International IDEA to Present at the Second International Congress of Electoral Studies

LIMA — International IDEA will join more than 30 experts from the Latin America region and other countries to meet with representatives of Peru’s electoral system and discuss electoral systems at the second International Congress on “Representation and National and Regional Political Participation” between 27-29 November 2014.

The aim is to promote analysis, discussion and dissemination of electoral issues from a comparative academic perspective and to create a forum for the presentation of academic works from various disciplines about electoral processes. The event will address various thematic issues, including electoral administration, political communication, electoral law and justice, political parties, national and regional electoral processes and electoral systems.

A panel discussion about political financing will be led by Juan Rial, expert and consultant for International IDEA. Rial will discuss, “Money and Politics: What to Do at Times of Uncertainty and Change,” with experts including Claudio Fuentes of Diego Portales, University in Chile and Delia Ferreira of Transparency International. Percy Medina, International IDEA head of mission for Peru, will be the moderator.

Jorge Valladares, International IDEA programme officer for Democracy and Development, will present on the role of programme-based strategies in political parites in a discussion on the publication, “Politics Meets Policies The Emergence of Programmatic Parties” (La política al encuentro de las políticas. El surgimiento de los partidos programáticos). Rial will highlight “Democracies on the Move: Political Participation and Direct Democracy Mechanisms in Latin America” (Democracias en movimiento Mecanismos de democracia directa y participativa en América Latina).

During the three-day, high-level academic event, at the Miraflores Hilton Hotel, outstanding national and international experts on electoral law and policy will share insights with particular relevance during this election year in Peru. Keynote addresses will be given by distinguished national and international researchers, including Dr. Dieter Nohlen of Heidelberg University (Germany) with his speech on “Electoral Systems and Electoral Justice.” Julio Cotler, principal researcher at the Institute of Peruvian Studies (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos), also will give a keynote speech under the theme of “State and Democracy.”

The congress is organized by the National Elections Board (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones) School of Elections and Governance and will be opened by Francisco Távara, president of the National Elections Board.

High-level representatives from electoral organisations such as Argentina’s National Electoral Chamber, the Organization of American States and Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation will participate as panelists. Representatives from academia also will be present from the National University of San Martín and the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and David Altman of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

For more information about International IDEA’s participation, contact Maria Ines Calle, Publications Coordinator for Latin America, at M.Calle.

For more information about the event, send an email to congresoelectoraljne@jne.gob.pe or call 311-1700, extension 3253.