Editorial:
Development requires democratic leadership
By Vidar Helgesen, Secretary-General
Democracy cannot rest on its laurels. The post Cold War belief that democracy had triumphed has subsided to reveal declining support for democracy in some parts of the world. This is mainly due to the perception that democracy has failed to improve peoples’ lives.
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FOCUS:
Latin American Elections: Redrawing the Political Map
Between November 2005 and the end of 2006, Latin America has an intense and important electoral agenda. During this time 12 of the region’s 18 countries hold presidential elections. The political map of the region will be redrawn.
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SPOTLIGHT ON LATIN AMERICA:
IDEA assists in Chile’s electoral reform
The Chilean Government has asked IDEA to provide technical assistance in reforming the country’s electoral system. Chile’s current ‘binomial’ system is a legacy of the Pinochet era, devised when the regime sought to allow movement towards a limited democracy under an authoritarian umbrella.
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IDEA supports Peru’s new Congresswomen
IDEA is working closely with Peru’s newly elected women legislators to help them work more effectively in Congress. A seminar in early July on "Congresswomen: the Representatives we all Want" gave impetus to the formation of the country’s first Women’s Parliamentary Caucus shortly before the new administration of President Alan Garcia took office.
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Political leaders debate governance in the Andean Region
Against a backdrop of profound change in the political landscape with a number of presidential elections occurring, some 70 political leaders and analysts from the Andean region met in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to discuss the political challenges for the region.
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Bolivian Constituent Assembly meets with international experts
More than 70 delegates to Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly — which began its work on 6 August 2006 and is charged with rewriting the Andean nation’s Constitution — attended an "International Workshop on Constitution-Building Processes and Democratic Dialogues" held 23-24 July 2006 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
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COMING UP:
IDEA, the Spanish Ministry of Interior and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation will co-sponsor the "Second Iberoamerican Seminar on Political Parties" on 19-22 September 2006 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
NEW TOOLS:
IDEA and its Mexican partners launch electoral tools in Spanish
They include a Spanish version of Electoral System Design: the New IDEA Handbook (2005), and an overview of IDEA's forthcoming Handbook on Electoral Management Design.
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Cuotas de genero: democracia y representación (Gender Quotas: Democracy and Representation): provides an overview of different quotas and their regulation through laws, as well as an evaluation of the effect that gender quotas have in selected countries in Latin America.
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La Politíca Importa - Democracia y desarrollo en América Latina (Democracies in Development - Politics and Reform in Latin America): describes the major reform trends in Latin America, as well as the quandaries facing the region. This is an expanded and revised edition of the original publication published in 2002, published by the Inter-American Development Bank in cooperation with IDEA.
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OTHER IDEA NEWS:
IDEA trains African election professionals
IDEA and the South African Electoral Commission (IEC), with funding from the Australian Government, trained 27 election administrators from 13 countries in East and Southern Africa, in Pretoria, South Africa from 14 to 18 August 2006.
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Constitution making in Asia: training practitioners
IDEA held a two-week training seminar from 24 July to 4 August 2006 on Constitution Making in Asia in cooperation with the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok (RCB) and the International Network on Constitutional Development.
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Spotlight: South Asia Country Reports
IDEA is now releasing five country reports on political parties in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan for downloading and dissemination. These reports emerged out of IDEA’s Political Parties' programme on research and dialogue.
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IDEA elects four new Board Members
Four new Board Members were elected at IDEA’s Council meeting in June 2006.
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Is Democracy Working?
'Is Democracy Working?’ was the challenging title of the 20th World Congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), that took place in Fukuoka, Japan, 9-13 July 2006.
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Peace one day
Celebrate the UN International Day of Peace – a day committed to the hope of global ceasefire and non-violence – on 21 September. For more information, visit: www.peaceoneday.org
For more news, please check regularly the ‘News’ section of IDEA’s Web site:www3.idea.int/news/
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Contact information
Editors: Bénédicte Walter, Monika Ericson
Head of External Relations: Ingrid Wetterqvist
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) Strömsborg
SE-103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel.: +46-8 698 37 00 Fax.: +46-8-20 24 22
E-mail: news@idea.int
Web: www.idea.int
