What We Do
As a global leader in democracy promotion, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) engages with critical issues in democracy, governance and elections around the world. From programming aimed at ensuring electoral integrity and accountability to efforts to empower underrepresented populations, such as persons with disabilities, women and youth, to participate in electoral and political processes, IFES is at the forefront of innovative work to provide citizens around the world with the fundamental human right to have a say in how they are governed. Our research and surveys build on this work and aim to improve the electoral cycle in order to build sustainable democracy.
Consortium for Elections and Political Processes Strengthening (CEPPS)
CEPPS is composed of three equal partners: IFES, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute. CEPPS allows IFES to carry out cost-effective global and regional programming to respond to new challenges in strengthening electoral and political processes. Learn more about CEPPS.
Related Content
20 Mar 2020 | Publication
Elections around the world have been impacted by COVID-19. IFES has called upon its global network to aggregate the latest information on election postponements, adjusted election dates and risk-...
19 Mar 2020 | Publication
IFES offers expert guidance and best practices to help guide election management bodies’ planning and implementation of electoral events during this global health crisis. Herein we explore risk...
19 Mar 2020 | News and Updates
Read IFES President and CEO Anthony Banbury's message about the impact of the novel coronavirus crisis and how IFES is responding.
18 Mar 2020 | Election FAQ
Vanuatu held elections on March 19. Voters’ concerns included the economy and the Pacific Islands Forum, which will be hosted by Vanuatu in August. To help you understand this important...
11 Mar 2020 | Publication
In countries emerging from authoritarian rule or conflict, a critical element of transitional justice is the vetting process used to register candidates in transitional elections. A new IFES paper...
6 Mar 2020 | News and Updates
On March 4, IFES President and CEO Anthony Banbury delivered testimony to the United States House of Representatives’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on “Human Rights in Haiti: Ideas for Next...
6 Mar 2020 | News and Updates
Launched ahead of Myanmar's 2020 elections, the “Advanced She Leads” program will support 40 women leaders to effect positive change in their communities.
4 Mar 2020 | News and Updates
Gender Equality in Elections: Q&A with Ukrainian Central Election Commissioner Viktoriia Hlushchenko
Ahead of International Women's Day, IFES spoke with Central Election Commissioner Viktoriia Hlushchenko, who leads gender mainstreaming and gender equality in organizing elections and referendums in...
28 Feb 2020 | Publication
An IFES fact sheet summarizes the four different ways women’s reserved seats in Bangladesh are currently filled: one system at the national level, two at the subdistrict level and one at the local...
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...
27 Jan 2020 | Publication
IFES conducted a study of women’s political representation and political finance in Nepal’s House of Representatives elections in 2017. IFES hopes the resulting report sparks discussions on the...
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...
3 Jan 2020 | News and Updates
Last month, IFES participated in the Eighth Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Abu Dhabi. Earlier in the year, the IFES Regional Europe Office hosted...
3 Jan 2020 | Survey
In 2019, IFES conducted a nationwide public opinion survey to examine perceptions of the integrity of Nigeria’s 2019 elections, the electoral process and citizens’ Election Day experiences. The...
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...
12 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
Protestors and demonstrators around the world are demanding more responsive democratic institutions. Even in the midst of widespread backsliding, the ballot box and elections remain a mechanism to...
9 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
Ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day, IFES and the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative Institute met with local partners from Bulgaria, Montenegro and Romania to discuss the...
9 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
Pervasive corruption erodes the credibility and legitimacy of democratic institutions, entrenches fractures in society and undermines governments’ ability to serve their citizens. IFES is a...
4 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
IFES mourns the passing of Charlot Jeudy, a human rights advocate and the founder and president of a Haitian LGBTQ rights organization. We offer our condolences to Jeudy’s family, friends and...
3 Dec 2019 | News and Updates
The annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held on December 3, commemorates the human rights of persons with disabilities. In 2019, IFES partnered with disabled people’s...
29 Nov 2019 | Publication
Libya has since been undergoing a democratic transition since protests erupted in February 2011, and the legal framework for elections has been extremely fragmented throughout the transitional period...
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...
25 Nov 2019 | News and Updates
In September 2019, IFES Manatt Fellow Tinashe Hofisi presented on presidential election petitions in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe at the 14th Annual Symposium of the...
25 Nov 2019 | News and Updates
From October 30-November 1, 2019, IFES participated in the Fourth African Judicial Dialogue in Uganda. IFES Manatt Fellow Tinashe Hofisi presented his paper on presidential election petitions in...
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...