Electoral Law
Clear legal frameworks are essential for the protection of fundamental suffrage rights, the design and implementation of effective electoral systems, and the efficient and transparent management of elections. Drawing on international law, best practices and comparative experience, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) works globally with local partners in the design and reform of electoral systems and the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern their implementation – ultimately promoting the effectiveness and credibility of democratic institutions and processes.
As a learning organization, IFES has an internal Knowledge Management Initiative Working Group on Electoral Integrity, Law and Anti-Corruption to help grow the research, tools and technical expertise we offer our partners worldwide.
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Vice President, Global Strategy and Technical Leadership
Director, Center for Applied Research and Learning
Senior Global Advisor, Legal
Related Content
26 May 2011 | Multimedia
Nigeria held a series of nationwide elections in April 2011, beginning with National Assembly polls on April 9 and a presidential election on April 16. Elections for state governors were held on...
26 Apr 2011 | Publication
Since protesters began to fill Cairo’s Tahrir Square in late January demanding sweeping political changes and the start of a truly democratic era, Egypt has seen a series of momentous...
1 Mar 2011 | Publication
The term ‘electoral system’ is used to describe the structure by which votes cast in an election result in legislative seats (or executive offices) won by political parties and candidates. The...
1 Mar 2011 | Publication
The role of money in politics has a profound effect upon the legitimacy of elections and the quality of democracy, governance and development. All countries, including advanced democracies,...
25 Feb 2011 | Publication
On Tuesday, 8 February 2011, the Palestinian Authority issued a renewed call for local elections to be held on 9 July 2011. The call follows last June’s Cabinet decision to cancel elections and...
24 Feb 2011 | Publication
As Tunisians focus much of their attention on events unfurling across the region, there remains political commitment and activity towards ensuring progress with democratic transition through...
14 Feb 2011 | Publication
Throughout the past two decades, IFES has been dedicated to providing technical elections assistance throughout the world. During this time, it has become clear that an effective resolution of...
14 Feb 2011 | Publication
This paper deals with the role of money in politics, and in particular with certain efforts by countries around the world to regulate this role. In the current world (and probably since we first...
8 Feb 2011 | Publication
As the situation in Egypt continues to evolve, IFES has released a briefing paper that serves as a guide to understanding the current electoral system and identifies issues that must be addressed...
22 Dec 2010 | Multimedia
On December 13, 2010, the Palestinian High Court issued its final verdict on the lawsuits challenging the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) of the Palestinian Authority decision to cancel the local...
16 Dec 2010 | Publication
On December 13, 2010, the Palestinian High Court issued its final verdict on the lawsuits challenging the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) of the Palestinian Authority decision to cancel the local...
15 Dec 2010 | Publication
As the topic of electoral fraud has gained prominence in the media and the international discourse, IFES is releasing a series of three white papers introducing a groundbreaking framework for...
17 Nov 2010 | Multimedia
On June 27, 2010 Kyrgyzstan adopted a new constitution via nationwide referendum. Introducing a new or revised governing charter was nothing new for the Central Asian republic—they have seen many...
29 Oct 2010 | News and Updates
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is hosting a two-day visitor’s program focusing on the U.S. elections. The program will bring together over 100 diplomats,...
28 Oct 2010 | Publication
The subject of this research is quite a topical one. The Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters adopted by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe in October 2002 calls for the...
13 Oct 2010 | Survey
This report details the findings from the latest IFES survey in Ukraine. This is the 18th public opinion poll conducted in Ukraine by IFES, and some of the findings from earlier surveys will be...
10 Oct 2010 | Multimedia
In this podcast, Lisa Kammerud, IFES research officer specializing in election violence monitoring, tells us what these developments mean for Kenya and the prosecution of electoral violence in...
5 Oct 2010 | Multimedia
On September 26, 2010, IFES and the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) hosted an Electoral Symposium to spread electoral awareness before the upcoming People’s Assembly...
30 Sep 2010 | Survey
In August 2010, IFES contracted Polling Center of Jakarta to conduct a nationwide public opinion survey with a sample size of 2,500. Interviews were conducted in all 33 provinces and the survey is...
27 Sep 2010 | Multimedia
This podcast, the third in a series of three, features Alan Wall, IFES chief of party in Nepal. Mr. Wall shares insight into what the international community can do to deter fraud.
27 Sep 2010 | Multimedia
Staffan Darnolf, IFES senior election advisor, talks to us about the consuming effect of election fraud and the steps that can be taken to prevent it.
26 Sep 2010 | Multimedia
In this podcast, the first in a series of three podcasts on election fraud, Rafael Lopez-Pintor, tells us what election fraud is and how it can be prosecuted in legal courts.
23 Sep 2010 | News and Updates
After decades of dictatorship and military rule, Guinea is on the verge of becoming a true democracy. The last remaining hurdles on its path to legitimate elections are corrections that must be...
12 Sep 2010 | Publication
Le Projet Amatora Mu Mahoro est une initiative commune d’une dizaine organisations nationales et internationales dont l’objet était le monitoring des principes démocratiques et la prévention de la...
29 Aug 2010 | Election Material
On Elections of Members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Local Councils and Village, Settlement, city Mayors
23 Aug 2010 | Publication
Lobbying is a critical component of the democratic process. The essence of representative government is that policymakers should be representing the needs of their constituencies when they pass...
15 Aug 2010 | Publication
Le quatrième rapport Amatora Mu Mahoro (AMM), présente une analyse des incidents et des indicateurs de violence électorale, ainsi que des initiatives de paix, survenus sur l’ensemble du territoire...
20 Jul 2010 | Multimedia
On Sunday, 27 June 2010 Kyrgyzstan held a referendum to consider adopting a new constitution. The referendum, administered by a new (interim) Central Election Commission (CEC), was held just 80...
4 Jul 2010 | Publication
Le troisième rapport Amatora Mu Mahoro (AMM), présente une analyse des incidents et des indicateurs de violence électorale, ainsi que des initiatives de paix, survenus sur l’ensemble du territoire du...
22 Jun 2010 | News and Updates
RABAT—A national survey on attitudes towards the political, economic, social and legal status of women in Morocco released today by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and...
9 Jun 2010 | Publication
Under the leadership of President Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority’s Cabinet called the 2004 local elections, managed under the authority of the Ministry of Local Government in three...
30 May 2010 | Publication
Le projet Amatora Mu Mahoro présente son deuxième rapport dans un contexte d’impasse politique et d’insécurité grandissante. Ce deuxième rapport se base sur les résultats des indicateurs...
25 May 2010 | News and Updates
Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court ( ICC) arrived in Kenya to begin investigating the election violence following the December 2008 election. The bloodshed left at least 1,100...
24 May 2010 | Multimedia
On May 24, 2010, communal elections, the first in a series of polls that will take place in Burundi this summer, were held. This series of elections are the first to be implemented in Burundi since...
17 May 2010 | Publication
Le projet Amatora Mu Mahoro, fruit d’un effort conjoint de plus d’une dizaine organisations nationales et internationales1, identifie les zones vulnérables à la violence électorale ainsi que les...
15 May 2010 | Publication
On April 26, 2010, the Interim Government of Kyrgyzstan, which took control of the country following early April protests that drove former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev from office, unveiled a new...
11 May 2010 | Publication
The second interim report on monitoring the use of administrative resources for election
campaign covers the period of time between 15 March and 5 May 2010 and focuses on the four
main types of...
8 May 2010 | Multimedia
In anticipation of local elections at the end of the month, IFES organized and sponsored live, televised candidate debates for the post of mayor of Tbilisi, Georgia, together with Georgian Public...
26 Apr 2010 | News and Updates
Transcript of Podcast with Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson and election lawyer and recount expert John “Jack” Harding Young discussing their experience working in the Philippines with...
23 Apr 2010 | Multimedia
Putting behind ten years of civil war, IFES–Burundi has launched a massive electoral violence prevention program. The centerpiece of the program is the IFES EVER election violence prevention early...
22 Apr 2010 | Multimedia
Starting at the end of May and through early September, Burundi will hold its first set of elections since all rebel movements laid down their arms and officially ended Burundi’s long civil war. “If...
22 Apr 2010 | News and Updates
Amatora Mu Mahoro (Elections in Peace), Burundi's first-ever nationwide election violence prevention system, launches today in the capital, Bujumbura. The system identifies areas susceptible to...
20 Apr 2010 | Multimedia
IFES-Burundi held the second in a series of BRIDGE trainings in Rutana, Burundi from April 6-9. The event brought together twenty-five members of Burundi's national and provincial electoral...
30 Mar 2010 | Multimedia
On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, Almami Cyllah, IFES regional director for Africa, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health on democracy in the African...
29 Mar 2010 | Publication
There has been an unprecedented increase in the funding allocated to local government entities in
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1 Mar 2010 | News and Updates
Iraqi citizens living abroad will be able to vote for Iraq's Council of Representatives
18 Feb 2010 | Publication
This topic brief presents key findings about asset control based on data from the 2009 SWMENA survey in Lebanon. It includes an analysis of women’s control over assets, focusing on how earnings are...
18 Feb 2010 | Publication
This topic brief presents the main findings from the SWMENA survey in Lebanon on civic and political participation. It includes an analysis of civic engagement through membership in different types...
18 Feb 2010 | Publication
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18 Feb 2010 | Publication
The SWMENA survey investigated the extent to which women in Lebanon felt they enjoyed freedom of movement without pressures from family or society. The survey also examined general attitudes...
18 Feb 2010 | Publication
The SWMENA survey investigated the extent to which women in Lebanon felt they enjoyed freedom of movement without pressures from family or society. The survey also examined general attitudes...