Top Elections NGO Honors Pioneer of Electoral Democracy in Africa
October 26, 2010
Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, chairman of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, is the recipient of this year’s Joe C. Baxter Award. The Baxter Award is presented annually to professionals whose work epitomizes the mission of IFES—to promote citizen participation, transparency, and accountability in political life and civil society. “Dr. Afari-Gyan has made remarkable contributions to electoral democracy in Ghana, Africa, and throughout the world. He is a shining example of how much one individual can contribute to the advancement of a human right,” says Bill Sweeney, IFES president and CEO.
Democracy Assistance,
Electoral Systems,
Elections,
Civil Society,
Election Procedures
IFES Observes International Day of Democracy
September 15, 2009
In 2007 the United Nations General Assembly decided to observe September 15th as the International Day of Democracy. The preamble of the resolution affirmed that: "while democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy and that democracy does not belong to any country or region...democracy is a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life."
Gender Issues,
Elections,
Public Opinion,
Democracy Assistance,
Civil Society
Elections Today: Blind Observer
Winter 2001
The December 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana were novel in two respects. First, a historic run-off ensued between Mr. John Agyekum Kuffour of the New Patriotic Party and Prof. John Evans Attah Mills of the National Democratic Congress following the inability of any of the presidential candidates to get the required number of votes to be declared president outright. Equally historic, persons with disabilities in the Northern, Upper-East, and Upper-West regions of Ghana, as well as in the capital city of Accra, participated as election observers. The mission of the observation team was to assess the level of participation of people with disabilities in the elections and gauge the opportunities and obstacles involved in their participation, so as to identify ways of making future elections more inclusive. The observation was done under the auspices of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), in conjunction with Action on Disability and Development (ADD), a U.K.-based international development agency, and a local organization, the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD). A blind teacher from Accra, I observed voting in Adenta, a northern constituency in the Greater Accra Region.
People with Disabilities,
Elections,
Election Procedures,
Election Observation