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Voters in Timor-Leste went to the polls on 19 March 2022 to choose a President for a five-year term commencing on 20 May. This was the fifth presidential election since Indonesian rule had come to an end following a historic vote for independence on 30 August 1999. Contested by 16 candidates, four of whom were women, it marked a further consolidation of the country’s reputation as one of the strongest electoral democracies in South East Asia.

International IDEA views the Summit for Democracy as a strategic opportunity to place democracy at the front and center of the global agenda. The war in Ukraine underscores, even more, the need for democracies to stand united in the face of authoritarian threats. International IDEA has therefore developed a strategic engagement programme around the Summits for Democracy in 2021 and 2023 and the Year of Action 2022.

The number of women in parliament is consistently low throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Many factors contribute to this situation, but studies suggest that one major factor relates to the way that women are treated on social media. This report aims to identify how women politicians fare against their male counterparts on social media and to evaluate whether women in politics face a greater challenge than men.

Remember this web article? Entitled “Research report preview: How are Fiji's women politicians treated on social media?”, the article served as a teaser for the full Report. The Report along with its entire data and analysis is hereby launched.

The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women must be at the heart of our effort to strengthen democracy worldwide. Through behaviorally informed interventions, we can help small changes in the way legislatures oversee the use of public funds make a big difference in gender equality in the long run. 

On International Women’s Day, we recognize the key roles Filipino indigenous women play in their communities and beyond. With approximately 17 million Indigeneous Peoples (IP) living in the Philippines, the highest IP population are in the Bangsamoro and Cordillera regions.

The 22 years old Saraswati Nepali is the mom of two kids and lives approximately five hours' drive (and five hours walk) away from the headquarter of Karnali Province, Surkhet—a place that paid the heaviest of prices in the 10 year-long armed conflict from 1996-2006. Her first son is eight years old, and her second son is four and half years old, almost as old as her term of office as a ward member in Shiwalaya Rural Municipality (RM) of Karnali Province.

Women make up over half of Myanmar’s population, yet significant obstacles remain for women to be able to participate in political processes and to achieve equal representation in Myanmar’s state institutions. Before the military coup on 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s 2020 general elections saw an increased number of women elected as members in legislatures (16 per cent) in comparison to the 2015 elections (13 per cent).

After months of anticipation, on 16 January the presidential election in Timor-Leste was called for 19 March 2022. Electors will choose between 16 candidates—four women and twelve men—running for the post of President. Should no candidate receive a majority, the country will see a run-off one month later on 19 April.

International IDEA, together with our funding partners and civil society organizations (CSOs), have been convening an annual National Forum on Women in Politics (NFWP) in Fiji since 2018.

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.

On 1 February last year, the Myanmar military abruptly took control of the central state institutions and arrested the elected President, many senior officials and political leaders.

A five-day workshop was held in October 2021 for 22 secretariat staff of the National Assembly (NA) and National Council (NC), the two parliamentary houses of Bhutan. The workshop aimed at identifying the Parliament of Bhutan’s communication needs and explore opportunities of leveraging new possibilities provided by the mainstream and social media platforms for effective parliamentary communications.

International IDEA led the development of the Working Paper, "Mechanisms of Democracy and Fundamental Rights" as part of Club de Madrid's Global Commission on Democracy and Emergencies. 

The Scope and Content of the Sri Lankan Constitution: Perspectives of Opinion Leaders comprises a summary of findings that assesses the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of leaders from the four main ethnic communities (Sinhala, Tamil, Up Country Tamil and Muslim) across the island. These leaders included religious leaders, government officials, office holders of community-based organizations, teachers and school principals.

Season's Greetings from International IDEA and warm wishes for 2022!

STOCKHOLM—A new Global Democracy Coalition of more

In his Opening Speech to the Summit for Democracy, U.S. President Joe Biden cited International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy 2021 Report’s alarming findings on democratic decline.

A Global Democracy Coalition of more than 40 democracy organisations and 200 activists, academics, think tanks, media organizations, students, politicians, philanthropic organizations and democracy assistance providers from around the world will gather in a virtual Forum for 24 hours on Tuesday, 7 December. This comes ahead of the U.S.