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News & Updates
Feature
An Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election
On September 23, 2014, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) hosted a conversation between IFES President and CEO Bill Sweeney and the former Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India (ECI), S.Y. Quraishi. Sweeney and Quraishi discussed Quraishi’s book An Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election, a first-person account of the recent electoral history of India and a must-read for those interested in understanding how the world's largest democracy works. Quraishi was also presented with the IFES’ prestigious Hutar Award, which honors those who express a commitment to improving democratic practices.
During the event, Sweeney marveled at the immense technical undertaking of elections in India, noting that as the Chief Electoral Commissioner of India, Quraishi oversaw elections that involved over 11 million Indian government personnel. Indeed, elections in India generate both wonder and interest globally. Polls have been held at regular intervals in the country since independence, and on an unprecedented scale, surmounting the massive challenges posed by the geography of the land and the diversity of the Indian populace.
During the event, Sweeney marveled at the immense technical undertaking of elections in India, noting that as the Chief Electoral Commissioner of India, Quraishi oversaw elections that involved over 11 million Indian government personnel. Indeed, elections in India generate both wonder and interest globally. Polls have been held at regular intervals in the country since independence, and on an unprecedented scale, surmounting the massive challenges posed by the geography of the land and the diversity of the Indian populace.
News & Updates
Feature
Is a New Power-Sharing Deal the Best Governing Arrangement for Yemen?
Over the past two decades Yemen’s political leadership has often addressed political deadlocks or crises by signing informal power-sharing arrangements among various tribal, regional and political groups in the absence of institutions or a legal framework mandating or regulating these agreements. Many of the agreements were either aborted immediately upon adoption, never implemented, or abandoned within a few years.
News & Updates
Feature
IFES Supports New Biometric Voter Registration System in Yemen
Since 2012, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has been providing technical assistance to Yemen’s electoral body, the Supreme Commission of Elections and Referendum (SCER), to develop and implement the country’s new biometric voter registration system (BVR). In May 2014, the SCER conducted a pilot test of the new system, registering nearly 19,000 individuals out of a total estimated voting age population of 24,000 in a single electoral district in the capital of Sana’a.
News & Updates
Interview/Speech/Testimony
IFES Q&A with Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. SY Quraishi
As a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. SY Quraishi has a deep understanding of the intricacies of how the world’s largest democracy works. He also has more than 35 years of experience in civil service. Dr. Quraishi is well known in India and abroad as a development thinker, for his inclusive style of leadership, and for bringing together wide varieties of groups and institutions to achieve the common objectives of development. In this Q&A, Dr. Quraishi discusses challenges the Election Commission of India (ECI) faces in preparing to conduct credible elections and shares lessons learned. India’s five-week general elections started on April 7.
News & Updates
Feature
A Rights-Based Approach to Electoral Security
In India, Maoist rebels killed 14 people in attacks in Chhattisgarh state as part of a campaign of violence aimed at disrupting the ongoing five-week national election in the world’s most populous democracy. Similarly, in the days leading up to the April 5 presidential election in Afghanistan, the Taliban unleashed a campaign of violence to discredit the electoral process and keep voters from the polls. Many hope this election will be known for delivering the first peaceful transfer of power in the country’s history.
News & Updates
Interview/Speech/Testimony
Leveling the Playing Field for Yemeni Women: A Q&A with Safia Al-Sayaghi
News & Updates
Feature
Transition at a Crossroads: Moving Beyond the GCC Agreement in Yemen
In late 2011, Yemeni political leaders and stakeholders endorsed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Agreement, which laid out a two-year roadmap for resolving Yemen's political paralysis. The agreement scripted a process with an inclusive National Dialogue, a new constitution, a constitutional referendum and national elections to move the country forward. Two years later, it is likely the initial timeframe will expire without a referendum and without elections. Please view a panel discussion on these timely issues, the overall political environment in Yemen, the potential impact on the electoral process and the ongoing role of the international community.
News & Updates
Interview/Speech/Testimony
IFES Alumni Goes Back to School, Looks to Level the Global Playing Field
Alexandra Matthews, a graduate student at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, tells us what she learned about empowering the vulnerable while at IFES, and how this work inspired her studies.
Publication
Book
Financing Politics: The Middle East and North Africa
Financing Politics: The Middle East and North Africa is a collaborative effort between the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Arab Region Parliamentarians against Corruption (ARPAC). It represents a concerted attempt to better understand and document existing political finance regulations and experiences in five countries – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Yemen. The availability of information on the funding of parties and campaigns is a first and significant step in enhancing transparency.
September 30, 2013
News & Updates
Feature
Empowering Underrepresented Populations
In this podcast, Vasu Mohan, IFES deputy director for Asia, and Alan Wall, country director in Nepal tell us about IFES' work to empower underrepresented populations.