Electoral Management
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) works to capture, develop and share knowledge on effective electoral management and leadership as key factors in achieving credible electoral environments that contribute to good governance, stability and development. Electoral management entails effectively organizing a high quality election process. Electoral leadership is the ability to project and inspire competence, productivity, ethical behavior and trust. IFES uses a range of tools to achieve these objectives, including: in-depth assessments, research and lessons-learned exercises; evidence-based assistance to election management bodies; visionary electoral reform and strategic/operational planning; genuine collaboration between all key electoral stakeholders; and, progressive capacity-building on all of the above disciplines to strengthen current and future electoral leaders.
Related Experts See All IFES Experts
Principal Advisor, IFES, and Senior Country Director, Ukraine
Senior Global Advisor, Electoral Operations and Administration
Related Content
28 Feb 2020 | News and Updates
For over 20 years, IFES Senior Civic Education Expert Dr. Greer Burroughs has contributed to the growth of democratic civic education around the world. In this Q&A, Dr. Burroughs reflects on the...
28 Feb 2020 | Publication
Leaders of election management bodies operate in a unique and challenging space. They may be required to carry out their mandates during complex transitions and under crisis scenarios like COVID-19.
27 Feb 2020 | News and Updates
As part of IFES' Democracy: From Theory to Practice course in Ukraine, students work on a capstone project together to identify one important societal issue or problem of their choice, conduct...
26 Feb 2020 | Election FAQ
On March 1, the Republic of Tajikistan held elections to the Majlisi Namoyandagon, the lower house of its bicameral Parliament. Of the 63 members, 41 were elected from single-mandate districts...
24 Feb 2020 | Election FAQ
On February 29, the Slovak Republic held elections for the National Council, which may result in a shake-up in its composition. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES...
16 Feb 2020 | News and Updates
IFES acknowledges the Central Electoral Board's decision to suspend the municipal elections in the Dominican Republic and encourages all efforts to protect the integrity of the elections through a...
11 Feb 2020 | News and Updates
Last month, IFES and the Nepal Disabled Women Association trained women advocates with disabilities and journalists on rights-based reporting techniques for elections and democratic processes. Such...
6 Feb 2020 | Publication
At the request of the Central Electoral Board and with support of USAID, IFES conducted a pre-electoral assessment of the automated voting system to be used in the Dominican Republic’s upcoming...
6 Feb 2020 | News and Updates
On February 3, 11 Ukrainian students announced the registration of a new nongovernmental organization called the Youth Democratic Association. All of the organization's co-founders were participants...
6 Feb 2020 | Multimedia
Democracy: From Theory to Practice is an innovative, interactive course on civic education currently taught at more than 20 universities across Ukraine. Watch a video to see how thousands of...
30 Jan 2020 | Election FAQ
On February 9, the Republic of Azerbaijan held early elections to replace the Parliament dissolved by President Ilham Aliyev on December 5. Economic, judicial and social reforms ranked high on...
24 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
At the request of the Central Electoral Board and with support from USAID, IFES has been conducting a pre-electoral assessment of the electronic voting system to be used in the Dominican Republic’s...
24 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
Oleh Matvieievskyi is a law, criminology and forensic science lecturer with over 20 years of experience who teaches at the National University Odesa Maritime Academy in Ukraine. His vision of...
24 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
IFES developed the Democracy: From Theory to Practice course, which aims to inspire and prepare students to be active and responsible citizens capable of contributing to healthy democratic...
24 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
The International Day of Education, commemorated on January 24th, celebrates education and its centrality to sustainable development. For more than 30 years, IFES has conducted civic education...
22 Jan 2020 | Election FAQ
On January 23, Nepal held elections to replace 19 National Assembly members whose terms will expire in March. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES provides Frequently...
17 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
At the request of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) and with support from USAID, IFES is assisting the 2020 electoral process in the Dominican Republic. IFES’ cooperation during the current...
15 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
Residents of Ethiopia's Sidama Zone voted in a referendum for regional autonomy on November 20. With results demonstrating that approximately 98.5 percent voted in support of statehood, Sidama...
14 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
IFES trained Libyan government officials and disability rights advocates on polling station audits and accessible architecture. Such audits and trainings encourage and foster best practices for...
10 Jan 2020 | Multimedia
As part of an effort to enfranchise illiterate women residing in rural areas to hold their government accountable, IFES partnered with USAID and the Tunisian Mediterranean Center to train and deploy...
27 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
Following the success of its June 2019 pilot course, IFES welcomed 12 election management body representatives for its second iteration of the Electoral Technology and Cyber-Hygiene course....
19 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
To make electoral information available to Tunisians who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the runup to the 2019 national elections, IFES developed a sign language lexicon of nearly 200 electoral...
19 Dec 2019 | Multimedia
On November 30, voters went to the polls for by-elections held in all seven states of Nepal for open local, state and federal elected offices. The by-elections filled vacancies created since the...
19 Dec 2019 | Election FAQ
On December 22, citizens of Uzbekistan went to the polls to elect the 150 members of the Legislative Chamber, the country’s lower house of parliament. To help you understand this important...
17 Dec 2019 | Multimedia
IFES partnered with the Pacific Disability Forum to train 15 women with a diverse range of disabilities in September 2019 as part of the “Power to Persuade” program. The training enhanced...
13 Dec 2019 | Multimedia
Voting in the Bougainville referendum concluded with the announcement of results on December 11. A majority of voters selected independence, at 97.7 percent of the vote. While the referendum is not...
29 Nov 2019 | Publication
A new IFES assessment finds that online abuse and harassment in Ukraine is a pervasive barrier to women’s political participation. It provides recommendations for the Central Election Commission...
25 Nov 2019 | Publication
IFES' Dr. Fernanda Buril, a program officer for the Americas and electoral operations technical coordinator, reviewed The Credibility Challenge: How Democracy Aid Influences Election Violence for the...
22 Nov 2019 | News and Updates
A Wheelchair Doesn’t Stop Community Leader and Election Commissioner Roman Humeniuk, a Man on the Go
IFES works to strengthen institutions to improve the accessibility of the elections for all stakeholders and empower disenfranchised groups to effectively participate in electoral and political...
20 Nov 2019 | News and Updates
In recognition of their efforts to increase the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Dominican Republic, IFES and the Disability Alliance for Our Rights were awarded the 2019 Seal for Good...
19 Nov 2019 | Election FAQ
Ethiopia is a federation with nine regional states that can choose their official language and have limited powers over taxation, education, health and land administration. On November 20, residents...
13 Nov 2019 | News and Updates
IFES has joined more than 1,000 other signatories in endorsing the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace. As IFES works to ensure that technology, information and data positively serve...
13 Nov 2019 | Election Material
Sample ballot paper and constituency map for Nepal's by-elections to be held on November 30, 2019.
13 Nov 2019 | Election FAQ
On November 30, citizens of Nepal will go to the polls to fill 52 local, state and federal seats that have become vacant since the 2017 general elections. To help you understand this important...
12 Nov 2019 | Publication
A new IFES white paper examines how the Russian Federation is influencing countries across Europe and Eurasia to abandon or rethink their embrace of “western liberal values.” Countering Russian...
25 Oct 2019 | Election FAQ
On October 27, Argentines went to the polls to elect a president and vice president, 24 senators and 130 deputies. A runoff will be held on November 24 if no presidential candidate receives at least...
23 Oct 2019 | Publication
Earlier this year, IFES experts Steven Canham and Nermin Nisic conducted an assessment of voter registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The resulting report highlights current and future challenges...
18 Oct 2019 | Election FAQ
On October 20, Bolivians went to the polls to elect a president and vice president, 130 deputies and 36 senators. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES provides...
17 Oct 2019 | News and Updates
On May 20, IFES conducted a cyber-hygiene training in Kyiv, Ukraine, for 16 representatives of Ukrainian civil society organizations, including organizations promoting the rights of people with...
15 Oct 2019 | News and Updates
In the summer of 2019, IFES Program Coordinator Patrick Clark traveled twice to Tunisia to assist IFES' field office. In this field journal, Clark reflects on IFES' support to the High...
30 Sep 2019 | Publication
Information communication technologies have created new vehicles for violence against women in elections. A new tool from IFES, the United States Agency for International Development and...
27 Sep 2019 | Election FAQ
On October 6, Tunisians went to the polls to elect a new Assembly of the Representatives of the People. These elections took place less than a month after the first round of the early presidential...
13 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
In August, IFES held two Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) workshops on election observation in Mexico City in partnership with the Electoral Institute of Mexico City...
13 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
From June 13-17, a delegation from Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) participated in an election observation and exchange mission organized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala...
13 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
Since 2007 when the United Nations General Assembly designated September 15th as the International Day of Democracy, organizations – governmental and nongovernmental – have joined with others to...
12 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
As a prelude to the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) annual meeting, the Electoral Integrity Project held a pre-APSA workshop, “Securing Elections: Foreign Meddling, Fake News and...
12 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
In August, IFES implemented its Engaging a New Generation for Accessible Governance and Elections (ENGAGE) political leadership curriculum with young persons with disabilities in the Autonomous...
11 Sep 2019 | Election FAQ
On September 15, Tunisians went to the polls for the first round of the early presidential election after the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi on July 25, 2019. To help you understand this...
9 Sep 2019 | News and Updates
On August 10, 280 young people gathered in Mandalay, Myanmar, to celebrate International Youth Day. In line with this year’s global theme of “Transforming Education,” the event kicked off IFES’...
29 Aug 2019 | News and Updates
From July 2-20, IFES partnered with Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to conduct a monitoring and evaluation training for directors and managers from all 10 departments and units of the CEP...
27 Aug 2019 | News and Updates
Election-related violence has been pervasive in Guatemala since the country’s transition to democracy in the mid-1980s. Taking into consideration the intricate nature of electoral violence in...