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Agenda for Country Workshop on Judicial Independence
IFES organized a conference on judicial independence in Lima, Peru, in November 2001 to roll out the recently released IFES/USAID publication entitled Judicial Independence Guide: Guidance for Promoting Judicial Independence and Impartiality. The two-day event, funded by USAID, brought together members of the judiciary, legislature and executive as well as legal professionals, members of civil society and representatives of the development community. The presentations engaged participants on a set of strategic issues related directly to Peruvian judicial independence within a global, regional and country context, including the dissemination and discussion of both country and comparative international research, best practices, emerging trends and lessons learned. The Lima Declaration was developed during the conference with a view to prioritizing judicial independence issues, developing specific strategies to implement short and long-term reforms and identifying specific programs and best practices.
November 27, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
International Election Observation, Honduras, November 21-27 2001: Observation Guide
This document reports on IFES election observations from the November 2001 general elections in Honduras. The document includes observations from various organizations such as the CIA, CNN Election Watch and USAID.
November 14, 2001
News & Updates
Press Release
Intellectually Disabled Individuals Observe Nicaraguan National Elections
Adults with intellectual disabilities served as election observers in Nicaragua's recent national elections, possibly for the first time globally. Under a project directed by IFES and funded by the Swedish government, the Nicaraguan Association for Community Integration (ASNIC) provided training for over 100 observers with disabilities, 20 of whom were individuals with intellectual disabilities. Managuan special education professor Horacio Ortega designed a three-part training program for these 20 observers. The training included the use of a mock voting table to demonstrate the different roles and responsibilities of poll workers, party agents, observers, and voters.
Publication
Survey
Issues and Priorities for Bangladesh: The 2000 IFES National Survey
In 2000, IFES conducted a first-of-its-kind poll of Bangladeshi adults that measured their opinions about a range of social and political issues. At the time, Bangladeshi politics was dominated by conflict between its two major parties. Through the poll, IFES hoped to learn voters’ attitudes toward the country’s current political and economic situation and to document their policy preferences. The results were made available to political parties, the government and civil society to better inform them about voters’ concerns. Twenty-two percent of respondents said development should be the foremost concern of their country’s leaders, and 17 percent (the next largest group) said politicians should focus on improving the “law and order situation.”
October 31, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
Final Report, Russia Project, April 15, 1998-June 30, 2001
This Final Project Report details the activities carried out in Russia from May 1998. The impacts of the project, as well as the "lessons learned" over the course of the project are discussed in the report. Specifically, the report covers three topics; elections systems development, elections technical assistance and the media and elections.
August 31, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
“All the Voters Will Be Dead”: HIV/AIDS and Democratic Legitimacy and Stability in Africa
HIV/AIDS is ravaging sub-Saharan Africa, with infection rates as high as 36 percent. At the same time, most of these countries have recently begun the democratization process and have only nascent democratic practices and institutions. This research explores the connection between HIV/AIDS and democratic legitimacy and stability in Africa by focusing on five of the six most-infected countries on the continent: Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The results show that HIV/AIDS does have the potential to pose a major threat to democratic legitimacy and stability in the region due to three factors. First, cumbersome voter registration laws and the deaths of politically neutral civil servants who administer the elections increase the chances for electoral fraud. Second, the likely economic decline further imperils the chances of successful democratization, as positive links exist between economic development and democratization. Third, since those in their teens and 20s and the educated/professional classes have borne the brunt of the disease so far, their deaths will impinge upon the development of a vibrant civil society which can not only agitate for democratization, but also keep the government in check. The confluence of these three factors makes the impact of HIV/AIDS larger than any previously faced. This research demonstrates the need for aggressive, concerted efforts at HIV/AIDS prevention as a part of democratization programs, and how HIV/AIDS fits in with IFES’ four pillars.
August 14, 2001
Publication
Survey
Citizen's Awareness and Participation in Armenia (2001)
IFES conducted a national survey in Armenia between June 10 and June 22, 2001. Section I is the introduction, while Section II highlights the most important findings. Section III covers the source of information that is available to the public about political and economic issues and other topics relevant to enabling citizens to better understand the working of their democratic institutions in Armenia. Section IV describes attitudes toward basic social and political processes and institutions. Section V examines attitudes toward women’s participation in decision-making and the support for women’s rights in Armenia. Section VI describes actions that citizens have taken to effect political change, and provides reasons why others have not taken these steps. The next section, VII provides data on the general knowledge citizens have of their country’s political process. Section VIII, the conclusion, relates these findings to IFES’ Citizen’s Awareness and Participation in Armenia program.
July 31, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
Europe and Eurasia: June-July 2001
June-July 2001 update on IFES activities in Europe and Eurasia. Highlighted countries/organizations include: Europe IFES Conducts Democracy Summer Camps Throughout the Central Asian Republics ACEEEO: 10-Year Jubilee Conference Scheduled Albania: Parliamentary Elections Held Bosnia and Herzegovina: Representatives of AEOBIH Sekretariat Conduct Field Visits and Citizens’ Guide Completed Macedonia: Public Discussion of Draft Election Laws Held and Working Group Participates in Study Tour of Albania Moldova: IFES Hosts Women in Politics Seminar and CDPD Airs Radio Broadcasts on Ethnic Tolerance Yugoslavia (Kosovo): Preparations for Voter Registration and Elections Continue Caucasus Armenia: IFES Conducts Training Session for Civic Educators and Cooperates with School of Young Leaders Azerbaijan: IFES Participates in COE Conferences and Parliament Passes Five New Municipal Laws Georgia: IFES Holds Sessions on Draft Unified Election Code Central Asian Republics Kazakhstan: Ministry of Education and Science Signs Protocol of Understanding with IFES Kyrgyzstan: IFES Conducts Democracy Summer Camp at KSNU Issyk-Kul Facility Tajikistan: Preparations Continue for Democracy Summer Camps
June 30, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
An Action Plan For Electoral Participation of People with Disabilites: Sierra Leone Case Study
The International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) was invited by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Sierra Leone to assist in developing a plan to promote the electoral enfranchisement of citizens with disabilities. IFES is a recognized provider of technical assistance in elections and has a particular expertise in the area of empowering citizens with disabilities. IFES has performed work in Sierra Leone since 1999 and is currently providing direct assistance to the NEC in anticipation of presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2001.
June 30, 2001
Publication
Report/Paper
Electoral Participation by People with Disabilities: Peru Case Study
"To be able to participate as an electoral observer in the electoral process of a country is an interesting experience, and as a person with a disability it represents a greater challenge. Most people think that we cannot play an important role in the electoral process; the will to want to do it enhances the commitment. In this experience, I began early in the morning by receiving the observation forms and headed to the pre-selected polling sites where I identified myself as a member of Transparencia. I received gestures of support and perceived doubts. Some poll-workers arrived to their posts very annoyed by the responsibilities that were called on to them to carry out, but when noticing my presence some commented: if you are here and in a wheelchair, what am I complaining about? It is the first time in Peru's elections that we have the opportunity to participate as observers." Maria Nelly Novoa Bellota.
June 30, 2001