• IDEA Board Approves Programme of Activity for 2004–06
• UN Grants IDEA Observer Status
• IDEA Handbook on Funding of Political Parties
• Peru: A Spotlight on Women in Political Leadership
• Election Information: ACE Moves to Phase 2

• Political participation
• Electoral systems
• Political parties
• Post-conflict democracy building and dialogue
• Democracy analysis, assessment and assistance

• Africa
• Arab World
• Asia
• Caucasus
• Latin America
  

HIGHLIGHTS

• IDEA Board Approves Programme of Activity for 2004–06

At its 26th meeting in Stockholm on 25–26 January 2004, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)'s Board of Directors approved the institute’s budget and 2004–06 Programme of Activity. This places a new emphasis on the reform and development of political parties so they become more effective actors in democratization, more trusted, responsive and representative. It will continue its work on women’s political participation in this context. IDEA will also assist with post conflict democracy building and the design of political and electoral systems. It will continue to promote reconciliation processes to contribute to the kind of social context in which democracy can become sustainable. IDEA’s advisory services on election management will also be strengthened and extended.

• UN Grants IDEA Observer Status

On 9 December 2003, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution granting observer status to IDEA. The resolution, co-sponsored by 25 UN Member States, most of which are IDEA Member States, was adopted without a vote. As a result of the decision, IDEA’s status as an intergovernmental organization was clearly recognised, as was the relevance of its work to the UN. Read more

• IDEA Handbook on Funding of Political Parties

IDEA launched its Handbook Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns at a press conference at IDEA Headquarters in Stockholm on 20 February 2004. The Handbook contains probably the largest collection of information on party finance regulations that exists to date. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the different national laws and regulations from a regional perspective and analyses the problems of enforcement and the opportunities for effective public disclosure of funds. Read more

OTHER NEWS

• Peru: A Spotlight on Women in Political Leadership

At a workshop organized by IDEA and its local partner Transparencia, representatives of political parties, Congress, electoral organizations, academia, and civil society met in Lima on 20 January 2004 to discuss the promotion of female participation in politics in the context of the country’s new Political Party Law. Following the work undertaken by IDEA and Transparencia, the Peruvian Congress approved a far reaching political party law in Latin America in October last year. The challenge now is to ensure its effective implementation, not least its provision for 30 per cent female representation on party lists and in internal party leadership positions. Read more

• Indonesia: Women and Campaign Strategies

Following the national polls of April 2004 in Indonesia, elections to the newly established second chamber, the Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD)), will be held for the first time. To raise the visibility of this new chamber and also to train women candidates in campaign strategies, IDEA, together with local partners, co-hosted, on 27–29 January 2004 in Jakarta, a three-day event entitled ‘Election Strategies for Women Candidates to the DPD elections’. Read more

• IDEA Sets the Pace on Gender at the UN and WMD

‘Enhancing Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes in Post-Conflict Countries’, was the theme of a UN expert meeting held in January 2004 in New York. IDEA’s intervention covered issues such as female participation in elections in post-conflict states and special measures that have been implemented to facilitate the entry of women into the political sphere including electoral quotas in political parties. IDEA also presented a paper on 'Strengthening Internal Political Party Democracy: Candidate Recruitment from a Gender Perspective' at a conference on ‘Building Democracy for Peace, Development and Human Rights’ held in Durban by the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) in February 2004. Read more

• Election Information: ACE Moves to Phase 2

The ACE project website (a comprehensive online encyclopaedia on elections at www.aceproject.org) is receiving close to one million hits per month. In January 2004, the partner organizations and other agencies involved in supporting the venture met to plan the work ahead on the project. Three new partners will join the project: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Elections Canada, and the Federal Institute of Elections (IFE) in Mexico. Read more

• A Regional Debate on Local Democracy in the South Caucasus

Building on its publication Democracy at the Local Level: A Guide to the South Caucasus, IDEA brought together experts and practitioners from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as representatives from international organizations to discuss the issue of local democracy in the region. The meeting held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 8-9 December 2003 came up with a set of general recommendations including electoral system reform, stimulating the participation of civil society in local decision-making, and defining conditions for local self-government.

DID YOU KNOW ...?

• IDEA participated in the fourth World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, from 16–21 January 2004. Over 80,000 people were represented by 2,660 organizations from 132 countries. They gathered to debate and develop alternatives to the dominant political and economic paradigms of the day. In cooperation with the Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, IDEA organized a workshop to present the project on the ‘State of Democracy in South Asia’.

• IDEA’s Secretary-General participated in the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from 21–25 January 2004. The meeting was attended by over 2,100 individuals from 94 countries, including more than 30 heads of state or government.
  
  
• The second report in the Quota Workshop Report Series, The Implementation of Quotas: Latin American Experiences, has been published and is available in print and on the IDEA website. The first report, The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences, is also available on the site.
  
  
• The summary of the IDEA Handbook Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers has been translated into Russian and is available in print and on the IDEA website. The production of the summary, which has been disseminated to IDEA’s South Caucasus network, came in response to requests from local activists and experts concerned with gender participation in politics.

Staff News

• Massimo Tommasoli (Italy) joined IDEA as Director of Operations in January 2004. Before he was Head of the OECD Good Governance and Conflict Prevention Unit.
• Roger Hällhag (Sweden) joined IDEA in February 2004 to lead the team on Political Parties. Most recently, he served as political advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister.
  
• We also say goodbye and congratulations to Rafael Roncagliolo, former Head of IDEA’s Peru project, who has been asked by the President, the Prime Minister and others to reassume the position of technical secretary of the National Accord. In his goodbye letter, Rafael said that ‘this appointment constitutes recognition of the contribution which IDEA has been rendering to the Peruvian democracy”. Rafael will continue to be associated with IDEA’s work on political parties in the region.