International IDEA and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States signed an agreement on 22 February, in Washington, to foster representative democracy in the Western Hemisphere and to cooperate with OAS Member States in strengthening their democratic institutions.

The joint programme will involve promoting transparency, professional standards, and efficiency in democratic elections; suggestions for the international community to collaborate better with political parties and the use by stakeholders in democratic process in the OAS countries of International IDEA’s State of Democracy Methodology. The Methodology allows citizens to assess their own democracy instead of relying on externally produced indicators or rankings of democracies.