The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries. It is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 33 of the members are small states, including many island nations.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance is an intergovernmental organization. Its programmes aim to: provide knowledge to democracy builders; provide policy development and analysis; and to support democratic reform.

The Organization of American States, or the OAS, is a continental organization founded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation among its member states.

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