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Forms of special voting arrangements (SVAs) conventionally include early, postal, online, proxy voting and use of mobile ballot boxes.

The open-list proportional representation (OLPR) system, as opposed to the closed-list version, allows voters to pick their favourite candidate from the party list while retaining proportionality of the election results.

In the Asia & the Pacific region, this system is used in among others: Fiji, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. What are the upsides, downsides and unintended consequences of this system? Follow the lecture and/or read the paper for the answers.

The need for physical distancing during this Covid-19 pandemic has raised the need for innovative campaign methods to be developed by election contestants because conventional campaign methods such as rallies, public meetings, etc. are prohibited in some jurisdictions.

There’s no denying that money plays an important role in politics. However, if the flow of money in politics, commonly known as political finance, is not well regulated, the danger is that this can mean that influence and political power are concentrated in the hands of a select few. There are already several systemic, cultural, educational, and legal barriers to the inclusion of women, people with disabilities, LGBTI individuals and young people in politics.

The second webinar of the Democratic Development in Melanesia Webinar Series held on 20 May 2021 presented the main findings of a recent study by International IDEA and its partner, MEMO 98, a Slovak non-profitmedia-monitoring organization, investigating how women politicians of Fiji are treated on Facebook.

The Centre for Education and Training (CET) of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International IDEA organized a training webinar on 27 April 2021, for 90+ Indonesian diplomats on the challenges and opportunities to democracy in the world's key regions. The webinar was part of an initiative that International IDEA offers to its Member States with training modules on a variety of democracy topics for their Diplomatic Training Programmes.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in the presence of our Melanesian Partners held the first webinar of the Democratic Development in Melanesia Webinar Series 2021 on 31 March. The webinar’s topic was “Electoral System of Fiji: Electoral Formula and Ballot Paper Design”. This webinar focused on Fiji and it was designed to help iron out misunderstandings and misgivings about the electoral system in place in Fiji.

Countries often amend their constitutions or enact new ones following major political events, such as the founding of newly independent states, the fall of an authoritarian regime or the end of violent conflict.

Significant constitutional reform at a crucial moment is often a high-stakes process because a constitution regulates access to public power and resources among different groups.

Democratic reform in Myanmar has suffered a grave setback. The EU’s response to the military coup must be strong enough to reverse the political crisis and restore and renew democracy in Myanmar.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has organized several major elections: those for the Bihar’s Legislative Assembly in November 2020 and indirect elections of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) held in March and June 2020. On 6 April 2021, State Assembly elections were organized in four Indian states and one union territory, calling alltogether 185 million eligible voters to decide the faith of 824 Assembly seats, making these elections one of th

There are various challenges to democracy which have worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries have experienced democratic backsliding and other problems from the perspective of democratic participation, human rights and the rule of law.

The International Women’s Day is observed worldwide on Monday 8th March.

Indira Oli is the vice-chair of Sanibheri Rural Municipality, West Rukum. Rukum is one of the places of origin of the decade-long civil war (1996-2006) in Nepal.

It struck us to find out how (badly) women are treated on social media. As a pilot effort, International IDEA is working together with MEMO 98, a Slovak-based non-profit media-monitoring organisation, to analyze how women politicians are treated on social media in Fiji.

The Coherence Programme, a co-creation of Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA), Department for International Development (DFID, now Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office or FCDO), and International IDEA has recently launched its mentoring support to three more local governments in Lumbini Province of Nepal in partnership with Nitishala Nepal

International IDEA condemns the coup by Myanmar’s military and expresses our deep concern for the detentions of President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Union Election Commission Chairman U Hla Thein, members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and civil society leaders, calling for their immediate release. We urge the military to fully respect, in words and in practice, the results of the recent parliamentary elections.

ADDIS ABABA - The COVID-19 pandemic has regressed key aspects of democracy in Africa and the Middle East, including the disruption of electoral processes, restrictions on civil liberties like freedom of expression, and increasing persecution of opposition leaders and parties. The pandemic has hit the region at a time in which the significant advances of democracy in the last decades were coming to a halt.  

The right to cast a vote in democratic elections stands at the core of people’s political rights. However, for citizens residing abroad the issue is less straightforward. Should people that have made a choice to live in another country still have voting rights in their country of origin? If so, should the state be responsible for facilitating their vote from abroad—or should citizens simply have the option of returning to exercise their right?

International IDEA participated at the webinar "Facing Current Challenges on Democracy, Peace and Security", organized on Wednesday, 7 January 2021, by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences together with Asia Pacific Association for Peace Research (APPRA). Leena Rikkilä Tamang, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, presented the major regional findings of The Global State of

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) together with the implementing Partners of the C3- Fiji Project concluded the third annual National Forum on Women in Politics on 15 December 2020.