Democracies across the world – from established to emerging – are facing a new challenge in the rise of online campaigning, and the way in which political actors increasingly spend money in this space. Online campaigning often operates in a space where rules are unclear, malign actors thrive, and regulators struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing digital landscape.
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The first “BRIDGE Train the Facilitator (TtF) Workshop” is taking place in Albania during 4-15 July, under the facilitation of Doina Bordeianu, Zage Filiposki and Corneliu Pasat.
This 9-day training targets 18 staff of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Albania, as well as trainers with expertise in civic education.
The need for physical distancing during this COVID-19 pandemic has raised the need for innovative campaign methods to be developed by election contestants because conventional campaign methods such as rallies, public meetings, etc. are prohibited in some jurisdictions. Distant and online election campaigning may be seen as restrictive to both contestants and voters alike due to physical and technological barriers that appear. To what degree is this true?
As part of the initiative on the e-Parliament strategy, specialised consultants and stakeholders recommended the Parliament of Bhutan to build a series of focussed, high-impact services which will overtime led to an adaptive and evolving e-Parliament. The primary recommendation entails a significant investment in people and a local ICT capability.
This Report delves into the financial aspect of online campaigning, depicting a landscape characterized by lax regulation, the proliferation of malicious actors, and limited oversight capabilities to keep pace with rapid changes. In this sense, the challenges facing Albania are no different from those being tackled across much of the democratic world.
The 9 January election in Bhutan saw the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led by a seasoned political leader, Dasho Tshering Tobgay, returned to the government after being ousted in the 2018 elections. As part of its electoral process, Bhutan has two rounds of elections.
The recently concluded workshops on Media Literacy Training and Effective Communication Skills held in Paro for members of the National Council of Bhutan (NCB) and secretariat staff have ushered in promising outcomes for the nation's democratic processes.
On 4-5 July, 2023, in Tirana, Albania, International IDEA in cooperation with Rule of Law Centre of Finland and Center Election Commission of Albania hosted the regional roundtable on "Interinstitutional Cooperation on Digitalization of Electoral Processes and Cybersecurity in the Western Balkans".
The Honorable Members and secretarial staff of the National Council of Bhutan attended a weeklong training program aimed at improving the use of public hearings—a formal proceeding designed to receive testimony from all stakeholders—in the house proceedings to improve oversight, scrutiny, and public engagement.
Transparency in politics—in particular with regard to political finance—lies at the core of every democracy. The availability of accessible, detailed information about the funding of political parties and candidates enables scrutiny by civil society organizations and the wider public, and ensures that all political actors can be held accountable.
Under the theme of ‘Taking Parliament to the People’, International IDEA and Bhutan’s Parliamentary Secretariat jointly hosted a three-day workshop for members and staff of the country’s parliament. Held from 20-22 May 2022, the workshop was designed to increase the use of public hearings in Bhutan’s parliamentary process.
On the evening of 15 February 2022, reports emerged that key police and military officials in Djibouti were put under house arrest, reportedly amid fears of a coup d’état. This was the latest in the string of successful and attempted coups in Africa—from Mali to M
A five-day workshop was held in October 2021 for 22 secretariat staff of the National Assembly (NA) and National Council (NC), the two parliamentary houses of Bhutan. The workshop aimed at identifying the Parliament of Bhutan’s communication needs and explore opportunities of leveraging new possibilities provided by the mainstream and social media platforms for effective parliamentary communications.
Identifying obstacles and focusing on long-term solutions to propose strategies for equal representation
The health of a democracy can be measured from the engagement of its citizenship. In Bhutan, this wisdom is well received because it is traditionally accepted that citizens have to contribute towards the welfare of the communities and the society they live in. Previously, this contribution took varied forms, including active and regulated voluntary services.
Centre-left Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) will form the third elected government of Bhutan following Lotay Tshering’s win in the 18 October parliamentary election. With the ruling People’s Democratic Party eliminated in the first of the two rounds of the election, the country voted between DNT and the Druk Phunsum Tshogpa (DPT), which governed between 2008-2013.
Two secretarial officers from the Bhutanese Parliament underwent a vigorous two-week Fellowship Programme from 20-31 August 2018 at the state parliament of Tasmania, Australia. The Fellowship Programme was part of regular fellowship programme facilitated by International IDEA since 2014 as part of strengthening institutional capacity of the Parliament of Bhutan.
International IDEA has been supporting a democratic approach to consultative, collaborative and inclusive community building in Bhutan through funding of various activities of its partner civil society organizations. On 4 July 2018, International IDEA’s support saw over 90 town committee members come together in the collaborative visioning of the future of Paro town, which is home to the country’s only international airport.