Bringing recommendations to governments, businesses and civil society to protect democracy from digital threats, including polarization, hate speech, disinformation, political advertising and foreign interference.
The Challenge
Digital technologies and social media platforms have profoundly altered democratic processes and the electoral environment. While these developments have unequalled potential to engage, empower, and educate voters and strengthen the integrity of elections, they also create new challenges and risks for fundamental democratic processes and citizens’ political rights.
Through the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age, the Kofi Annan Foundation and its partners developed a series of actions to ensure that new technologies, social media platforms and communications tools can realise citizens’ aspirations for democratic governance.
“Technology does not stand still; neither can democracy.”
Kofi Annan
About the Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age project
As one of his last major initiatives, in 2018 Kofi Annan convened the Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age. The Commission examined and reviewed the opportunities and challenges for electoral integrity created by technological innovations. Following their final report, the Kofi Annan Foundation is working to implement the recommendations, including the development of an Electoral Vulnerability Index to predict election-related violence, securing the digital environment for elections in Kenya, and studying artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on elections.
“…new technologies and social media platforms are profoundly changing democracies – and democratic processes – all over the world. While these provide unequalled potential to deliver citizen’s hopes for democratic governance, they also create new challenges and risks for democratic processes and political rights.”
Laura Chinchilla
At a Glance
Elections & Democracy in the Digital Age
12
Experts formed the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age and issued recommendations on how new technologies, social media platforms, and communication tools can be harnessed to engage, empower, and educate voters and strengthen the integrity of elections.
Recommendations were issued, all originating from one of the main conclusions of the report: all relevant Stakeholders – tech and digital platforms, governments, electoral authorities, traditional media, and citizens – play a critical role in strengthening electoral integrity.
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6
In 2022, as Kenya entered the final stretch of its electoral cycle, we urged candidates at all levels to pledge to conduct themselves appropriately and peacefully online, ensuring that Kenyans once again have the opportunity to select their leaders free of intimidation, threats, and violence. The pledge included six commitments, including a pledge to avoid all forms of gender-based violence.
At a two-day multistakeholder workshop hosted by the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya) in Nairobi in November 2021, election stakeholders explored practical solutions to some of the challenges posed by digital technologies in Kenya
A key concern emerging from the workshop was the harmful impact of online gender-based political violence on Kenyan women. Violence against women in politics is present in many regions and countries beyond Kenya. Find out more in our extensive report ‘Eliminating Violence Against Women in Politics‘
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