Professor Benjamin Reilly, a leading expert on electoral systems, gave a talk at IFES on July 22, 2010 on the evolution and recent trends of electoral system design.  

During his presentation, entitled "Electoral System Design: Issues and Trends", Dr. Reilly, director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions and professor of political science at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, gave an overview of the different electoral systems that have emerged over the past decade.

He talked about his recent work in Mongolia and used that country’s experience to illustrate the process of revamping an electoral system. He also gave an overview of how systems around the world have changed. He pointed out two trends in particular, the first is that most East Asian countries have moved towards Mixed Members Majoritarian systems. The second is that  emerging democracies have gotten into the habit of often amending their electoral systems.

Dr. Reilly has advised over twenty governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, International IDEA, and the Australian government, and written numerous articles and books, including Political Parties in Conflict Prone Societies, published by the United Nations University Press in 2008. For more information about his work, please visit: http://www.crawford.anu.edu.au/staff/breilly.php