Search

STOCKHOLM—The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s Annual Democracy Forum will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 25-26 August 2016 under the theme, ‘Learning from Democratic Transitions in Asia and the Pacific: An Inter-Generational Dialogue’.

A total of 67 candidates, including four women, as well as incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Charmaine Scotty, who is also a government Minister, stood for the 19-seat Parliament in the elections in Nauru on 9 July 2016. These 19 seats are distributed amongst 8 multi-member constituencies. Ubenide and Meneng has 4 and 3 seats, respectively, while the rest are 2-member seats. Both Ubenide and Meneng attracted the highest number of candidates at 16 and 11 candidates respectively.

Representatives from 15 Fijian government agencies, state-owned enterprises and civil society organizations in Suva came together to assess democratic accountability in service delivery.

On 25 September 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ (the 2030 Agenda) as an outcome of the UN Sustainable Development Summit.

Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, development experts, statisticians and organizations have discussed the follow-up and review mechanisms for monitoring implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Transitional elections are complex environments for the enforcement of campaign finance regulations. Myanmar 2015 General Elections was no exception.

Election campaign filled with propaganda and heated debates is nothing to the Philippines, a country that enjoys relative success of sustained democracy since ending the authoritarian rule 30 years ago. Philippines’ political landscape may however change considerably as a result of the 9 May general elections where more than 1,800 posts are at stake including that of the President and the Vice President, with implications to the people of the conflict-ridden region of Muslim Mindanao.

Election campaign filled with propaganda and heated debates is nothing to the Philippines, a country that enjoys relative success of sustained democracy since ending the authoritarian rule 30 years ago. Philippines’ political landscape may however change considerably as a result of the 9 May general elections where more than 1,800 posts are at stake including that of the President and the Vice President, with implications to the people of the conflict-ridden region of Muslim Mindanao.

On 6-8 April 2016, International IDEA conducted a three-day training on the State of Democracy assessment framework to a broad variety of government and civil society organizations in Thimpu, Bhutan.

International IDEA have been working to support the Parliament of Bhutan since 2013. To continue our assistance in building the institutional capacity of the Parliament, International IDEA have deployed a staff member for 4 weeks to mentor the Research Division of the National Assembly (NAB) and National Council of Bhutan (NCB) from 28 March 2016 until 28 April 2016.

On 21-22 March 2016, the Mongolian Government hosted a seminar on “Democratic Transitions in Asia: Lessons Learned from Transitional Elections”. The seminar hosted participants from 10 Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor Leste, who shared their first-hand experiences of different types of transitions.

Bhutan’s transition to democracy is in many ways unique. While in most cases, countries begin their transition in response to political, social or economic calamity, the political transformation of Bhutan was a clear case of a planned and long envisioned goal by the country’s revered monarch King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

Samoa’s Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), led by incumbent Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegoai won 80 per cent of the seats in parliament, following the 4 March election. The HRPP will now be able to run the small island state without much input from the marginalized opposition party Tautua Samoa Party (TSP), and just under a dozen elected independent MPs.

When Nepal promulgated its new constitution in September last year, some gender equality advocates in the country felt that it didn’t go far enough to ensure gender equality. While it provides quotas for women’s political participation in the federal and provincial legislatures and in local governing bodies it does not require them to be in leadership positions.

As an intergovernmental institution, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is in the process of a long evolution that may transform it into a regional association with a significant role in post-conflict reconstruction and rebuilding, a departure from its usual role of low-key engagement in the internal affairs of its members.

International IDEA is pleased to join the rest of the world in celebrating International Women's Day 2016.

“We need a change in our political culture and tradition if we want to attract more women candidates to run for elections,” Democratic Party MP Shuhei Kishimoto said recently.

The 8 November elections in Myanmar were historical for its higher levels of credibility and transparency. The Union Election Commission (UEC) overcame large technical and logistical challenges in the run-up to election day. Voter lists had to be verified and updated, ballots printed, secured and distributed, observers accredited, voters educated, and candidates registered. In addition parts of the country was suffering from severe floods which further complicated the situation.

Leading up to the November 2015 elections Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) used the electoral risk management tool (ERMTool) and approach developed by International IDEA to monitor and prevent election-related disturbances. Now a decision has been made to continue using the electoral risk management mechanism throughout the electoral cycle.