Chile

Chile and International IDEA

Chile is one of the founding members of IDEA.

Chile, a List Proportional Representation democracy, has worked with IDEA since its formation in 1995 and provides funding to the overall work of the Institute.

A large part of IDEA’s funding comes from its member states “core contributions”, which finance the entire work programme of the Institute: Programme of Operations 2007-09. Each of IDEA’s member states is therefore involved and instrumental in IDEA’s work to promote democracy worldwide.

Highlights of International IDEA’s activities in relation to Chile:

• National Visions Matter, a public-private sector development forum held in Santiago, Chile in July 2004, culminating in a report highlighting central elements common to successful development experiences.
• Development of an IDEA project to strengthen local democracy in Haiti. Elected government officials and members of civil society organizations at the level of communes and municipalities will be trained to conduct, through an inclusive dialogue process, a self-evaluation of the democracy situation in their local entity and to jointly identify the needs and priorities for reform.
  
• Electoral system reform - at a 25 April 2006 meeting in Santiago, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet asked IDEA Secretary-General Vidar Helgesen for IDEA's assistance in reforming the country's electoral system.
• The Role of Constitution Building Processes in Democratization Case Study: Chile as part of the Constitution Building Processes IDEA programme.

Former IDEA Board member: Mrs Monica Jimenez de Barros, President of the Board of PARTICIPA, Executive Director of Corporación APRENDER, and member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Chile.

Alberto van Klaveren, Chile's Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador to the EU served as Chairperson and member of the troika chair to IDEA Council.

Facts and figures about democracy in Chile

Using IDEA’s worldwide democracy and elections databases, learn more about:

• Chile’s electoral system (ACE),  ESD (Table of Electoral Systems Worldwide)
• Comparative data on election systems, laws, management and administration
• Voter turnout in Chile 1945 – 2006
• Information on electoral quotas for women in Chile
  
• Laws on funding of political parties in Chile