International IDEA Africa and West Asia: Global State of Democracy report presentation to SADC

International IDEA will join the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Standing Committee Session tomorrow to brief parliamentarians from across the region on the findings of the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) 2026 report.

The session, titled “Democracy in an Age of Conflict: Global and African Evidence from the Global State of Democracy 2026 and Implications for SADC Parliaments,” forms part of day 2 of the standing committee session preceding the 60th plenary assembly, held under the theme “From Regional Commitments to National Action: Strengthening Parliamentary Leadership for Regional Integration, Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law.”

The session will run from 09:00 to 11:00 and bring together a panel featuring a representative of International IDEA, Hon Dr Peya Mushelenga, Member of Parliament, Namibia, a civil society representative, and Hon Dithapelo Keorapetse, Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana.

The aim is to brief SADC Parliamentary Forum Standing Committees on the latest global, African, and SADC-relevant evidence from International IDEA’s GSoD 2026 report, and to identify practical parliamentary actions that can protect democratic institutions, expand civic space, strengthen the rule of law, and reduce the risk of violent conflict in the SADC region.

The briefing places the report’s evidence directly in front of the lawmakers best placed to act on it. Parliaments across SADC hold legislative, oversight, and budgetary powers that shape whether democratic institutions hold or weaken. This session gives members of parliament a chance to engage the data first-hand and translate it into concrete steps within their own legislatures.

The session is one part of a wider four-day programme in Johannesburg, South Africa, running from 12 to 15 October, covering regional integration training, constitutionalism, and the rule of law, and statutory standing committee business.