Ecuador
In Ecuador, political interference, corruption and inefficiency from a lack of capacity have been barriers that have long impacted the integrity of elections. IFES began its work in Ecuador in 1998, to provide technical assistance for the implementation of an automated voting system. IFES’ current involvement initiated in September 2020, through the project Building Technical Capacity and Public Confidence in Ecuador’s Electoral System. IFES is leveraging global methodologies and drawing on its international elections expertise to assist the National Electoral Council (CNE) in strengthening its information technology and systems, with a strong emphasis on data security, to ensure electoral integrity and credibility.
IFES is working to improve the CNE’s capacity to respond to cyberthreats as an institution and build a stakeholder network to support the CNE in fortifying the integrity of elections, including the recent general election that took place in February 2021. IFES is also supporting the CNE in the use of a systematic methodology to evaluate and test the cybersecurity of its systems and procedures to identify and address threats and work alongside key actors in the field to implement emerging best practices for the prevention of future attacks.