International Day of Democracy
Next: September 15, 2027
A vote is a quiet kind of power.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly established the International Day of Democracy in 2007, and it was first observed in 2008. The date marks the adoption on 15 September 1997 of the Universal Declaration on Democracy by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
How it's celebrated
Parliaments hold open days and debates, civil-society groups run voter-education and youth events, and the UN Secretary-General issues a message on the year's theme. It is a day for discussion rather than festivity.
Did you know
- The word 'democracy' comes from the Greek dēmos (people) and kratos (rule); Athens' assembly first met around 508 BC.
- India's 2024 general election, with nearly a billion eligible voters, was the largest democratic exercise in history.
- New Zealand was the first self-governing country to give all women the vote, in 1893.
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