World’s premier election-assistance NGO honors RLP for his impressive contributions to the profession

WASHINGTON, D.C.—November 19, 2009—Rafael López-Pintor, a pioneer in the democracy promotion movement who has helped improve the electoral systems of more than twenty countries, is the winner of IFES’ Joe C. Baxter Award. The annual award pays tribute to professionals whose work epitomizes the mission of IFES—to promote citizen participation, transparency, and accountability in political life and civil society.

“Rafael is one of the original pathfinders in democracy promotion. His contributions are both intellectual and practical. He sets a high bar for future recipients,” says Bill Sweeney, IFES President & CEO.

López-Pintor, currently a Senior Electoral Cycle Specialist at IFES, is one of the acknowledged experts in the world of elections. He was the main researcher and writer of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-commissioned policy book on electoral management bodies and has done top-level work on four continents.

In his work at IFES, López-Pintor has worked closely with Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council to build the country’s electoral infrastructure and increase access for voters with disabilities. López-Pintor has also lead IFES’ efforts to set up a network of political finance regulators in Nicaragua and encourage civil society to monitor political parties and candidates. His other work for IFES includes similar projects in West Bank/Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen and Honduras.

He has worked as a deputy chief observer of European Union missions in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Ecuador and Nicaragua, as well serving in various positions with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and National Democratic Institute. In his home country of Spain, López-Pintor was director general of the main polling agency attached to the Office of the Prime Minister.

A tenured professor at Universidad Autonoma in Madrid, López-Pintor writes and speaks extensively about democracy development. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctor in law from the University Complutense in Madrid. He is fluent in Spanish, English and French.

IFES Chairman of the Board Peter Kelly and IFES Board member Senator Lugar (R-IN) announced that López-Pintor is the winner of the 2009 Baxter award at an IFES event on Capitol Hill earlier in the week. The winner will be publicly acknowledged at IFES’ open house party, a gathering to reconnect with friends and colleagues and become reacquainted with IFES’ work and mission.

For more information, please visit www.ifes.org.

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