Michelle Bachelet’s recent election as Chile’s first female President captured international attention - and was given added poignancy – for her having survived and overcome human rights abuses and exile in the 1970s. Her rise to power served as testimony to the maturation of Chilean democracy and the importance of free and fair elections to democratic governance.
The lesson was clearly not lost on President Bachelet. As part of an ambitious plan for her first 100 days, Bachelet has requested IDEA’s technical assistance in designing a sweeping electoral reform program. During my April 24 – 26 trip to Chile, this request served as the centerpiece of discussions with President Bachelet, Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley, Interior Minister Andres Zaldivar, Women’s Minister Laura Albornoz and representatives of the press and civil society in fashioning IDEA´s technical assistance program. Under the program IDEA will provide expert technical assistance and comparative knowledge in exploring alternatives to Chile’s highly unique electoral system—the binomial system—which has served to encourage the establishment of the two major coalitions, building in congressional stability to the point of immobility.
Not surprisingly, the topic of elections continued front and center as I continued on to another IDEA Member State—Peru—for a two-day visit that fell between the first and second round of that country’s presidential elections. It has been just over five years since Peru returned to democratic governance following the widely questioned 2000 elections and Alberto Fujimori’s resignation months later. Yet, undeniable progress has been made in the strengthening of that country’s democratic institutions—including but not limited to the impeccable first round elections held on April 9.
The consolidation of Peru’s democracy was a consistent theme in my meetings with President Alejandro Toledo, Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua, second round presidential candidates Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala, former presidential candidate and IDEA Board member Lourdes Flores, Andean Community of Nations Secretary General Allan Wagner, and representatives of the press and civil society.
A few days later, in Canada, the seminar—organized by IDEA and the Canadian International Development Association (CIDA) -- on “Effective Electoral Assistance: Supporting Sustainable Elections” underscored many of the same issues discussed in Chile and Peru. Specifically, the Seminar drew on global experiences aimed at shifting electoral aid from an event-driven process to a longer term approach centered on building the capacity of national election management bodies. The Seminar also featured the Worldwide Launch of the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, a source of authoritative information on nearly every aspect of elections, from voter registration to vote counting.
IDEA is advocating a more effective international approach to electoral assistance. Elections are important, but must be supported as more than individual events. Election observation is important, but must not come at the expense of strengthening the national capacity to organize credible, free and fair elections. In post-conflict situations, the challenge is not only to get the first elections right, but the second and third. For that to happen, donors must give priority to strengthening national electoral management bodies.
Vidar Helgesen
Secretary-General, International IDEA
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