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News & Updates
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IFES’ Women’s Leadership Training in the Maldives
This February, IFES Maldives conducted a Women’s Leadership training for female representatives of Maldives four main political parties; gender focal points at various government offices; and female managers from government bodies as well as the private sector.
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Burkina Faso: Partnership for Participation and Poise in Epic Polls
Burkina Faso’s political landscape changed dramatically on October 31, 2014, when President Blaise Compaoré stepped down after nearly three decades in power and fled the country. The 2015 elections offer an unprecedented opportunity for deepening citizen involvement in electoral and political processes, increasing citizens’ confidence in the integrity of voting processes and systems, and enabling young people to channel their new-found activism into peaceful political participation. The elections also carry considerable risk. Unless they are viewed as credible and their outcomes accepted as a legitimate expression of popular choice, alienated citizens, in particular energized young people, could be compelled to reject political processes they deem illegitimate or unfair.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Guinea: Support Political and Electoral Processes
Guinea held a legislative election on September 28, 2013, after six years of delays attributable to a variety of factors, including a military coup d’état. This election, despite being preceded by a series of violent demonstrations, was conducted peacefully, and was widely considered a positive step in Guinea’s democratic transition. Challenges persist, however, that must be addressed prior to the presidential election that is currently scheduled to take place in 2015. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) continues to struggle to demonstrate the institutional and operational capacity necessary to administer elections in a credible and transparent manner and the promotion of electoral reform is further inhibited by a generally weak understanding among citizens of democratic principles, electoral processes, and decentralization.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Liberia Elections and Political Transition
While post-conflict elections relied heavily on international technical and financial assistance, Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) oversaw the general elections in 2005 and 2011 with decreasing levels of international technical assistance, and both elections were widely deemed as credible. Despite these successes, however, the NEC faces challenges as opposition parties often express doubts about the body being independent and non-partisan.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Election Support in the Central African Republic
Since the country’s independence in 1960, the Central African Republic (CAR) has witnessed severe political unrest, violent coups d’état, and most recently a civil war that culminated in the Séléka invasion of Bangui in March 2013.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Support for Electoral Reforms Project (SERP)
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been working to institutionalize reforms to ensure the continued consolidation of Nigeria’s democracy through more credible and accountable electoral processes.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Elections and Political Processes Program in Burundi
Burundi is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2015, amid a political climate marked by a sense of polarization that has endured since the local election in 2010, when the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) won by a wide margin, and opposition parties boycotted the four elections that followed.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Kenya Electoral System Support
The new Kenyan Constitution puts forth a vision of a democracy where all voters are fully enfranchised. In particular, it emphasizes the inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities and other groups who have historically been marginalized by, or underrepresented, in the governance of the country.
January 28, 2015
Publication
Brochure/Fact Sheet
Côte d’Ivoire Electoral Reform Support
In Côte d’Ivoire, mistrust among political contestants and their supporters and alleged manipulation of electoral processes during each presidential election since the advent of multiparty politics has undermined confidence in electoral systems.
January 28, 2015
News & Updates
Feature
Elections to Watch in 2015
Elections, as well as the issues and debates of electoral campaigns, provide insight into the responsiveness and resiliency of political systems and offer a convenient measure of the practice of democracy in a given country. This is true for countries with varying levels of experience with democracy, from those undergoing transition to those with long-established democratic practices. In this New Year, several countries will experience crossroads elections in which political and electoral systems are being tested and voters will be faced with clear choices. Tumult and turbulence – from the rising challenge of ISIS to the continued narco-violence in Latin America, from the Ebola pandemic to anemic economic conditions in many regions – form the backdrop for these critical contests at various socio-political crossroads.