International Foundation for Election Systems

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IFES (formerly known as the International Foundation for Election Systems) is an international, non-profit, Washington, DC-based organization that "supports the building of democratic societies". Founded in 1987, IFES has 200 employees with field offices in more than 21 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The next president of IFES will be Jean-Pierre Kingsley.[1]

IFES receives funding from the following governments/organizations:

  • the US government
  • Canadian International Development Agency
  • Swedish International Development Agency
  • Finnish International Development Agency
  • British Department for International Development
  • private contributions

Contents

[edit] Current Areas of Activity

  • Strengthening Electoral Processes: IFES provides technical assistance to governments, political parties and civil society organizations in election planning and administration, electoral law development, and voter education.
  • Building the Capacity of Civil Society: IFES works to mobilize citizens to participate in democratic politics in a constructive and effective manner.
  • Bolstering the Rule of Law: IFES encourages the development of an independent judiciary, an independent media, and an informed and engaged civil society as means to achieve the rule of law in developing democracies.
  • Encouraging Good Governance: IFES works to improve the transparency and efficiency of government institutions by building the management capacity, independence and professionalism of public officials in order to enable them to better serve their constituents.

[edit] Informational Products

IFES offers many resources for those who are interested in the field of democracy development. These include:

  • Democracy at large, a quarterly magazine designed for professionals interested in democracy development worldwide.
  • A free monthly e-newsletter (IFES e-news) that provides the latest news and information about IFES’ work and democracy development worldwide (sign up at www.ifes.org).
  • An online election calendar, www.ElectionGuide.org, which lists past and future election dates for countries around the world. It also provides election results, voter turnout statistics, and profiles of election issues.
  • The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, which IFES participates in with other elections organizations. The website provides extensive information about the nuts and bolts of election administration.
  • The IFES Buyer's Guide for Election Suppliers, the only comprehensive directory of companies selling election supplies, equipment and services to those responsible for managing public and private elections.
  • Public opinion research and surveys on democratic development (http://www.ifes.org/arc-surveys.html).
  • The Arab Election Law Compendium, a collection of election laws in Arabic and either English or French from various countries throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. It includes full texts of laws, background on the election process and detailed analysis of each law prepared by notable regional experts.
  • Other resources available at www.ifes.org.

[edit] Sources

  • International Foundation for Election Systems. Official website. [1]
  • "Group Watch: International Foundation for Electoral Systems" Right Web Program of the Interhemispheric Resource Center. December 1989.[2]
  • Network for Good profile. [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kingsley to take international election monitoring post. CBC News. Retrieved 31 January 2007.

[edit] External links