26 Mar 2019 | News and Updates
IFES’ leadership in the field is comprised of a cadre of women professionals with firsthand experience administering elections in every region of the world. In this Q&A, Renata Levovski...
22 Mar 2019 | Election FAQ
On March 31, Ukrainian citizens went to the polls to elect a new president. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES provides Frequently Asked Questions on Elections in...
19 Mar 2019 | News and Updates
IFES’ leadership in the field is comprised of a cadre of women professionals with firsthand experience administering elections in every region of the world. In this Q&A, Keti Maisuradze reflects...
1 Feb 2019 | News and Updates
IFES, the United Nations Development Programme and the Central Election Commission of Armenia organized a parliamentary mandate presentation ceremony. During the event, citizens handed over the...
16 Jan 2019 | News and Updates
Anthony Banbury serves as the president and CEO of IFES. He previously held leadership roles in diplomacy, crisis management and humanitarian assistance, and most recently served as the United...
11 Jan 2019 | News and Updates
In spring 2018, Armenia witnessed a change in government following peaceful street protests. The country’s new leadership announced a state program that prioritized a revision of the electoral...
21 Dec 2018 | News and Updates
This has been a year of transition for IFES as we welcomed Tony Banbury as our new leader and bid farewell to former President and CEO Bill Sweeney. Throughout 2018, the IFES team continued...
3 Dec 2018 | News and Updates
Ilyas Alymbek Uulu, who is 16 and uses a wheelchair, is one of an estimated 30,000 youth with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan. He performed the leading role in an IFES-supported public service...
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...
28 Nov 2018 | News and Updates
As an organization dedicated to helping citizens have a voice in elections, IFES is partnering with institutions and organizations to deliver electoral processes with integrity in over 25 countries...
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...
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...
22 Oct 2018 | Election FAQ
On October 28, Georgian citizens went to the polls to elect the next president. This was the country’s seventh and last direct presidential election since its independence from the Soviet Union in...
5 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
At a ceremony in Tunis on October 4, the United States Government and the Government of Denmark announced their joint support to strengthen municipal council electoral processes in Libya through IFES.
4 Oct 2018 | Election FAQ
On October 7, Bosnia and Herzegovina held presidential, parliamentary, entity and cantonal elections. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES provides Frequently Asked Questions...
1 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) signed their third consecutive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on electoral security on September 12, 2018. The...
30 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
An IFES delegation, led by President and CEO Bill Sweeney, met with Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhktadze on September 18, in Washington, D.C. Bakhtadze credited IFES for providing key...
19 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is pleased to be an associated partner in a new training network for early-stage researchers in the field of disability rights. The Disability Advocacy Research in Europe project will recruit 15...
19 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is saddened by the passing of Finnish politician and disability rights advocate Kalle Könkkölä on September 11. He served from 1983 to 1987 as the first member of the Finnish Parliament with a...
14 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
Kyrgyzstan is a burgeoning democracy full of young people. Over 45 percent of the population is below age 24, and over 30 percent is 14 or younger. Now a 20-year legacy, IFES Democracy Camps help...
13 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is working to establish peer networks in Europe and Eurasia and Africa, supported by the United States Agency for International Development. Regional knowledge exchange allows judges and...
11 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
In Kosovo, IFES’ team has initiated a noteworthy program for Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) Secretariat staffers, as part of the USAID-funded Strengthening Election Administration...
15 Aug 2018 | Publication
The Agate Rights Defense Center for Women with Disabilities, with the support of IFES and the United States Agency for International Development, has published new research on the barriers...
15 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
Speak in the Nest, a web and social media platform developed in Kosovo by IFES and the Peer Educators Network with the support of the United States Agency for International Development, became a safe...
6 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
IFES recently completed two annual summer democracy camps for youth ages 14-19 in Kyrgyzstan. This year’s camps build upon IFES’ legacy of more than 20 years of democracy camps, with over 80 camps...
11 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
With support from IFES and the United States Agency for International Development, the Coalition for Independent Living conducted seminars and an advocacy campaign with Georgian youth in recognition...
20 Jun 2018 | Publication
As part of a two-year research effort, IFES recently developed a detailed methodology for evaluating a country’s legal framework related to the abuse of state resources (ASR) in...
12 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
The issue of low representation of women among Kosovo's election staff was raised for the first time in March 2014 in IFES' report on gender breakdown of election staff in the 2013 municipal...
10 Apr 2018 | Election FAQ
On April 11, Azerbaijani citizens went to the polls to vote in an early presidential election. The election had previously been scheduled for October 17, 2018, and was rescheduled per a...
23 Mar 2018 | Election FAQ
On March 25, Turkmen citizens went to the polls for parliamentary and local elections, with a total of 16,558 candidates contesting the elections. To help you understand this important electoral...
14 Mar 2018 | Election FAQ
On March 18, Russian citizens went to the polls for presidential elections. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin contested the election as an independent, despite consistently representing the ruling...
8 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
IFES conducted interviews with representatives from the three different Macedonian electoral management bodies (EMBs) to understand from their perspective the status of women’s political...
7 Dec 2017 | News and Updates
Reflecting on his 22 years with IFES, Senior Program Manager for the Caucasus and Central Asia Anthony Bowyer still firmly believes that the work of IFES matters. “I would ask younger colleagues to...
21 Oct 2017 | Election FAQ
On October 21, Georgians will go to the polls to elect their municipal government representatives. Across Georgia, citizens will elect 2,058 council members to 64 local councils (sakrebulos) of self-...
20 Oct 2017 | Multimedia
On October 15, the Kyrgyz Republic held presidential elections. This was a historic vote; the first “regular” transition of power from a sitting president who has completed a constitutionally defined...
18 Oct 2017 | News and Updates
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has been a critical partner in IFES’ work in Georgia. In this Q&A, CEC Chair Tamar Zhvania discusses IFES’ work with the Georgian election management body...
16 Oct 2017 | Election FAQ
Kosovo will hold elections on October 22, to elect municipal mayors and municipal assembly deputies in all 38 districts. Run-off elections will be held on November 19 in municipalities where no...
13 Oct 2017 | Election FAQ
On October 15, the Kyrgyz Republic will hold presidential elections. The election will take place in the context of legal changes introduced by the 2016 constitutional referendum and the 2017...
10 Oct 2017 | Election FAQ
On October 15, Macedonians will vote for mayors and municipal councilors in the country’s 80 municipalities and the City of Skopje. If needed, second-round elections will be held on October 29, 2017.
20 Sep 2017 | News and Updates
In August 2017, the State Election Commission of Macedonia (SEC), in collaboration with eight civil society organizations, including disabled people’s organizations, the Ministry for Labour and...
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...
1 Sep 2017 | Publication
This report details findings from an IFES Abuse of State Resources Assessment conducted in Georgia following October 2016 elections. This assessment served as the pilot test of the ...
11 Aug 2017 | News and Updates
The United Nation’s International Youth Day 2017 is dedicated to “Youth Building Peace.” As a global leader in democracy promotion, IFES recognizes the importance of cultivating the next generation...
8 Aug 2017 | News and Updates
In Georgia, IFES has partnered with 27 institutions of higher learning to implement a fully accredited university-level civic education course; there are more than 7,000 course alumni throughout the...
4 Aug 2017 | News and Updates
IFES will honor His Excellency Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) with its 2017 Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award and Tamar Zhvania, chairwoman of the...
7 Jul 2017 | News and Updates
An image of two Fulani women patiently queueing to register to vote in Nigeria’s 2015 historic elections received top honors in IFES' 2015 Photography Contest.
6 Jul 2017 | News and Updates
Matcharashvili, who has a physical disability, distinguished himself as an active and impressive student throughout the course. He participated in the curriculum’s semester-long buildup of civics...
6 Jun 2017 | Election FAQ
Kosovo will hold extraordinary elections on June 11 to fill the 120 seats in the Assembly of Kosovo. While the next parliamentary election was scheduled for mid-2018, the Assembly adopted a no-...
24 Apr 2017 | News and Updates
IFES is collaborating with Armenian civil society and government stakeholders to increase access to the political process. This support is provided in the framework of the Global Disability...
27 Mar 2017 | Election FAQ
On April 2, Serbian voters will elect their next president for a five-year term using a two-round system.
21 Mar 2017 | Multimedia
IFES Board Director Irena Hadžiabdić is a former IFES employee who serves as the first female chair of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Central Election Commission (CEC). In this video interview, she...