Asia-Pacific
Over the last three decades, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has engaged in programming and research across Asia-Pacific, partnering global expertise with local solutions through combining efforts with a variety of partner organizations. Our efforts in Asia-Pacific also showcase IFES’ excellence in inclusion and participation, with elements of youth, gender, persons with disabilities and underrepresented populations in portions of our work in countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal, and Cambodia.
Current Field Offices
Current Activities
Related Experts See All IFES Experts
Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, and Senior Global Advisor for Conflict, Displacement and Minority Rights
Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific
Related Content
3 Dec 2018 | News and Updates
The annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held on December 3, commemorates the human rights of persons with disabilities. The theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with...
26 Nov 2018 | Publication
In response to a recent study by Max Grömping entitled The Integrity of Elections in Asia: Policy Lessons from Expert Evaluations, IFES produced a briefing paper with some examples of policy...
16 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
On November 14, 2018, Vasu Mohan, IFES' regional director for Asia-Pacific and technical lead on elections, conflict and security, provided testimony to the House of Representatives’ Tom Lantos Human...
9 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
On November 6, 2018, IFES and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) celebrated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which reaffirms the longstanding relationship between IFES and...
6 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
On November 6, 2018, IFES gathered more than 130 participants for “Elections Under Threat? A Global Comparative Analysis of Cybersecurity of Elections,” a discussion about the state of cybersecurity...
1 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
IFES welcomes former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Anthony (Tony) Banbury as its new President and CEO. Banbury brings 30 years of experience in public service to IFES, with...
26 Oct 2018 | Election FAQ
On November 14, Fijian citizens went to the polls to elect 51 members of Parliament, the country’s national legislature. The political party that controls a majority or plurality of seats will form a...
9 Oct 2018 | Multimedia
From August 11 to 13, the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (EC) and IFES held a “Democracy Fellowship Youth Camp” with 70 participants from across Sri Lanka.
19 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
IFES and the Nepal Disabled Women Association trained women with disabilities as part of a “Power to Persuade: Empowering Women with Disabilities to Influence Public Policy” training from August 27-...
19 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission officially launched its 2018-2022 Corporate Plan, which will guide the commission’s efforts to prepare for and conduct effective, inclusive elections,...
12 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
On August 29-30, 2018, IFES implemented a new tool for training senior electoral leaders in Colombo, Sri Lanka, following the fourth annual Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum. The curriculum was...
30 Aug 2018 | Multimedia
On August 10, the Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner, in partnership with IFES, held a youth participation in elections workshop to celebrate International Youth Day 2018.
30 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
To celebrate International Youth Day, IFES’ civil society partner Association of Youth Organizations Nepal conducted two campaign events around the 2018 theme, “Safe Spaces for Youth,” advocating for...
13 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is pleased to announce that Dong Nguyen Huu, a distinguished elections expert who is currently an advisor to the three Mexican electoral authorities, has supported numerous elections worldwide...
10 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
IFES celebrates International Youth Day 2018 with a weeklong social media campaign to showcase the importance of youth participation in democratic and political processes. This year’s theme, Safe...
31 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is working to support disability rights advocates’ efforts toward the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life. One such advocate is Nazma Ara Begum Popy, general...
23 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
On July 24, the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the International Disability Alliance and the Government of Kenya will host the first-ever Global Disability Summit. IFES...
9 Jul 2018 | Publication
IFES' civil society partner Samuhik Abhiyan conducted a campaign finance monitoring mission during Nepal’s December 2017 House of Representatives elections. With the launch of their report on May 18...
6 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Future is a youth civic education training program designed and supported by IFES. By supporting Myanmar’s youth to develop civic knowledge and critical thinking...
26 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights launched an initiative to develop a new regional instrument to mainstream the rights of persons with...
26 Jun 2018 | Election FAQ
On June 27, Indonesian citizens went to the polls to vote for governors, mayors and/or regents across 31 provinces as part of the 2018 regional head elections. To help you understand this...
25 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
On June 13, 2018, IFES co-hosted a side event at the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Each panelist highlighted opportunities...
15 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
She Leads, a flagship program of IFES, works to empower women with the skills and knowledge to participate and take on leadership roles in political and electoral processes through a series of...
9 May 2018 | News and Updates
In February 2018, Sri Lanka held a local government election to elect over 8,000 representatives under a new mixed-member proportional representation system. IFES worked with the Election Commission...
8 May 2018 | Election FAQ
On May 12, Timor-Leste held elections for all 65 seats in the National Parliament. The last parliamentary elections were held on July 22, 2017, and, despite lengthy negotiations, no party was able to...
26 Apr 2018 | News and Updates
The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission (PNGEC), with the support of IFES, conducted its strategic planning process from October 2017 to March 2018 with the aim of developing its 2018-2022...
25 Apr 2018 | News and Updates
In 2011, IFES' Electoral Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) methodology found that women were rarely the subjects of political violence in the Maldives – less than 2 percent of violent...
16 Apr 2018 | News and Updates
In 2017, record numbers of Nepali voters turned out to vote in local, provincial and national level elections to elect 35,000 Local Council representatives, including mayors and deputy mayors, 550...
14 Mar 2018 | News and Updates
To commemorate International Women’s Day in Indonesia, IFES, the International Republican Institute and the Association for Elections and Democracy hosted “Women’s Challenges in a Political Year” – a...
14 Mar 2018 | Multimedia
In this edition of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ (IFES) “Dialogues on Democracy,” Editorial and Communications Manager Adam Gallagher speaks with Vasu Mohan, IFES’ regional...
14 Mar 2018 | News and Updates
As Fiji prepares to hold its next general elections, strengthening the accuracy of election reporting and promoting informed electoral analyses is a critical priority. From February 20-22, 2018, at...
9 Mar 2018 | Election FAQ
Elections for the president of Nepal took place on March 13, with elections for vice president expected shortly after the announcement of presidential results. The elections for president and...
8 Mar 2018 | News and Updates
As Indonesia enters now a contentious election period consisting of regional elections in June 2018 and national elections in April 2019, it is important that election stakeholders are brought...
8 Mar 2018 | News and Updates
Ahead of Sri Lanka's February 2018 local government election, IFES carried out a women’s leadership program, She Leads SL, that equipped 458 Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim women with practical campaign...
28 Feb 2018 | Election FAQ
Pakistan will hold Senate elections on March 3 to fill 52 seats vacated by retiring senators at the end of their six-year term. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES...
14 Feb 2018 | Multimedia
Sri Lanka’s February 10, 2018 local government election introduced numerous changes to the electoral system. Under its U.S. Agency for International Development-funded “Improved Election Management...
5 Feb 2018 | Election FAQ
On February 10, Sri Lanka held elections for all of its 341 local government bodies, after a two-year delay due in part to the adoption of a new, mixed-member proportional (MMP) system and the...
2 Feb 2018 | Election FAQ
Elections for Nepal’s National Assembly, the upper house of the bicameral Federal Parliament, will be held on February 7. The National Assembly is comprised of 59 members, with eight elected from...
31 Jan 2018 | Multimedia
IFES works closely with the Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON), a national network of youth-led organizations. AYON recently created a “I Vote Because” campaign and facilitated a mock...
29 Jan 2018 | News and Updates
Sri Lanka’s upcoming local government election will introduce numerous changes to the electoral system. The public will need to be informed of these changes in a balanced, impartial and fair manner....
12 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
In 2011, IFES established the General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) across Southeast Asia. A creative partnership between disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and election-focused...
12 Dec 2017 | Publication
For Timor-Leste's 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections, IFES supported local disabled people’s organization Ra’es Hadomi Timor Oan (RHTO) to conduct disability access monitoring. For the...
6 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
Sri Lanka looks to hold local government elections in early 2018, which will introduce thousands of new women leaders as the country implements its first-ever women’s quota. There is a critical need...
5 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
As part of its U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Women’s Legal Rights Initiative in India, IFES launched the “Dignity of the Girl Child” campaign to address sex selection, infanticide...
30 Nov 2017 | Multimedia
On November 26, 2017, Nepal held the first phase of its first national and state-level legislature elections since the promulgation of its new constitution on September 20, 2015. Voters headed to one...
22 Nov 2017 | News and Updates
“She Leads” is a nationwide women’s leadership program developed by IFES and its Myanmar partner Yaung Chi Thit (YCT). The program works to address the lack of women’s leadership in politics and...
21 Nov 2017 | Election FAQ
On November 26 and December 7, 2017, Nepal held its first national and state-level legislature elections since the promulgation of its new constitution on September 20, 2015. To help you...
9 Nov 2017 | News and Updates
On October 12-13, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) held a Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) training on “Disability Rights, Media, and...
3 Oct 2017 | News and Updates
In this Q&A, IFES Indonesia Program Manager Erni Andriani, who has worked with AGENDA since it was founded in 2011, discusses how AGENDA cooperates with other stakeholders to ensure the right of...
14 Sep 2017 | News and Updates
In 2007, the United Nations declared September 15 International Day of Democracy, with the aim of promoting and protecting democratic principles. At IFES, we have supported these principles for three...
6 Sep 2017 | News and Updates
IFES is deeply saddened by the passing of Uva Provincial Councillor Senarath Attanayake. He was the first person with a disability to enter politics in Sri Lanka and hold ministerial portfolios...