Direct democracy is here to stay and should be welcomed. Direct democracy mechanisms such as referendums, citizens’ initiatives, agenda initiatives, and recall votes, reinforce the fundamental principle of democratic self-governance, provide a check on the tendency of representatives to become disconnected from their electors, and can enhance the popular legitimacy underpinning key political decisions. 

Opportunities and Challenges to Democracy in 2016

This year has been dubbed ‘the year of direct democracy’.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the individual author. This commentary is independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.

During International IDEA's Council of Member States meeting on 8-9 December, and in the presence of Yves Leterme, Secretary-General of International IDEA, Mongolia, represented by the Chargé d'affaires of the Mongolian Embassy in Sweden,  Bulgan Enkhtuvshin, handed over the Chairship of International IDEA to Peru, represented by the Ambassador of Peru to Sweden, José Beraún Aranibar. Peru will take up its role as the Chair of International IDEA in 2017.

International IDEA has conceptualized this Framework in order to provide an example of the main elements of an internal gender policy for an electoral management body (EMB).

Its purpose is to support EMBs in their aspirations and efforts to create their own internal gender policies in recognition of their mandates and political status in different countries around the world.

“Since I was born, I never got to vote. The same person has been in power for 30 years. Nothing would change if I could vote”, said Yaccub Said Islam of Cameroon.

For elections to meet international standards, inclusion of underrepresented groups should be ensured, affirmed participants at a workshop on “Marginalized Groups in Electoral Processes” organized by International IDEA in Stockholm, on 22-23 November 2016.