Editorial:
Shaping states through constitutions
By Vidar Helgesen, Secretary-General
From Nepal to Bolivia, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Georgia, constitutions are increasingly becoming hot political issues. Obviously, they are no longer merely seen as rubber stamps to confer official dignity to established political power. More than half of the member states of the United Nations have undergone constitutional reforms since 1974. While individually unique, these processes reflect certain global trends.
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FOCUS:
IDEA kicks off constitution building project in Nepal
On 8 November 2006, the seven party alliance and the CPN (Maoists) in Nepal signed an historic peace agreement which ended a decade long armed insurgency. Following a popular uprising in April this year, which forced King Gyanendra to end his direct rule and appoint a multi-party government, the Maoists entered into negotiations with the government.
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IDEA Secretary-General discusses Bolivia's road to reform with President Morales
International IDEA's Secretary-General Vidar Helgesen met with President Evo Morales of Bolivia on 10 October 2006 in La Paz to discuss how the Bolivian constitution building process can be supported by the international community and how experiences from the Bolivian constitutional reform can inform other countries.
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IDEA TOOLS ON CONSTITUTION BUILDING:
OTHER IDEA NEWS:
IDEA trains Arab World election professionals
With funding from the Italian Government, International IDEA is training 22 election administrators from seven countries in the Arab World, in Amman, Jordan from 12 to 23 November 2006.
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Strengthening political parties in Africa
Are African political parties sleeping ghosts that wake-up to haunt the goodwill and political resources of the electorates only during election year? This was one of the questions posed in the "Inter-regional Consultative Forum on the Role of Political Parties as Agents of Democratization", held on 19-20 October 2006 in Windhoek, Namibia.
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IDEA and UNDEF join up on supporting democracy
International IDEA and the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) signed a cooperation agreement on 27 October 2006 in IDEA Headquarters in their endeavour to support democracy worldwide.
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Central American parties examine poverty reduction
Persistently high poverty levels and the large gap between rich and poor pose a challenge to both political leaders and development agencies in Central America and the Dominican Republic. To seek solutions, a regional seminar on the role of political parties in fighting poverty and encouraging development was held in Managua, Nicaragua, on 24-25 October 2006.
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IDEA co-organizes Iberoamerican seminar on political parties
The Ministry of Interior of Spain and International IDEA organized the second Iberoamerican Seminar on Political Parties at the Training Center of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, 19-22 September 2006 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
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NEW IDEA TOOLS:
Stopping the rot: global initiatives to bolster voter turnout
On 13 October 2006, International IDEA launched Engaging the Electorate: Initiatives to Promote Voter Turnout From Around the World in Sydney, a new publication that examines practical efforts to boost electoral participation.
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President Johnson-Sirleaf opens International IDEA seminar on "Women in Parliament"
On the occasion of the release of its Handbook Women in Parliament - Beyond Numbers, International IDEA in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Liberia hosted a seminar on the above topic on 28 September 2006 in Monrovia, Liberia. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, who wrote the foreword to the Handbook, delivered the keynote address at the seminar.
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IDEA releases new Handbook on Democracy, Conflict and Human Security
Can democracy deliver? This is the question raised in Democracy, Conflict and Human Security: Pursuing Peace in the 21st Century, the new Handbook of IDEA, launched on 15 September 2006 in New York.
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Spotlight: political parties in Africa
Country reports on political parties in Kenya, Botswana, Namibia and Ghana are now available in International IDEA's global political parties' database, which is continuously updated with more country and regional reports from all over the world.
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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
