A record 80,281 candidates representing 278 political parties and movements competed in Ecuador’s March 24 regional elections – over three times as many candidates as in 2014. These were the first regional elections since Lenin Moreno was elected president and adopted a reform agenda opposed by former President Rafael Correa, effectively splitting the Country Alliance (Alianza Pais, AP) which had governed Ecuador for ten years. The results suggest a reshuffling in Ecuador’s political coalitions ahead of the 2021 presidential and National Assembly elections.

In an era in which democracy faces an increasing array of challenges, parliamentarians play a critical role in upholding democratic norms and ensuring basic human rights for all. In May 2018, a working group of global parliamentarians and parliamentary networks convened at the Ninth Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss parliamentary efforts to promote democracy and uphold human rights around the world.

Effective handovers of power after democratic elections are becoming increasingly important, but also more challenging. Senior practitioners and experts on executive-branch transitions met in Montreal, Canada, on November 1 and 2, 2018, to share good practices for the smooth transfer of government control from one elected administration to another. The international symposium, co-hosted by NDI, the White House Transition Project and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, included former heads of state and government, current and former ministers, chiefs of staff and other senior political staff, senior civil servants and scholars.

Supported by NDI and more than a dozen other international partners, the Design 4 Democracy Coalition held its first Advisory Board meeting on October 25th, in conjunction with MisinfoCon London and Mozilla Fest (MozFest).

More than 15 legislators from the Northern Triangle countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – met in San Salvador, El Salvador, for a two-day conference to advance a regional legislative agenda on security and human rights. The Northern Triangle region faces the highest homicide rate globally, and transnational criminal networks make collaboration between the three countries a critical element in efforts to improve security.

NDI continues to expand its efforts at the intersection of tech and democracy in response to the growing, global challenges of disinformation and cyberattacks against political parties and democracy organizations. Over the coming months, NDI will be rolling out a number of new initiatives to promote the integrity of information in politics and to support the civic tech community.