Celebrating the 2014 Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards Dinner
On October 1, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) celebrated its fifth annual Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards with a gala dinner and ceremony at the Washington, D.C. Marriott at Metro Center. This ceremony brings diverse groups of domestic and international leaders together who share a belief in advancing good governance and democratic rights by empowering and encouraging active citizen participation.
IFES presents the awards annually to three individuals who embody the character and spirit of former U.S. Ambassador and IFES Board of Directors Chairman Charles T. Manatt. This year’s honorees were Venezuelan opposition leader and Congresswoman Maria Corina Machado, Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Machado was unable to attend in person due to an order by the Venezuelan government not to leave the country. Her son Henrique Sosa Machado and the former President of Colombia, Andres Pastrana, accepted the award on her behalf.
