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Ever since the current election commissioners took office in late 2013, they have confronted various difficulties. From the controversial circumstances surrounding the February 2014 General Elections to the Constitutional Referendum in August 2016,  the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) has been facing heightened risks in managing electoral processes, not least due to deeply divided society, including its civil society.

Substate constitutions serve similar purposes as central-state constitutions.

They define the system of governance of the substate entity, outline its institutions and define the responsibilities of those institutions. They also explain the separation of powers between substate institutions, and may codify citizens’ rights vis-à-vis the substate entity.

Attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines is nothing new. Previous administrations have pushed for opening up the constitution in reference to varying political reasons, but have not been successful. This time around, however, the reason of opening up the constitution for review is centered on a campaign promise by President Rodrigo Duterte to adopt federalism.

In its Policy Paper No. 14 entitled “Risk Management in Elections”, International IDEA proposed six key recommendations for standardizing risk management in elections.

“Sedia payung sebelum hujan” is an Indonesian adage that means one must be prepared for any pitfalls. Its English transliteration is “Get an umbrella ready before it rains”. Like rain, some pitfalls can be anticipated and some cannot. Rain can be expected by the gradual appearance of grey clouds, but rain may also suddenly fall on a sunny day. Managing elections is no different. There are risks involved that are both apparent and not so obvious.

A Forum organized by the National Election Commission of Korea and the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), gathered electoral management bodies (EMBs), international organizations and experts from around the world to discuss three particular themes: measures to develop policy focused elections, expanding the freedom of expression in politics and ways to improve civic participa

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.

This Constitution Brief provides basic information about the nature and functions of constitutions and is intended for use by constitution-makers and other democratic actors and stakeholders in Myanmar.

This Constitution Brief provides a basic guide to constitutional courts and the issues that they raise in constitution-building processes, and is intended for use by constitution-makers and other democratic actors and stakeholders in Myanmar.

“Our role is to be transparent, accountable and responsible in our oversight function, now that Myanmar is transitioning towards democracy”, said by U Aye Tha Aung, Deputy Speaker of the Union Parliament of Myanmar and of the Amyotha Hluttaw and Chair of the Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee (JPAC).

To observe the International Women’s Day, the 2^nd National Conference on Women in Governance, Leadership & Politics in Bhutan with a regional dimension was organised between 8 -10 March 2017 by the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and the Bhutan Network for Empowering Women (BNEW) in collaboration with Women Children and Youth Committee of the National Assembly, Election Commission of Bhutan, Department of Local Governance and Bhutan Democracy Dialogu

Myanmar has trained 1,500 election officials ahead of its by-elections on 1 April 2017, when more than 2 million citizens will choose 19 parliamentary representatives among 94 candidates. The by-elections will be held in 22 different townships scattered across eight of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions. These areas include places where general elections could not be held in 2015 due to continued armed insurgency.  

The Royal Government of Bhutan decided in early February to drop their pledge to introduce a 20 per cent quota for women in all elected offices. Lyonpo Dorji Choden, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and the only woman minister in the Cabinet, announced at a press conference that the decision was made based on consultative meetings with stakeholders held by the Commission.

Does the constitution have a special provision for gender equality? Who implements the rights enshrined in Myanmar’s constitution?

These were some of the questions on the lips of participants from civil society, academia, the judiciary and parliamentarians at an introductory workshop on the constitution assessment for women’s equality held in Yangon in February 2017.

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.

Indonesian voters in seven provinces, 76 regencies and 18 cities will go to polls on15 February 2017, to elect their governors, regents and mayors respectively.

It is with great sadness that International IDEA has learned of the murder of U Ko Ni.

A respected adviser to the National League for Democracy on legal issues, he worked to improve constitutionalism, the rule of law and democracy in his country. U Ko Ni generously shared his time with IDEA over the past few years both in Myanmar and abroad, his expertise and insights will be greatly missed. IDEA passes our condolences to his family and friends of the second victim U Nay Win.

“This training is useful for us as some unclear questions for us were answered.” - Daw Win Win Myint, Member of Yangon Region Election Sub-commission

Democracy is a system that allows for disagreement, for orderly competition between political parties and candidates in a “battle of ideas.”