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Asia and the Pacific
Western Asia

Democracy Tracker

The Democracy Tracker provides event-centric, monthly information on democracy and human rights developments in 173 countries. Event reports describe a change to the status-quo of the state of democracy at the country level. They include a description of the event, indications of the specific aspects of democracy that have been impacted, the magnitude of the impact, links to original sources and keywords to enable further research. Click on the country hexagons below to read the most recent developments, or hover over to the country profiles menu at the top to access the full data and analysis of a specific country.

Positive and Negative Events in October 2024

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Brazil Arrow Brazil
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Cyprus Arrow Cyprus
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Dominican Republic Arrow Dominican Republic
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India Arrow India
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Iraq Arrow Iraq
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Japan Arrow Japan
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New Zealand Arrow New Zealand
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Panama Arrow Panama
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Peru Arrow Peru
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Romania Arrow Romania
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Senegal Arrow Senegal
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UK Arrow UK
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Afghanistan Arrow Afghanistan
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Bolivia Arrow Bolivia
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Cameroon Arrow Cameroon
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Chad Arrow Chad
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Côte d'Ivoire Arrow Côte d'Ivoire
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Georgia Arrow Georgia
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Guinea Arrow Guinea
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Israel Arrow Israel
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Italy Arrow Italy
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Mali Arrow Mali
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Mexico Arrow Mexico
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Mozambique Arrow Mozambique
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Niger Arrow Niger
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Palestine Arrow Palestine
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Portugal Arrow Portugal
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Russian Federation Arrow Russian Federation
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Spain Arrow Spain
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Sudan Arrow Sudan
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Tanzania Arrow Tanzania
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Tunisia Arrow Tunisia
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Türkiye Arrow Türkiye
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Ukraine Arrow Ukraine

*Assessments are relative to each country and do not represent comparisons or rankings between countries.

Flag
May 2022

Malaysia

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Representation
Rights
Rule of Law
Participation

Critical Events in October 2024

Asia and the Pacific • Singapore

On 3 October, former Transport Minister and People’s Action Party (PAP) member S. Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months in prison for obstructing justice and accepting more than SDG 403,000 (approximately USD 311,882) worth of gifts. Iswaran’s sentencing follows a year-long investigation linked to dealings involving billionaire property businessman Ong Ben Sen. This case marks the first trial of a political figure in Singapore in nearly 50 years. Justice Vincent Hoong of Singapore’s High Court underscored that Iswaran’s crimes represented an abuse of power that undermined public trust in government institutions. Legal experts note that the sentencing demonstrates the court’s intolerance of corrupt conduct.  

Europe • Georgia

International election observers criticized the conduct of Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary election, citing widespread pressure on voters to support the ruling party, the underrepresentation of women (partly due to the removal of gender quotas), limited campaign finance oversight that favoured the ruling Georgian Dream party, and more. Observers also found the election to be “marred by concerns over recently adopted legislation [and] its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society.” Data analysts also found evidence of irregular patterns in electoral precinct data that indicated some degree of vote-buying, ballot stuffing, or other activities in favour of Georgian Dream. The domestic opposition pledged to boycott the incoming Parliament, Sweden suspended development cooperation with the Georgian government, and US President Joe Biden and other Western officials called on the Georgian government to fully investigate reports of electoral interference and voter pressure.

Americas • Bolivia

Former President Evo Morales has accused the government of attempting to assassinate him after his vehicle was attacked with gunfire in Cochabamba. Luis Arce’s government refuted this, contending that Morales’s vehicle evaded a checkpoint established in a police operation and ran over a police officer. Officials asserted that police at the checkpoint were shot first by someone in Morales’s vehicle. The mutual accusations take place in the context of heightened political and social conflict due to division within the MAS party. Both Morales and Arce have been accused of sexual misconduct and crimes; both deny the allegations and claim they are politically motivated. A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Morales after he did not comply with an order to give a statement in an investigation he faces for statutory rape and trafficking in persons. Morales’s supporters have carried out roadblocks and organized protests against his prosecution. Clashes between protesters and police have left dozens injured.   

Africa • Botswana

On 30 October, Botswana held general elections for the unicameral National Assembly and local councils. An opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), emerged as winners of the national contest, securing a majority of the vote (59.0 per cent) and 36 of the 61 elected National Assembly seats. They were followed by the Botswana Congress Party (15 seats; 24.6 per cent), the Botswana Patriotic Front (5 seats; 8.1 per cent) and the incumbent Botswana Democratic Party (4 seats; 6.6 per cent), which has ruled the country since independence in 1966. Of the 264 parliamentary candidates, 28 (10.6 per cent) were women; three won seats and three women were appointed by Botswana’s newly elected president, Duma Boko, under a special dispensation, taking the total number of female representatives to 6 (10 per cent) - down from 7 (11.5 per cent) in 2019. International observers assessed the elections to have been peaceful and orderly, but raised several concerns, including inadequate civic education, the under-representation of women among candidates, and various logistical issues.

About the Global State of Democracy Initiative

International IDEA launched the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Initiative in 2016. This Initiative provides evidence-based and balanced analysis and data on the state and quality of democracy globally and for 173 countries across all regions of the world. It aims to contribute to the public debate on democracy and inform policy interventions to strengthen democracy.

Monthly Event Reports

See all the information related to countries that have updates this month.

Africa

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Arrow TUN
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Arrow TZA
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Arrow CIV
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Arrow GIN
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Arrow MLI
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Arrow NER
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Arrow CMR
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Arrow TCD
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Arrow SDN
0
Arrow BWA
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Arrow MOZ
0
Arrow ZWE
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Arrow SEN
without report
Arrow ZAF
without report
Arrow MDG
without report
Arrow DZA
without report
Arrow AGO
without report
Arrow BEN
without report
Arrow BFA
without report
Arrow BDI
without report
Arrow CAF
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Arrow COM
without report
Arrow CPV
without report
Arrow COD
without report
Arrow DJI
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Arrow EGY
without report
Arrow GNQ
without report
Arrow ERI
without report
Arrow ETH
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Arrow GAB
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Arrow GMB
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Arrow SWZ
without report
Arrow GHA
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Arrow GNB
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Arrow KEN
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Arrow LSO
without report
Arrow LBR
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Arrow LBY
without report
Arrow MWI
without report
Arrow MRT
without report
Arrow MUS
without report
Arrow MAR
without report
Arrow NAM
without report
Arrow NGA
without report
Arrow COG
without report
Arrow RWA
without report
Arrow SLE
without report
Arrow SOM
without report
Arrow SSD
without report
Arrow TGO
without report
Arrow UGA
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Arrow ZMB
View all

Americas

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Arrow DOM
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Arrow MEX
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Arrow PAN
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Arrow BOL
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Arrow BRA
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Arrow PER
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Arrow URY
without report
Arrow CAN
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Arrow HTI
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Arrow ARG
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Arrow BRB
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Arrow CHL
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Arrow COL
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Arrow CRI
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Arrow CUB
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Arrow ECU
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Arrow SLV
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Arrow GTM
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Arrow GUY
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Arrow HND
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Arrow JAM
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Arrow NIC
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Arrow PRY
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Arrow SUR
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Arrow TTO
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Arrow USA
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Arrow VEN
View all

Asia and the Pacific

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Arrow JPN
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Arrow UZB
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Arrow VUT
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Arrow NZL
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Arrow IND
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Arrow SLB
0
Arrow SGP
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Arrow AFG
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Arrow PAK
without report
Arrow TWN
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Arrow LKA
without report
Arrow MYS
without report
Arrow MMR
without report
Arrow TLS
without report
Arrow AUS
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Arrow BGD
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Arrow BTN
without report
Arrow KHM
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Arrow CHN
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Arrow PRK
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Arrow FJI
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Arrow IDN
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Arrow KAZ
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Arrow KGZ
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Arrow LAO
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Arrow MDV
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Arrow MNG
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Arrow NPL
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Arrow PNG
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Arrow PHL
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Arrow KOR
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Arrow TJK
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Arrow THA
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Arrow TKM
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Arrow VNM
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Europe

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Arrow ROU
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Arrow ALB
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Arrow BGR
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Arrow POL
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Arrow RUS
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Arrow MDA
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Arrow GEO
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Arrow GBR
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Arrow LTU
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Arrow CYP
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Arrow ESP
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Arrow PRT
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Arrow ITA
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Arrow TUR
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Arrow UKR
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Arrow MKD
without report
Arrow HUN
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Arrow KSV
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Arrow ARM
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Arrow CHE
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Arrow SVK
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Arrow AUT
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Arrow AZE
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Arrow BLR
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Arrow BEL
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Arrow BIH
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Arrow HRV
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Arrow CZE
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Arrow DNK
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Arrow EST
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Arrow FIN
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Arrow FRA
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Arrow DEU
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Arrow GRC
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Arrow ISL
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Arrow IRL
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Arrow LVA
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Arrow LUX
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Arrow MLT
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Arrow MNE
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Arrow NLD
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Arrow NOR
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Arrow SRB
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Arrow SVN
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Arrow SWE
View all

Western Asia

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Arrow IRQ
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Arrow ISR
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Arrow PSE
without report
Arrow BHR
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Arrow IRN
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Arrow JOR
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Arrow KWT
without report
Arrow LBN
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Arrow OMN
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Arrow QAT
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Arrow SAU
without report
Arrow SYR
without report
Arrow ARE
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Arrow YEM
View all
Flag
May 2022

Malaysia

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin consequat augue non efficitur fermentum. Proin eu...

Representation
Rights
Rule of Law
Participation

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Funders and Donors

The European Union Federal Ministry for Economic Coorperation and Development Robert Bosch Stiftung
The Global State of Democracy Initiative is also supported by contributions of International IDEA Member States