International Day of Democracy
To mark the International Day of Democracy on 15 September 2021, the Kofi Annan Foundation and United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) asked young people from around the world to share what democracy means to them.
To mark the International Day of Democracy on 15 September 2021, the Kofi Annan Foundation and United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) asked young people from around the world to share what democracy means to them.
Elections have become almost universal since the end of the Cold War. Yet in many countries where elections are held, freedom and democracy are actually in retreat. Intended as mechanisms for the peaceful arbitration of political rivalries, they frequently become flashpoints for political violence. At the core of these paradoxes are elections without integrity. All too often, elections serve merely to give autocratic regimes a veneer of legitimacy. But elections without integrity cannot provide the winners with legitimacy, the losers with security and the public with confidence in their leaders and institutions. This makes polities fragile as it encourages disgruntled groups to find other, less constructive, channels for the expression of their discontent. The Kofi Annan Foundation and Electoral Integrity Initiative advise countries on how to strengthen the integrity and legitimacy of their electoral processes and avoid election-related violence. Looking beyond technical requirements, they focus on creating conditions for legitimate elections, making it possible to govern peaceably in a climate of trust.