For more than a decade, IFES has worked in the Middle East and North Africa; it has project experience in Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, and Yemen. It currently has offices in Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories.

IFES staff includes Arabic and French speakers as well as regional specialists; it has a network of consultants with expertise in election planning and administration, legal reform, NGO capacity building, and local governance. IFES also has a proven track record of designing effective, participatory assistance programs, and in implementing locally appropriate training programs and educational materials. Past and present IFES activities in the region include technical assistance for election administration and election law reform in Yemen; election organization aid in the West Bank and Gaza; support for judicial reform in Morocco; training women candidates for municipal office in Qatar; local governance building, technical assistance for election administration, and election violence education, monitoring, and mitigation in Iraq; election observation and assessment in Tunisia; and support for the rule of law in Egypt and Lebanon.

IFES serves as an information resource on political developments in the region--particularly on elections--for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the field of democratic development. To help build a much-needed resource of Arabic language material on democracy issues, IFES emphasizes the production of Arabic language reports and materials. These include IFES’ Arab Election Law Compendium, available on the Internet in both Arabic and English.

Current Projects

Past Projects