This GSoD In Focus Special Brief provides an overview of the state of democracy in Asia and the Pacific at the end of 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, and assesses some of the preliminary impacts that the pandemic has had on democracy in the region in 2020.
Key fact and findings include:
On Friday 11 December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and International IDEA co-organized a webinar to present the findings of International IDEA’s report The Global State of Democracy 2019: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise in Mongolia.
Sweden, represented by Mr Robert Rydberg, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Niklas Kebbon, Head of Department for International Law, Human Rights and Treaty Law, handed over the Chairship of International IDEA to the Australian Ambassador to Sweden, Mr Bernard Philip, at the Council of Member States meeting held on 1 December 2020.
GUEST PODCAST: The Votes and Ballots podcast interviewed Erik Asplund, International IDEA's Electoral Processes programmer officer about Elections and COVID-19. This external podcast is only available on the Votes and Ballots Soundcloud platform.
In 2015, the new Constitution of Nepal established a federal system of governance consisting of three spheres of governments —Federal, Provincial (Pradesh, 7) and Local (Palika, 753)— that exercise the state powers within the ambit of the Constitution and other laws.
Many governments are restricting information about COVID-19, clamping down on independent media and freedom of speech while polarisation and lack of political consensus have sparked unrest and distrust in elections and democratic processes.
Indonesia’s Head of Region elections (Pilkada) involving a little more than 100 million voters to elect 9 provincial governors, 37 mayors and 224 heads of regency (Bupati) are simultaneously held today. This is the largest one-day election held during the COVID-19 pandemic eclipsing the US General Elections, which, although larger in the number of voters, were held in more than one day through early-voting facilities.
When constitutions are written in response to violent conflict or as part of a peace process, a key aim of constitution-building is to end the fighting and channel disputes through political institutions. Because of this, people at the negotiating table tend to be parties to the conflict, who are predominately men. When constitution-building responds to broad social unrest, in comparison, a key aim is to create a new social and political order.
International IDEA celebrated its 25th Anniversary on the 19-20 of November through a 25-hour conference, "Democracy Now and Next." During the meeting, the Institute showcased its thematic expertise through 12 sessions and 63 speakers organized by our regional and country offices. The conference generated a global conversation about the future of democracy and the role of International IDEA.
The Queensland (QLD) state election on Saturday 31 October 2020 was remarkable on several fronts. It was the first election in the state and Australia. The two leading candidates from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberal-National Coalition (LNP) were females, Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deb Frecklington, respectively. In this election, surveys also predicted a close contest among the main parties.
The Secretary-General of International IDEA, Dr Kevin Casa-Zamora sent this letter dated 16 October 2020 to H.E. U Hla Thein, Chairman of Union Election Commission of Myanmar on the mVoter2020 application.
H.E. U Hla Thein
Chairman
Union Election Commission
Your Excellency,
Statement from the Board of Advisors on International IDEA’s role in Myanmar
Dear Member States,
International IDEA has paid close attention to the concerns that many domestic and international actors as well as civil society have expressed on the voter education tool mVoter2020. International IDEA has been in communication with the Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) relaying these concerns and suggesting that information on any candidate’s ethnicity and religion be eliminated from the application.
On 29 September, the Union Election Commission of Myanmar launched a mobile application mVoter2020 in order to provide information on candidates for the November 2020 general elections as well as voter education. The content of the app is the sole responsibility of the Election Commission under the applicable law and regulations of Myanmar.
In the Philippines, the House of Representatives and the Department of the Interior and Local Government are keen on beginning charter change discussions while the country is mitigating the effects of COVID-19. But what changes does the 1987 Constitution actually need? And how has the pandemic exacerbated key constitutional issues and trends?
On 10 August 2020, the government of the People’s Republic of China announced it would sanction several leaders of pro-democracy organizations, including Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); Ambassador Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute (NDI); Daniel Twinning, President of the International Republican Institute (IRI); and Micha
The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Constitutions Assessment Tool helps users to analyse a constitution from the perspective of indigenous peoples’ rights.
