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
18 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
As Afghanistan goes to the polls on October 20, Afghan women, 417 of whom are running for office, face widespread discrimination. IFES, as part of the “Mitigating Electoral Violence Against Women in...
17 Oct 2018 | Publication
In a new publication, IFES outlines strategies for election management bodies to strengthen their technology and procedures to resist vulnerabilities, by following what we have termed a Holistic...
16 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
Throughout the first weeks of September 2018, over 800 students from across five universities were the first group in Ukraine to participate in IFES’ semester-long civic education course “Democracy:...
16 Oct 2018 | Publication
According to the World Health Organization, one out of every seven people in the world has a disability, yet citizens with disabilities remain underrepresented in political life as voters, election...
15 Oct 2018 | Election FAQ
On October 20, the Afghan people went to the polls for parliamentary elections, organized by the Independent Election Commission. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES...
10 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
A photograph depicting an insightful moment of Election Day in Mexico has won the top prize of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ 2018 Photography Contest. It was one of six photos...
9 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
On August 4, 2018, IFES and the Libyan Ministry of Education (MoE) celebrated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at underpinning future cooperation in Libya. The MoU is the...
5 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
IFES was honored to participate in an international visitors’ program on the occasion of Quebec’s 42nd general elections from September 28 to October 3, in Quebec City, Canada. The 2018...
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 | News and Updates
On October 5th, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women will brief the General Assembly on violence against women in politics and release a dedicated report, which ...
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...
3 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
In September 2018, universities across Ukraine received newly-published course companions for IFES' university-level civic education course, “Democracy: from Theory to Practice” – a...
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...
1 Oct 2018 | News and Updates
The ability for people to participate in elections free from the fear of harm is essential to inclusive, credible elections and protected by the right to human security and universal suffrage. In...
1 Oct 2018 | Election FAQ
On October 7, Brazil held presidential, legislative, and local elections. Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was banned from running in the presidential election, and candidates also competed...
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...
28 Sep 2018 | Election FAQ
On September 30, a referendum asked Macedonian citizens if they are in favor of European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership by accepting an agreement between the Republic of...
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 and the Nepal Disabled Women Association trained women with disabilities as part of a “Power to Persuade: Empowering Women with Disabilities to Influence Public Policy” training from August 27-...
19 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission officially launched its 2018-2022 Corporate Plan, which will guide the commission’s efforts to prepare for and conduct effective, inclusive elections,...
14 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
On September 13, 2018, IFES presented the 2018 Joe C. Baxter Award to distinguished elections expert Dr. Dong Nguyen Huu, who currently serves as an advisor to the three Mexican electoral authorities...
12 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
On August 29-30, 2018, IFES implemented a new tool for training senior electoral leaders in Colombo, Sri Lanka, following the fourth annual Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum. The curriculum was...
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...
11 Sep 2018 | News and Updates
On August 8, 2018, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced that President Joseph Kabila will not be running during the country’s highly anticipated elections set...
30 Aug 2018 | Multimedia
On August 10, the Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner, in partnership with IFES, held a youth participation in elections workshop to celebrate International Youth Day 2018.
24 Aug 2018 | Publication
From April 29 to May 5, 2018, IFES, with the support of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, participated in a Mission of Technical Accompaniment in Mexico City to analyze the reforms,...
23 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
With the spread of fake news undermining electoral processes worldwide, it has become crucial for the success and security of elections that authorities learn how to identify and counter...
23 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
During the May 2018 municipal elections in Tunisia, IFES conducted an assessment of access and political barriers encountered by women and men with disabilities with support from the United States...
13 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is pleased to announce that Dong Nguyen Huu, a distinguished elections expert who is currently an advisor to the three Mexican electoral authorities, has supported numerous elections worldwide...
8 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
On July 18, IFES and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) co-hosted a briefing to discuss harmful practices endured by women and girls globally, such as child, early and forced marriage and...
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...
5 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
Having acknowledged the crucial role of youth participation in democracy, IFES has contributed to efforts to increase political awareness and engagement among young Latin Americans. Our recent work...
5 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
The Universities and Colleges Student Peace Association of Kenya (UCSPAK) was given a grant by IFES to carry out civic education in universities to target first-time voters ahead of the 2017 general...
5 Aug 2018 | News and Updates
George (Gio) Kobakhidze, IFES' deputy country director for Ukraine, is currently spearheading an initiative to implement a university-level civic education course in Ukraine’s institutions of higher...
31 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
IFES is working to support disability rights advocates’ efforts toward the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life. One such advocate is Nazma Ara Begum Popy, general...
26 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
During the 2017 electoral period in Kenya, IFES supported the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in deploying a dynamic youth outreach strategy as part of the United States Agency for...
24 Jul 2018 | Publication
Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold general elections on July 30, which may be the foundation for a new political era. Violence Against Women in Elections in Zimbabwe: An IFES Assessment demonstrates...
23 Jul 2018 | Election FAQ
On July 30, Zimbabwean citizens went to the polls for general elections. Former President Robert Mugabe resigned in November 2017 after 37 years in office, and this major political transition raised...
20 Jul 2018 | Election FAQ
On July 29, Mali held a presidential election, the country's fifth democratic presidential election since the introduction of multiparty politics in 1991. To help you understand this...
16 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
On June 12, 2018, Mark Kaigwa, the CEO and founder of Nendo, joined IFES for an event, “On the Border of Truth: Defense Against Social Media Propaganda,” which featured a presentation and discussion...
11 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
From June 28-July 1, 2018, a delegation from the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council visited Mexico City to take part in the Foreign Visitors’ Information Forum – 2017-2018 Electoral Process...
10 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
Twenty-one Haitian journalists from all ten national departments were trained from June 18-19, 2018, on tools and methods of investigative journalism for approaching and reporting election-related...
10 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
IFES organized a series of events from June 4-8, 2018, as part of its Cybersecurity Assessment Week initiative to assess the cybersecurity of Ukraine’s electoral process and infrastructure. With...
6 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Future is a youth civic education training program designed and supported by IFES. By supporting Myanmar’s youth to develop civic knowledge and critical thinking...
5 Jul 2018 | News and Updates
With support from the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative, in 2017 IFES built a mobile radio station ahead of Tunisia’s municipal elections on May 6, 2018, and drove it up and down the length of...
27 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) manages local elections within 20 local government areas in Nigeria, serving over 6 million registered voters, the most of any state in the...
26 Jun 2018 | Election FAQ
On June 27, Indonesian citizens went to the polls to vote for governors, mayors and/or regents across 31 provinces as part of the 2018 regional head elections. To help you understand this...
25 Jun 2018 | Election FAQ
On July 1, Mexico held presidential, legislative, and local elections. To help you understand this important electoral process, IFES provides Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Elections...
15 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
On June 14, 2018, IFES President and CEO Bill Sweeney submitted written testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on “Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World.”
13 Jun 2018 | News and Updates
Zimbabwe will hold its much-anticipated harmonized elections on July 30, when citizens will vote for president, 201 constituency seats in the National Assembly, and seats in the urban and rural local...
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...