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Resources on the
International Day of Democracy
Selected resources to help parliaments and the public celebrate the second International Day of Democracy:
See also:
POSTERS, LEAFLETS, DOCUMENTS AND SPEECHES
In preparation for the International Day of Democracy, the IPU issued a series of illustrative material which can be downdoaded from this website. Printed materials have been posted to all parliaments.
Documents in HTML format and low-resolution PDF versions of illustrative materials can be downloaded from this site. Parliaments can obtain corresponding high-resolution source files for local translation, printing and reuse by contacting the IPU Secretariat.
| 2011 theme: What do Citizens expect from their Parliament? |
| Poster: International Day of Democracy 2011 |  [English, 2023 Kb] [French, 2028 Kb] [Spanish, 2031 Kb] |
| Handout | [English, 2198 Kb] [French, 2254 Kb] [Spanish, 2304 Kb] |
| Handout for schoolchildren | [English, 3187 Kb] [French, 3334 Kb] [Spanish, 3358 Kb] |
Statement by Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, IPU President  | [English] [French] |
| International Day of Democracy on Facebook |
 [English only] |
| International Day of Democracy on Twitter |  [English only] |
| 2010 theme: Political accountability: Strengthening links between parliaments and citizens |
| Clean politics: a contradiction in terms? Article by Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, IPU President |
[English, 48 Kb] [French, 47 Kb] |
| Press release: "Get involved in politics, says IPU President" |  [English,] [French] |
| Democracy and Development - the Millennium Development Goals, democracy and parliaments |
[English, 68 Kb] [French, 68 Kb] |
| Poster: International Day of Democracy 2010 | [English, 1450 Kb] [French, 1429 Kb] [Spanish, 1429 Kb] |
| Leaflet "Your Parliament: Working for you, Accountable to you" | [English, 3128 Kb] [French, 2984 Kb] [Spanish, 3297 Kb] |
| 2009 theme: Democracy and political tolerance |
| Poster: International Day of Democracy 2009 | [English, 575 Kb] [French, 606 Kb] [Spanish, 593 Kb] |
| Flyer: International Day of Democracy 2009 | [English, 1133 Kb] [French, 1135 Kb] [Spanish, 1132 Kb] |
| Leaflet: Democracy and political tolerance | [English, 1341 Kb] [French, 1304 Kb] [Spanish, 1283 Kb] |
| Report "World public opinion on political tolerance" | [English, 260 Kb] [French, 285 Kb] |
| Press release issued by the WorldPublicOpinion.org | [English, 36 Kb] [French, 36 Kb] |
| Parliamentary Conference on Democracy in Africa (Gaborone, Botswana, 14-16 September 2009) | [English] [French] |
| Statement by Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, IPU President | [English, 52 Kb] [French, 55 Kb] |
| 2008 |
| Poster: International Day of Democracy 2008 | [English, 190 Kb] [French, 190 Kb] |
| Leaflet: International Day of Democracy 2008 | [English, 352 Kb] [French, 357 Kb] |
| Statement of the IPU President, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini | [English, 67 Kb] [French, 66 Kb] |
| Message of the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson | [English, 28 Kb] [French, 32 Kb] |
| General |
| Universal Declaration on Democracy | [English] [French] |
| Poster: Universal Declaration on Democracy | [English, 86 Kb] [French, 88 Kb] [Spanish, 87 Kb] |
| Guidelines on the rights and duties of the opposition | [English] [French] |
VIDEO STREAMING
FACTS AND FIGURES
All data is taken from the PARLINE database on national parliaments. The figures are based on data available at 1 September 2010. The most recent data can be obtained directly from PARLINE.
| 44648 |
The number of members of parliament in the world. The statutory number of seats in parliament is in fact 44962, but not all seats are filled at any given time. In the House of Representatives of Cyprus, for example, the 24 seats allocated to the Turkish Cypriot community have remained vacant since 1963. |
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| 261 |
The total number of national parliamentary chambers. There are functioning parliaments in 186 countries, but the number of chambers is greater, as 77 (40.3%) parliaments are bicameral (meaning that there is a lower and an upper chamber). There is no functioning parliament in Fiji, Guinea, Madagascar, Myanmar or Niger. |
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| 3000 | The world’s largest parliament, the National People’s Congress of China, has 3000 members, of which 637 (21.33%) are women. Deputies are elected by the People's Congresses of the country's 23 provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities directly under the Central Government, and by the armed forces (PLA). The full parliament meets for only a few days each year, and deputies have their own professions. The 175-member Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress exercises legislative and oversight powers between full sessions of parliament. |
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| 11 |
The Senate of Saint Lucia has only 11 members. The lower house of the Saint Lucia parliament, the House of Assembly, is slightly larger, with 18 members. |
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| 19.1% |
The percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in the world. This percentage is increasing slowly but surely. In 1995, women held only 11.3% of the total number of seats. At this rate, gender parity will not be achieved before many decades. The largest percentage of women in any parliamentary chamber is in Rwanda, where 56.3% of members of the Chamber of Deputies. There are significant regional variations in the percentage of women in parliament. The highest average is in the Nordic countries (42.1%), the lowest in the Arab States (9.5%). |
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| 9 |
The number of parliamentary chambers with no women representatives. These consist of Belize, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. However, some of these countries have women in the upper chamber (Belize Senate, Oman State Council, and Palau Senate). |
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| 4.7 |
The average length of the term of parliament in years. Nearly three-quarters of all parliaments have a term of either 4 or 5 years. Three parliaments/parliamentary chambers have a term of only 2 years (Federated States of Micronesia Congress, Nepal Constituent Assembly, and the United States of America House of Representatives). The maximum length of term is 9 years, which exist only in two parliamentary bodies: the Liberian Senate and Morocco House of Councillors. |
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| 72.1% |
The average number of registered voters who turned out at polls in parliamentary elections in 2009. This saw an increase of 2.81 percentage points from the previous year. Direct parliamentary elections took place for 48 chambers in 42 countries in 2009. |
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| 8 |
The number of countries that voted the ruling party out of power in parliamentary elections of 2009. There were a total of 33 countries where the composition of government depended on election results. |
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| 155 |
The number of parliaments that are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, that is, 83.3% of all parliaments. The first conference of the IPU in 1889 was attended by parliamentarians from only nine countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America). |
LINKS
A growing number of documents and other resources partaining to the International Day of Democracy are available on the IPU website and elsewhere. A collection of relevant links is listed below.
IPU website
Other resources
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A PARLIAMENT DOES NOT GUARANTEE DEMOCRACY, BUT THERE CAN BE NO DEMOCRACY WITHOUT A PARLIAMENT
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