[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1134, 234], "category": "Text", "text": "Contributing to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), the intervention logic for this action is that an integrated approach is needed to address the decline in quality of democracy. Aiming to consolidate Peruvian democracy, the Action pursues 3 specific objectives to:"}, {"bbox": [96, 243, 763, 271], "category": "Text", "text": "1. Strengthen electoral integrity, in line with EU EOM recommendations."}, {"bbox": [96, 282, 1126, 311], "category": "Text", "text": "2. Increase political representation and participation of under-represented groups, in particular women and youth."}, {"bbox": [96, 322, 855, 350], "category": "Text", "text": "3. Ensure citizens are better informed about political issues and electoral processes."}, {"bbox": [96, 361, 1134, 495], "category": "Text", "text": "It shall be implemented by Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), for a total amount of EUR 2,500,000. It is complementary to actions of the US (implemented by IDEA) and UNDP, including an EU-funded action under the Rapid Response Pillar of NDICI-GE aiming to reduce the risk of violence and conflict through the promotion of transparent, trustworthy and peaceful electoral processes and democratic solutions to electoral and political conflicts in Peru."}, {"bbox": [85, 554, 300, 584], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 599, 221, 624], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 639, 1134, 823], "category": "Text", "text": "In the last years, Peru has introduced numerous changes to its rules of political representation, in response to different demands. These include legislation for a more democratic candidacy selection processes, gender parity and alternation in the lists of candidacies, additional mechanisms for facilitating transparency and control of political financing, among others. The resulting legal framework is made up of more than twenty regulations that are not necessarily consistent with each other. Many of these changes were fostered by a broad public debate that had as input the recommendations made by the European Union Electoral Observation Mission for the 2016 General Elections."}, {"bbox": [96, 837, 1134, 945], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite the important and positive changes, problems persist in the Peruvian regulatory framework that transcend the dispersion of rules, since there are few ways through which citizens, especially those part of vulnerable groups (women, youth, indigenous peoples, Afro-Peruvians, persons with disabilities and the LGTBIQ+ community) can join politics and represent their interests, needs and expectations."}, {"bbox": [96, 955, 1134, 1222], "category": "Text", "text": "The 2021 General Elections, and especially the second presidential election, despite being considered clean and within the standards of electoral integrity by the international community, were perceived as fraudulent by some political actors and by an important sector of the population (31% of those surveyed in June 2021²). The distrust in the fairness of the process has been amplified by media coverage characterised by ignorance of the basic rules of the process and in which false news proliferated. Even after some improvements, the Peruvian electoral framework still shows deficiencies. The political parties' law is considered too restrictive, but at the same time, the electoral system cannot avoid the emergence of “shell parties” without a programme or real militancy. In addition, the polarised electoral process of 2021 has affected the population's confidence in electoral authorities. Currently, and due to the mentioned shortcomings, the Peruvian electoral system is vulnerable to the emergence of extremist voices, fragile political organisations and the impact of disinformation on democracy."}, {"bbox": [96, 1233, 1134, 1341], "category": "Text", "text": "International IDEA commissioned the Institute of Peruvian Studies to do a national survey applied in September 2021³, where 72% of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with democracy, while 77% perceived that the rulers are little or not interested in citizens' opinions. However, 57% of those surveyed said they were interested in politics and, in particular, it was noted that attitudes towards political reform are positive."}, {"bbox": [96, 1352, 1134, 1486], "category": "Text", "text": "The political crisis unleashed by the close results of 2021 shows the need to build comprehensive solutions that go beyond improving the legal framework and strengthening the competence of electoral bodies to fulfil their functions. Actions to reinforce the capabilities of the media for electoral coverage and articulate civil society and citizens around the defence of democratic values such as tolerance, respect for institutions, and the rule of law, are equally needed."}, {"bbox": [85, 1548, 1037, 1600], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² Encuesta IEP de junio de 2021\nhttps://iep.org.pe/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Informe-IEP-OP-junio-II-2021-Elecciones-Segunda-vuelta.pdf"}, {"bbox": [85, 1596, 976, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Prioridades y demandas ciudadanas frente al actual Congreso (2021-2026) Setiembre 2021. Inédito.\nhttps://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:5572fe49-4fb6-3884-8756-5256601b5aec"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 16"}]