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Elections for All: Empowering the Underrepresented
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees all individuals the freedom to partake in their nation’s government and political processes, including elections. Yet, many individuals around the world face barriers to full participation due to social, ethnic and economic inequalities. IFES’ programs empower these underrepresented populations to participate in political life in a variety of ways. This photo gallery provides some examples of our work in this area.
News & Updates
Press Release
IFES, Indian Election Commission Sign Agreement for Increased Global Collaboration
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) today signed a memorandum of understanding deepening the organizations’ partnership in promoting democratic processes and good governance around the world.
News & Updates
Feature
U.S. Ambassador for Women’s Issues Visits IFES’ Garima Project in India
On September 14, 2010, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne S. Verveer visited the Garima project in New Delhi, India. Verveer helped launch the Garima project in November 2009 and returned to observe its progress during a recent visit to India. Garima, which means “dignity” in Hindi, works to enhance women’s participation in political, economic and social processes, encourage political advocacy, and curb practices such as gender-based violence, female feticide and child marriage. The project is implemented by IFES and Counterpart International and collaborates with several nongovernmental organizations in India.
News & Updates
Feature
Elections in Rajasthan, India
India, which proudly calls itself the world's largest democracy, goes to the polls in phases. On May 7, 2009, the 4th of 5 phases took place. This phase involved 95 million voters, 130,000 polling stations, 1315 candidates and 600,000 poll workers. Unlike some states which partake in multiple phases, all of Rajasthan voted during phase IV. Rajasthan is one of the two states in India where IFES supports Indian organizations in implementing programs on women's empowerment. These photos were taken by these partner organizations.
News & Updates
Feature
Campaign Fuels Support for Indian Girls
Motorists in Jaipur, India received more than petrol when they visited Indian Oil Company stations in late October. IFES, the oil company and local nongovernmental organizations sponsored a campaign to educate people about the dignity of the girl child and the negative consequences of female feticide.
Publication
Report/Paper
A Study of Political Party Assistance in Eastern Europe and Eurasia
Under a joint project of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. State Department (EUR/ACE), Democracy International (DI) conducted a comprehensive study of efforts to assist political party development in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
June 15, 2007
News & Updates
Press Release
India Facing Gender Imbalance Crisis
IFES will host a roundtable titled “45 Million Missing Women in India” on June 13 to examine the human rights and security effects of female feticide in the world’s largest democracy.
Publication
Report/Paper
Lithuania: Money and Politics Case Study
Lithuania has rapidly developed both politically and economically since emerging from the Soviet Union in 1991. While the country has built a functioning parliamentary system of government, has become a member of NATO, and is on the verge of joining the European Union, it still faces many problems associated with the many consolidating democracies around the world. As in all democracies, populations need to trust that those they elect will represent their interests. Problems such as corruption, weaknesses in laws concerning the political financing, and unaccounted for political income and expenditures threaten the credibility of the process and hinder the speed at which democracy is consolidated. Additionally, Lithuania lacks the high level of vibrant debate about the issue of political financing among scholars, journalists and civil society bodies required to promote meaningful reform. Recognizing this, Lithuania has developed an independent Central Electoral Committee (CEC) and adopted laws requiring detailed and public disclosure of political finance accounts. Prior to conducting Money and Politics programming in Lithuania, the CEC had made a demonstrable interest in making information public. While scanning summary report of accounts and placing them on the internet, the user could not search, not easily compare and analyze the information. Interested parties were required to make an appointment to view more detailed, paper-based information. Further, while the Tax Authorities are required to audit final political party reports, enforcement is widely considered to be weak. Few, if any, cases of political finance violations have been forwarded and investigated, not to mention prosecuted. By addressing the difficult issues surrounding political finance with the support of IFES in 2002 and 2003, Lithuania is emerging as a model for other consolidating democracy to follow. Significant areas remain to be addressed. While Lithuania has taken concrete steps to reform political finance legislation, open political finance information to public scrutiny and oversight, and encourage debate, further efforts are required to actively enforce laws and regulations and raise the level of debate among the various governmental, legislative, and civil society groups. By addressing these areas, Lithuania has the potential for being an example of best practices while making local expertise and resources to other countries undergoing similar reforms.
December 31, 2002