Beginning in 2021, the International IDEA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean was established in Panama.

From there we work with democratic institutions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to increase the effectiveness and legitimacy of democracy, its institutions and to support gender equality in politics. Based on a geographic approach, our LAC programme responds to requests of regional, sub-regional and national actors, builds capacity through technical assistance, comparative applied knowledge resources and provides spaces for dialogue.  The LAC programme is a significant partner and an agenda-setter in many countries where it provides expert technical assistance.

On December 9, 2018, Panama became the thirty-first member state of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and the ninth member state from Latin America and the Caribbean.

IDEA´s fruitful cooperation relationship with Panama, particularly with the Electoral Tribunal, further strengthened this bond as well as the positive and continued joint work. The Panama project is currently focused on the following thematic axes: a) normative, b) institutional strengthening (professional electoral career, institutional communication, promotion of democratic civic culture, elections management, and applied research) and c) Regional Center of Excellence.