Webinar Series: Democratic Resilience in Europe During a Pandemic

Participants take part in an Election Day simulation exercise to identify potential problems during Ukraine's 2020 local elections.

Much like other organizations, entities and communities around the world, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and its beneficiaries have been deeply impacted by the novel coronavirus crisis.

With most in-person events and activities canceled or postponed due to restrictions on travel and large gatherings of people, IFES swiftly embraced this challenge and opportunity within its “Regional Elections Administration and Political Processes Strengthening” (REAPPS) program. In response to the new environment, IFES’ Regional Europe Office in Prague, Czech Republic, quickly adapted in-person events to online webinars and meetings to continue programming and ensure continued engagement of key electoral stakeholders across the Europe and Eurasia region.

The REAPPS team developed and launched a dedicated webinar series for international election practitioners, observers and donors. To date, Democratic Resilience in Europe During a Pandemic (formerly Administering Elections in Europe During a Pandemic) has held multiple dedicated webinars, each focusing on salient issues. The series has received broad interest and high-level participation from more than 35 countries, due in part to its revolving relevant topics and expert panelists who address key issues developing across electoral environments during the pandemic. This feature is complemented by the webinar’s greater engagement of non-English speakers as each webinar is simultaneously translated into multiple languages. The webinar series has delivered an array of international good practices and recommendations from experts on protecting electoral integrity during the pandemic. These insights have provided integral input to the actions of election management bodies, observers and advocacy groups, especially those poised to conduct elections in the period following webinar participation.

Upcoming Events

IFES is planning further installments of the webinar series about European electoral processes and democratic resilience during the pandemic. During the spring of 2021, webinars will focus on gender equality and disinformation in elections, money in politics, electoral justice, and a year in review of democracy since the start of the pandemic. To register for the April 28 event, please click the link below.

Abuse of State Resources: Risks and Solutions

April 28 at 9:00-10:15 a.m. EDT/UTC-5 or 15:00-16:15 CET/UTC+1

A persistent problem in many European countries is the abuse of state resources by politicians to unduly increase their own position and undermine their political opponents. The abuse of state resources has proven to be a major corruptive force in many electoral processes, as it introduces or exacerbates power inequalities and gives an unfair electoral advantage to incumbents.

The situation has become magnified by the ongoing pandemic. It is often difficult for the voting public to differentiate between aid provided by the government and aid provided by a specific candidate or political party. Governments may also use emergency measures to restrict public forums for criticism and curb political opposition.

Solutions are needed to prevent the persistence of state resource abuses and the continued growth of such abuses in the aftermath of the pandemic. Left unchecked, such activities can entrench incumbent advantage, impact election results or otherwise shift the balance of power between political parties.

Please join IFES and experts from the region to discuss “Abuse of State Resources: Risks and Solutions.”

In line with the previous installments of the webinar series, the event will be held live via Zoom and feature simultaneous interpretation from English into Albanian, Armenian, Georgian, Macedonian, Russian, South Slavic language and Ukrainian.

The event will be moderated by IFES Program Manager Daria Azarjew and feature the following panelists:

Magnus Öhman, Senior Political Finance Adviser and Regional Europe Office Director, IFES
Lisa Klein, former Party and Election Finance Director, UK Electoral Commission, and former Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Federal Election Commission
Katica Nikolovska, Member of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption, North Macedonia
Tamara Brankovic, Policy Lab Manager, Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, Serbia

Learn More and RSVP