Newsletter June - July 2005

Electoral System Design: The New IDEA Handbook, an easy-to-use guide describing what factors to consider when modifying or designing and electoral system, was launched 23 June in English. A Spanish version will be available by the end of 2005.

International IDEA had invited representatives from four of the eight mainstream parties in Nepal to a workshop in Sri Lanka to discuss with party representatives from other South Asian countries about the challenges they face, explore the roles of political parties in democracy and democratization, and learn from each other’s experiences of party reform and change. The workshop was meant to discuss the political party research results at the South Asian level. But the four Nepalese politicians never reached Sri Lanka. Read more

Peer learning for Indonesian senators

IDEA recently organized two study visits by Indonesia’s senate – the Regional Representative Council, called the DPD – to South Africa’sNational Council of Provinces and to the Australian Senate. Both visits sought to strengthen the DPD’s oversight of Indonesia’s national budget, develop stronger links with constituents, and establish simple yet robust administrative support for its members. Read more

Three country reports available on "Democracy in the Arab World"

IDEA released recently three country reports compiling the findings ofits project, "Democracy in the Arab World," for Jordan, Egypt and Yemen. For each country, the reports provide comparative analysis andinformation on three interconnected themes: the political participationof women, the development of political parties, and electoral systemreform. All three reports are available in English and Arabic. A synthesis report, Democracy in the Arab World – An Overview of the International IDEA Project, is also available in English and Arabic.

IDEA’s project in the Arab world is designed to promote discussion anddialogue on democratic reform in Jordan, Egypt and Yemen. The projectseeks to develop recommendations that may be valid for other Arabcountries engaged in democratic transition, and for the internationalcommunity in supporting the reform process in the Arab world.  

For more information, contact Nadia Handal-Zander, publications manager.

Did you know?

• IDEA  opened an office in Mexico on 6 April 2005. The priorities, for this new office, will be:
  
• • To contribute to the process of consolidatingM exican democracy by stimulating the values of democratic culture;
  • To develop mechanisms to facilitate the promotion and internationalization of the experience of the Mexican electoral institutions;
  • To take advantage of the Mexican expertise in these matters to develop joint projects with third parties.
    
    The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) offered two offices and some basic logistic support and the ministry of foreign affairs assigned a senior diplomat to head the office. IDEA contributed with the necessar yinitial resources to get the project underway.
    
    For more information, contact Francisco Olguin at F.Olguin@idea.int
    

• In order to effectively implement current activities in West Africa, IDEA opened a sub-regional office in Accra, Ghana. The Republic of Ghana accredited the office on 25 April. For more information, contact Kenneth Mpyisi, programme manager for West Africa.
  
  
• IDEA took part in the third Community of Democracies Ministerial Conference, which was hosted by the Chilean government in Santiago 28-30 April. Karen Fogg, IDEA's secretary-general, acted as a motivator for the thematic group onregional and interregional cooperation for democratic governance, while IDEA Board Chairperson Lena Hjelm-Wallén spoke at the closing plenary. Through the advocacy of some of IDEA's Member States delegations, in particular Chile, Sweden and the Netherlands, IDEA's work was recognized in the conference’s final declaration.
  
  
• As part of the 6th Global Forum on reinventing government, that took place in Seoul, Korea, 24-27 May, IDEA organized a capacity building workshop on the topic of Representative Democracy, Participatory Methods, and Capacity Development for Responsible Politics. It looked into the concepts of representation, participation, and capacity development in relation to current challenges by examining the themes of electoral systems design, direct democracy, political party systems, and the extent to which they promote or impede responsible politics.
  
  
• International IDEA and the Central Electoral Commission of Georgia are going a step further with the BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governanceand Elections) project in Georgia: the national BRIDGE team ispreparing strategies for electoral management bodies (EMBs) andelectoral trainers’ certification, as well as national EMB professional development tools for Georgia. The materials will be used later in the year for training facilitators in electoral administration, as well as for the staff members at the Central Election Commission of Georgia.
  
  
• Democracy in the Making: Key Options in Iraq’s Democratization Process is a newly released IDEA policy paper. It consists of three briefings on constitution-building processes, electoral system design and political parties in divided societies. "We are not trying to tell Iraqis what to do but to provide them with the learning from past experiences by presenting different options and their likely impact," says Goran Fejic, head of IDEA's Democracy Building and Conflict Management team. The policy paper targets Iraq’s political and social leaders, as well as international community actors who are providing technical, financial and political support to thetransition process in Iraq.
  
  
• Democracy and Peace building at the Local Level: Lessons Learned is another recent IDEA policy paper: It summarizes the findings of a three-year IDEA project on the United Nations and democracy, which has focused on the UN’s role in the democratization of Kosovo, Timor-Leste, and Sierra Leone. Each area has been under UN transitional administration following armed conflict. The paper evaluates findings from these activities and from similar cases, such as Macedonia, in the context of lessons learned concerning the imperatives of local-level democracy promotion for post-war peace-building. The report presents options and recommendations for improving policies and programmes for democratic peace-building at the local level.  
  

Karen Fogg

Grâce d’Almeida Adamon