Credible, transparent and fair elections and functioning democratic parliaments are two pillars of a democratic governance system in any country around the world.

It is important to underline that for fledgling democracies and countries recovering from crisis, elections are not an end, but rather a beginning - a very critical but nonetheless preliminary step in the transition to democratic governance. Realizing the promise of elections and minimizing the risk of public disillusionment with the democratic process requires investments in long-term democratic development, in particular the consolidation of governing institutions like parliaments.

Electoral assistance and parliamentary support can therefore be considered as ideal entry points for the strengthen of democratic governance in a country. Their primary role in assisting the development of a democratic system explains the fact that the international community support for both areas has increased significantly in last years.

UNDP launched several global programs in the area of democratic governance, including on rule of law and justice, local governance, governance assessment. Assistance to elections and Parliament are part of this network.

Both based in Brussels, the Global Program for Electoral Cycle Support and the Global Program for Parliamentary Strengthening are looking at ways to strengthen democratic governance systems in collaboration of and with the facilitation of the Joint EC UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance.