Participation in systems of governance is fundamental to any healthy democracy. Such participation is often enshrined by legislative means: such as constitutions, or through architecture such as the choice and design of electoral systems. However, International IDEA recognizes that this only describes part of the framework for allowing citizen engagement with their democracies.
Participation in the governance framework includes citizen involvement in the many levels of a government and within society as a whole. Participatory activities can range from voting to candidacy to working with NGOs on community projects to being a member of a grassroots movement. The broad scope of participation puts it at the heart of all aspects of democracy: the electoral process, citizen led state of democracy and local democracy assessments, constitution building, political parties, electoral monitoring and observation, and direct democracy.
Although voter turnout is often used to measure such participation, International IDEA is also moving towards an examination of how citizens use the above mentioned measures to participate in their democracies beyond voting day. In recent years the focus of the Electoral Processes programme at International IDEA has widened its focus to other areas of citizen participation including those offered through direct democracy mechanisms, information communication and technology (ICT), and participatory budgeting. Issues pertaining to youth and women’s engagement are covered in all these initiatives.
Through a series of consultations designed to map ongoing participation initiatives around the world, International IDEA will redesign and strengthen its programme to ensure that we work with partnerships and limit duplication of work.
