International Foundation for Election Systems

IFES (formerly known as the International Foundation for Election Systems) is an international, non-profit, Washington, DC-based organization that "supports the building of democratic societies". Founded in 1987, IFES has 200 employees with field offices in more than 21 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. IFES participates in leading technical assistance projects for international and bilateral donor organizations such as USAID, the UN [ [http://www.undp-pogar.org/governance/links.asp?tid=3 UNDP-POGAR: Programme on Governance in the Arab Region: Democratic Governance: Web Links ] ] [ENHANCING WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN ELECTORAL PROCESSES IN POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES, UN OSAGI, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/meetings/2004/EGMelectoral/aidememoire.html] , DFID, the OSCE and others. Since 1987, IFES has worked with election assistance and democratic development in over 100 countries.

The next president of IFES will be Jean-Pierre Kingsley. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/31/kingsley-job.html Kingsley to take international election monitoring post] . CBC News. Retrieved 31 January, 2007.] The Senior Director for Communications and Research at IFES is Dorin Tudoran. [http://www.ifes.org/arc-staffall.html Biography of Dorin Tudoran] , at IFES web site]

IFES receives funding from the following governments/organizations:
*the US government
*Canadian International Development Agency
*Swedish International Development Agency
*Finnish International Development Agency
*British Department for International Development
*private contributions

Current Areas of Activity

*Strengthening Electoral Processes: IFES provides technical assistance to governments, political parties and civil society organizations in election planning and administration, electoral law development, and voter education. [ [http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/Archive/2006/Jul/13-323205.html Democracy Dialogues on International Electoral Systems and Laws- U.S. Department Of State ] ] [AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AT RISK:AGENDA FOR RENEWAL AND REPAIR, http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=4323]
*Building the Capacity of Civil Society: IFES works to mobilize citizens to participate in democratic politics in a constructive and effective manner.
*Bolstering the Rule of Law: [ [http://www.electionaccess.org/ Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities - www.electionaccess.org ] ] IFES encourages the development of an independent judiciary, an independent media, and an informed and engaged civil society as means to achieve the rule of law in developing democracies. [CNN,Building credibility without a constitution:Helping poll workers,Nigerian National Assembly and presidential elections, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/nigerian.elections/stories/boda.essay/]
*Encouraging Good Governance: IFES works to improve the transparency and efficiency of government institutions by building the management capacity, independence and professionalism of public officials in order to enable them to better serve their constituents. [ [http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/Archive/2006/Jul/13-323205.html Democracy Dialogues on International Electoral Systems and Laws- U.S. Department Of State ] ]

Advocacy for Voters Rights

The International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) is committed to extending the reach of democracy through technical assistance and support to governmental and nongovernmental organizations in new and emerging democracies [ [http://www.electionaccess.org/ Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities - www.electionaccess.org ] ] by providing professional advice and technical assistance in promoting democracy and serves as an information clearinghouse on elections, rule of law, governance, and civil society. [University of Minnesota Human Rights Library,STUDY GUIDE:The Right to Vote, http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/studyguides/votingrights.html] :Voters Rights: [ [http://www.ifes.org/ IFES - An international nonprofit organization that supports the building of democratic societies ] ]
*My Right to be heard by my government
*My Right to vote for the first time [CNN,Building credibility without a constitution:Helping poll workers,Nigerian National Assembly and presidential elections, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/nigerian.elections/stories/boda.essay/]
*My Right to run for office
*My Right to equal access [For Voters with Disabilities, http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=int&document=pre&dir=bil&lang=e&textonly=false] [ENHANCING WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN ELECTORAL PROCESSES IN POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES, UN OSAGI, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/meetings/2004/EGMelectoral/aidememoire.html]
*My Right to choose without fear [CNN,Building credibility without a constitution:Helping poll workers,Nigerian National Assembly and presidential elections, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/nigerian.elections/stories/boda.essay/]
*My Right to a better future

Informational Products

IFES offers many resources for those who are interested in the field of democracy development. These include:

* [http://www.democracyatlarge.org/ Democracy at large] , a quarterly magazine designed for professionals interested in democracy development worldwide.
*A free monthly e-newsletter (IFES e-news) that provides the latest news and information about IFES’ work and democracy development worldwide (sign up at [http://www.ifes.org/ www.ifes.org] ).
*An online election calendar, [http://www.electionguide.org/ www.ElectionGuide.org] , which lists past and future election dates for countries around the world. It also provides election results, voter turnout statistics, and profiles of election issues.
* [http://www.aceproject.org/ The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network] , which IFES participates in with other elections organizations. The website provides extensive information about the nuts and bolts of election administration.
* [http://www.ifesbuyersguide.org/ The IFES Buyer's Guide for Election Suppliers] , the only comprehensive directory of companies selling election supplies, equipment and services to those responsible for managing public and private elections.
*Public opinion research and surveys on democratic development (http://www.ifes.org/arc-surveys.html).
* [http://www.ifes.org/publications-detail.html?id=154&page=mena/ The Arab Election Law Compendium] , a collection of election laws in Arabic and either English or French from various countries throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. It includes full texts of laws, background on the election process and detailed analysis of each law prepared by notable regional experts.
* [http://www.moneyandpolitics.net www.Moneyandpolitics.net] , which promotes political integrity through the establishment of transparent and accountable systems of political finance and public ethics.
*Other resources available at [http://www.ifes.org/ www.ifes.org] .

ources

*International Foundation for Election Systems. Official website. ^{[http://www.ifes.org/]}
*"Group Watch: International Foundation for Electoral Systems" Right Web Program of the Interhemispheric Resource Center. December 1989. ^{[http://rightweb.irc-online.org/groupwatch/ifes.php]}
*Network for Good profile. ^{[http://www.guidestar.org/networkforgood/controller/searchResults.gs?action_gsReport=1&npoId=307498]}

References

External links

* [http://www.ifes.org/ IFES Website]
* [http://www.electionguide.org/ ElectionGuide.org] - Online guide to elections around the world
* [http://www.democracyatlarge.org/ DemocracyAtLarge.org] - IFES' quarterly print publication
* [http://www.IFESBuyersGuide.org/ IFES Buyer's Guide to Election Suppliers]
* [http://www.moneyandpolitics.net/ www.moneyandpolitics.net] - Website for IFES’ Center for Transitional and Post Conflict Governance