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As part of a  series entitled Conversations on Innovative Constitutional Design Options, International IDEA’s Constitution Building Programme hosted an expert panel to discuss “Constitutionalizing Institutions for a Safer Environment” on 16 September 2021. The webinar deliberated on the role of constitut

The Secretary-General of International IDEA, Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, took part in the “Constitutionalizing Institutions for a Safer Environment webinar organized by the Institute’s Constitution-Building Programme on 16 September 2021. The event was part of the programme’s new webinar series on Conversations on Innovative Constitutional Design Options.

From 7 September to 9 September, International IDEA facilitated and organized a horizontal cooperation mission between the Electoral Tribunal of Panama (TE) and the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) of Costa Rica to explore possibilities to provide technical support to the TSE in preparation for the February 2022 national elections in Costa Rica in the area of monitoring political campaigns on social media, dissemination of fake news, disinformation and divisive and polarizing speech.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on Monday shows, with clear and overwhelming scientific evidence, that climate change is a looming, existential threat for our planet. The massive climate changes that we are all starting to experience, from wildfires to extreme temperatures, are also a threat for democracy.

On Wednesday 28 July, International IDEA’s Programme Officer in Chile and Southern Cone Countries, María Jaraquemada, participated in a public hearing at the Ethics Committee of the Chilean Constitutional Convention, who is in charge of drafting a proposal on rules related to ethics and integrity.  

Nunca se nos olvidarán las imágenes. Las largas colas de personas desesperadas en busca de tanques de oxígeno en Lima. Las tumbas improvisadas en Manaos, y las miles y miles de tiendas y comercios que en todas partes han tenido que cerrar sus puertas. La pandemia impactó a América Latina con brutal ferocidad. La región tiene una de las tasas más altas de mortalidad a nivel mundial, y sus países están sufriendo efectos económicos y sociales devastadores.

Public participation has become a core element of modern constitution-building. The question for leaders charged with designin

On July 4, the 155 representatives of the Chilean Constitutional Convention accepted the mandate that voters gave them in May. In that first session, the representatives also voted to select their board, choosing Elisa Loncón, PhD in Linguistics and elected in a reserved seat of the Mapuche Indigenous People, and Jaime Bassa, PhD in Law, elected on the list of Frente Amplio’s coalition. 

Public participation has become a core element of modern constitution-building. Robust participation is credited with a range of benefits—from improving individual behaviours and attitudes to democracy to shaping elite bargaining dynamics, improving constitutional content, and strengthening outcomes for democracy and peace. Yet it is not well understood whether and how public participation can achieve these ends.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this commentary are those of the author. 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.

International IDEA hosted a webinar on 16 June 2021 entitled: “What’s happening to democracy in Latin America?” as part of its new #DebatingDemocracy Webinar Series.

Este artículo está disponible en español.

More than 25 million Peruvians will go to the polls on 6 June to define in ballotage who will be their next President of the Republic. This election comes after five years marked by a political crisis caused by the confrontation between Congress and the Executive. In addition, since 2020, a severe health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has made Peru one of the countries with the most deaths per million inhabitants in the world.

The 2020-2021 Federal Election Process formally started on 7 September  2020. It is considered an unprecedented event, since these will be the biggest and most complex elections held in Mexico’s history. They will be the biggest because on Election Day, 6 June  2021, more than 21,300 offices will be renewed by popular vote. This is due to the fact that, along with the Federal election, all 32 states will have local elections.

What has happened to elections in Latin America in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic? How have the electoral management and judicial bodies faced the various challenges of the health crisis? Which best practices and lessons have been implemented to defend democracy in the region?

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.

En el webinario que IDEA Internacional organizó en colaboración con el Observatorio para la Nueva Constitución, Centro Democracia y Comunidad, Chile 21, Horizontal, Instituto Libertad y Rumbo Colectivo, y que se celebró el día 30 de marzo de 2021, los panelistas discutieron experiencias de distintos órganos constituyentes desde una perspectiva comparada, centrándose sobre todo en los desafíos que se tuvieron que encarar y las innovaciones en términos de diseño del proceso constitucional que s

Elections were held in Chile on 15 and 16 May 2021—after being postponed twice^[1]—to elect 155 delegates to the Constitutional Convention (which will meet as of July for 9 to 12 months to draft a new constitution whose adoption will be subject to a referendum with compulsory voting); 13 regional governors—the first time governors will be elected rather than designated by the President of the Republic; 345 mayors; and local council members.

Polite, buoyant, and idealist: In many ways, Sol Arrúa comes across as a regular 21-year-old. However, as soon as we bring up the subjects of politics and leadership, which she is most passionate about, it becomes clear that there is much more about Sol than meets the eye. 

Este artículo está disponible en español. 

Critical in any constitution-building process is the type of constitution-making body that will be responsible for the drafting but also the adoption of either a new or a reformed constitutional dispensation. But as important is the fac that any constitution-making body, big or small, elected, nominated or mixed, will have to have rules regulating its procedures.