On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy (celebrated on September 15th), former vice Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Interior Joëlle Milquet and ECES co-founder and Executive Director Fabio Bargiacchi published a very special editorial in La Libre Belgique, under the title "When COVID puts democracies in jeopardy".
The piece, written in French and also available in Italian in the prestigious Huffington Post thanks to the collaboration of ECES President Monica Frassoni provides insights into the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to impact electoral and democratic processes around the world.
It tackles the multi-faceted consequences of the pandemic on democracy, dubbing it "one of the unfortunate forgotten victims of COVID" noting that more than 100 elections have been postponed, canceled or hindered around the world since the pandemic started. The authors urge for a strategy to counter these risks, calling for the EU to step up to protect the vital core of democracy.
"Needless to remind how crucial transparent elections abiding by democratic standards are as they form the basis of democracies and unwaverable conditions for representativeness and popular participation."
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