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IFES has supported democracy's emergence and consolidation throughout sub-Saharan Africa since 1989. From its start conducting a groundbreaking series of pre-election technical assessments, IFES' Africa program portfolio today features activities in elections, rule of law, civil society and governance.

Thirty-one of 43 sub-Saharan African nations have received assistance from IFES. IFES’ current sub-Saharan programs focus on third and fourth-generation elections, sustainable professional election administration, improved governance, post-conflict transition, the rule of law, political finance and electoral access for citizens with disabilities. Over the course of the 1990s, IFES witnessed the growth of a cadre of experienced local institutions, organizations and individuals, many of whom now hold an expanding partnership role in future IFES programs.

Current Projects

Angola
In April 2005, a new electoral law was passed establishing an electoral commission whose first task will be to oversee voter registration. Civil society organizations have begun to organize and participate in the political process, calling for transparency and participation in elections and governance.
Angola Home

Djibouti
IFES began work in Djibouti in 2005, with a pre-election assessment prior to presidential elections that year. Since that time, IFES has worked in the areas of electoral reform and decentralization. IFES’ work in Djibouti is funded by USAID.
Djibouti Home

Ethiopia
Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country. While it was briefly colonized by the Italians under Mussolini, it has been relatively free from the coups that have disrupted politics elsewhere in Africa. However, as one of the continent’s poorest states, its politics have often been disrupted by famine, drought and war.
Ethiopia Home

Guinea
Participants in an IFES civic education project at a school for the deaf. Located in West Africa, Guinea has a population of approximately 8 million people, 51% of whom are women and 45% under the age of 30. Once a French colony, it was the first African country to gain independen…
Guinea Home

Liberia
IFES has worked in Liberia since 2001, when it conducted a pre-election assessment. Since that time, IFES has worked with election officials to improve their capacity to hold free and fair elections and to monitor political expenditures during the elections process.
Liberia Home

Nigeria
IFES and its partners are supporting Nigerian institutions in deepening the roots of democracy in this important West African country.
Nigeria Home

Sierra Leone
Since 1999, IFES has conducted various activities designed to improve the ability of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission to conduct effective, free and fair elections. These activities include assessing the country’s electoral infrastructure, advising the commission as it restructured, helping improve the voter registration process and assisting as the commission created a consultative committee composed of political party representatives.
Sierra Leone Home
Past Projects

Burundi
After a long civil war during which some 300,000 people have been killed since 1993, Burundi completed the last step of the transitional period outlined in the peace plan signed in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2000. Its presidential election—held August 19, 2005—ended the three-year transitional period. Burundi faces the challenges of maintaining stability and building political institutions that allow its democracy to grow stronger.
Burundi Home

Cote D'Ivoire

Kenya
Kenya functioned as de facto a one-party state from 1969-1982 when the ruling Kenya African national Union (KANU) assumed the role as official sole party. Opposition unsuccessfully pulled KANU from power in both the 1992 and 1997 elections. In 2002, Mwai Kibaki of the National Rainbow Coalition group ran an anti-corruption campaign and defeated the KANU party candidate to assume the presidency.
Kenya Home

The Democratic Republic of Congo
IFES began working in the DRC in 1998 and has remained engaged, even after the outbreak of the war.
The Democratic Republic of Congo Home

Uganda
IFES first began its work in Uganda in 1994, when it facilitated a post-elections evaluation seminar at the request of the Electoral Commission. Since that time, IFES has provided assistance to the Electoral Commission and conducted a survey of citizens' views about democracy and their government.
Uganda Home

To learn more about our experts from this region, visit here.

For more information, please contact us at africa.programs@ifes.org.

Applications and resumes are not accepted at this address.

News and Materials
December 30, 2008
IFES News in Brief: Elizabeth Cote, chief of party in Guinea for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), comments on the Guinean coup:
December 18, 2008
Press Release: Now Available: Innovative manual to fight corruption and money-laundering (.pdf)
December 16, 2008
IFES.org Feature: New Publication: Money and Politics in Nigeria
December 16, 2008
Press Release: Nigerian Democracy Experts Advise on Campaign Finance Anti-Corruption Reform (.pdf)
November 7, 2008
IFES.org Feature: Rwanda's Continuing Genocide
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