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Overview

Managed under IFES' Applied Research Center (ARC), the Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) Project is a targeted research and implementation initiative that identifies those conditions, causes, practices, or failures provoking electoral violence in order to prevent, manage, or reduce opportunities for friction in elections and campaigns.

What We Do

EVER has four component activities: (1) a global survey about the practices of civil society organizations that conduct electoral conflict monitoring; (2) electoral conflict monitoring assessments; (3) electoral conflict prevention and monitoring training tool kit and joint strategies template; (4) and a public web-enabled database that contains the data on electoral conflict collected through EVER monitoring.

Through its training component, the EVER Project seeks to build electoral conflict prevention and monitoring capacity for indigenous CSOs so that the source data and methodologies employed in monitoring incidents have some consistency and benchmarking from country to country.

Though its web-enabled database, EVER seeks to establish greater transparency and accountability in electoral conflict reporting so that such conflict can be better understood and prevented. To this end, the EVER team designed and utilized a web-based database application to track media reports of election violence from 2003 to 2005, and used this prototype to create a powerful tracking tool for the project in Iraq.

A website with access to the database of EVER data from around the world is now in the testing phase, and is expected for public launch in fall 2005

Highlights

• Country Assessment: Monitoring assessment and case study completed in Sri Lanka in 2003. This study helped to identify core needs for monitoring missions using the EVER methodology and the applications of the data for conflict mediation.
• Country Case Study in Ghana: IFES supported CSOs in Ghana while they undertook election violence monitoring using the EVER methodology. IFES Elections Advisor Sue Palmer worked with the Center for Democratic Development in Ghana (CDD-Ghana) and the Institute for Policy Alternatives (IPA) in the adaptation of EVER materials for use in Ghana, and conducted training sessions for monitors. Monitors were deployed in three regions of Ghana to document eyewitness accounts and media reports of electoral violence during election day, and pre- and post-election phases. CDD-Ghana collaborated with other important entities involved in the electoral process with a view to ensuring peace and stability during the election process. CDD-Ghana and IPA were able to raise awareness of electoral violence through their work and documented important lessons for future EVER implementation, including methods of securing monitors, coordinating with other stakeholders, and importance of integration of conflict mitigation elements. Data from Ghana also confirms the key role that community leaders can play in mitigating violence.
• Pilot Project with FTI in Kyrgyzstan: With the IFES Europe division and the Kyrgyz NGO Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI), the EVER team is implementing another pilot project in Kyrgyzstan. This early warning project centered on monitoring violence and tensions surrounding the July 10 election, and continues to generate a weekly bulletin on incidents of violence and analysis of political tension across Kyrgyzstan, which triggers an early intervention mechanism as needed.
• Training Program in Iraq: IFES implemented EVER training and methodology for election violence tracking and conflict mitigation in Iraq. In partnership with a network of CSOs, IFES staff worked over 2004 and early 2005 to gather and review incident reports on election violence, and also provided training on the EVER methodology to domestic election observers for the January 31 election. IFES will continue use of this methodology through the next two election cycles in Iraq planned for 2005. Data from the incident reports is being housed in a state-of-the-art web-enabled database that can be accessed by key government institutions and international organizations operating in Iraq, and will also be found on the global EVER database and website following its launch. IFES has also issued analytical reports that examine the patterns and trends in electoral violence in order to aid these governmental and international bodies in their efforts to mitigate the level of electoral violence in the country. The use of the EVER methodology in Iraq has also allowed IFES to hone techniques to ensure the security of election violence monitors.