The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance was founded in February 1995 with a unique mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide. International IDEA’s work is based on three principles:
The Founding Conference of International IDEA took place on 27–28 February 1995 and involved 14 founding states: Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, India, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden
“[The Institute] will serve as a rallying point for all who wish to assist democracy. It will record the examples of effective ways to support democracy. It will offer a long-term view of what must be done to sustain democracy.” Boutros Boutros-Ghali, United Nations Secretary-General, 1995
In October 1995 International IDEA partnered with the United Nations to organize a round-table meeting of electoral observation practitioners in Stockholm, Sweden.
The inaugural International IDEA Democracy Forum acted as a meeting place for the exchange of ideas on and experiences of democracy, and attracted distinguished participants from around the world.
Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination for injustice makes democracy necessary.
Botswana, Canada and Namibia joined as Member States.
In 1997 the citizens of Burkina Faso led a series of dialogues on the reforms needed in order to improve their democratic processes and institutions.
The choice of electoral system has a profound effect on the political life of a country.
The Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project, which started as a means of making material on elections available worldwide, has since become the most dynamic collection of information in its field, and is accessed online by almost 2 million visitors per year.
This International IDEA Handbook looks closely at women’s parliamentary participation.
Mauritius joined as International IDEA's 18th Member State.
The June 1999 presidential elections in Indonesia marked the country’s first step on the road to democracy.
In November 2000 International IDEA launched a report, Democracy in Nigeria: Continuing Dialogue(s) for Nation-Building, following an intensive consultation process involving hundreds of meetings throughout the country.
A group of electoral experts from around the world met in Canberra, Australia, to work out the structure and content of a short capacity-building programme for electoral administrators.
“Electoral Assistance is part of the Institute’s name. It is not so because we wanted an ‘E’ and an ‘A’ to finish ‘IDEA’. We wanted to signal that this Institute was more than a think tank; it had a practical mission as well as an intellectual one. And that mission was to provide assistance…That assistance would be in the electoral area – the machinery of democracy.”
The International IDEA Handbook "Democracy at the Local Level" was developed in response to the pressures facing cities attempting to deal with the social pressures due to globalization, growing urbanization and human migration.
International IDEA has been collecting comparative data on electoral processes and democracy related topics since its establishment in 1995.
Ms Karen Fogg, a former Head of European Union Delegation in Ankara, is appointed as the second Secretary-General of International IDEA
In 2002 Germany joined to International IDEA bringing its experience and support on our mission.
In 2003 Mexico and Uruguay joined as Member States of International IDEA.
International IDEA started working in Latin America in 1997, initially engaging with Peru, the only country in the region without a law on political parties.
On 9 December 2003, International IDEA was granted Observer Status at the United Nations, giving it privileged access to a number of policy forums in which democracy-related issues are discussed.
Cape Verde and Peru joined International IDEA in 2004.
Recognizing the obstacles to the implementation of long-term assistance, International IDEA and the European Commission (EC) developed a planning and training tool in 2004 to help development agencies, electoral-assistance providers and electoral officials in partner countries better understand the challenges posed by the cyclical nature of the electoral process. This tool has become known as the Electoral Cycle Approach.
The Fifth UN International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD-5) adopted the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and Plan of Action, committing governments to draw up and implement plans to strengthen democracy and ‘develop nationally-owned democratic governance’ indicators in order to monitor progress. In implementing its follow up actions to ICNRD-5, Mongolia chose International IDEA´s State of Democracy (SoD) assessment framework because it offered a practical template for assessing and establishing progress towards democracy
“Democratization is a long-term process, and it must be built from within societies. It can neither be imported nor exported, but it surely can be supported.”
In April 2006, after mass protests, King Gyanendra of Nepal was forced to relinquish direct rule and establish multi-party government in the country.
In 2006 Switzerland joined International IDEA.
Mr Vidar Helgesen, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, is appointed Secretary-General of International IDEA.
In 2007, in an historic commitment to democracy, the African Union (AU) adopted the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
International IDEA contributed to the preparatory phase of Bolivia’s constitutional process by organizing an international seminar on experiences of constituent processes throughout the world.
Following the political heat generated by the 2006 Mexican presidential elections, in which Felipe Calderón prevailed by a margin of just 0.5 per cent, Mexico’s Senate embarked on an programme of political and electoral reforms which were adopted by Congress at the end of 2007.
The Member States of International IDEA welcomed Ghana as a new member in 2008.
In some circumstances traditional mechanisms can complement conventional judicial systems and provide the potential for promoting justice, reconciliation and a culture of democracy.
In Bolivia’s 2009 elections, women won 47 per cent of all Senate seats in the Senate, and occupied half of the ministries—a direct result of the introduction of the Temporary Electoral Law securing gender equality and parity, with provision for the alternation of male and female candidates on party voting lists.
International IDEA’s engagement with the EU reached a new level after the EU Council adopted specific conclusions on democracy support (Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations) and a corresponding agenda for action (EU Agenda for Action on Democracy Support).
My message to anybody negotiating anywhere is to have patience: it holds the key. Secondly, never be off sight of the principal goal: an enduring constitution for your country.
The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security was made up of eminent individuals from around the world.
When the Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 to protest police harassment and humiliation, no one could predict what would follow.
The Dominican Republic and Mongolia joined as new Member States in 2011.
The Botswana Independent Electoral Commission and International IDEA worked together to host the 5th Global Electoral Organization Conference in Gaborone.
Launched on 15 April 2011 at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy is a platform for engagement among regional organizations on democracy.
The web resource Constitutionnet.org further enhances International IDEA’s pool of online knowledge.
More than 29 years after the end of the Duvalier regime, Haiti’s process of democratic transition is progressing slowly.
The Asia Pacific region includes longstanding democracies such as India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Their ranks have been joined by countries such as Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.
The result of four years’ work, this Guide aims to respond to the knowledge needs of politicians, policymakers and practitioners involved in constitution building by drawing lessons from recent trends and practice.
Engagement with the European Union (EU) is important to international IDEA because it allows the Institute to promote its core activities, observe democratic trends, and influence democracy support policies and frameworks in EU external relations.
After almost 50 years of military dictatorship, Myanmar began a far-reaching democratic transition in 2010.
The Electoral Risk Management Tool (ERMTool) is designed to empower those who are responsible for or interested in ensuring that elections are peaceful and credible.
We'd love to hear from you. Please send questions or feedback to the below email addresses.
Before contacting us, you may wish to visit our FAQs page which has lots of useful info on Tiki-Toki.
We can be contacted by email at: hello@tiki-toki.com.
You can also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tiki_toki.
If you are having any problems with Tiki-Toki, please contact us as at: help@tiki-toki.com
Close