IFES' Dialogues on Democracy

Since 2011, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), in partnership with universities throughout Georgia, has implemented a tertiary-level civic education course entitled Democracy & Citizenship. The course, now offered at 27 higher-learning institutions across the country, offers students the opportunity to become familiar with their rights and responsibilities as citizens in a pluralistic society, as well as other topics related to governance, and citizenship.

A key component of the course is Student Action Projects, where students apply theoretical concepts explored in the classroom to a real-world setting through community service projects of their own design. These projects, designed and implemented by young people, focus on any number of topics, such as voter education in ethnic minority communities, or inclusion of persons with disabilities in the political process.

In order to capitalize on the success of the Student Action Projects, IFES developed a micro-grant program wherein youth-led organizations could apply for small grants to conduct additional work within their communities. In 2016, 11 youth-led organizations have received funding from IFES to conduct their projects. In this podcast, Gvantsa Tughushi, IFES Georgia Civic Education Project Assistant, interviews Meri Namgaladze, an IFES micro-grantee about her project, which focuses on disability rights.

Julie Hughes currently serves as the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Chief of Party for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Kenya Electoral Assistance Program. She has over 26 years of experience working in the field of democracy and governance, and more than 12 years of experience leading and implementing projects in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Namibia, Angola, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa. In this podcast, Ms. Hughes discusses the Kenya Electoral Assistance Program, how democracy is defined, and what inspires her work.

Dr. Andrew Reynolds is a Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He is the director of the UNC LGBTQ Representation and Rights Research Initiative. His research and teaching focus on democratization, constitutional design, and electoral politics. He has worked for the United Nations, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the UK Department for International Development, the US State Department, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the International Foundation for Election Systems. In this podcast, Dr. Reynolds discusses a paper he recently co-authored with Logan S. Casey, entitled “STANDING OUT Transgender and Gender Variant Candidates and Elected Officials Around the World.”

Podcast transcript and available here: http://bit.ly/1qFygC3

Guatemalan citizens headed to the polls in September and October 2015 to elect a new President, Vice President, Congress and other state and municipal leaders. The general elections took place against a backdrop of high-level criminal cases and popular civic protests against corruption. Starting in late April, a series of corruption investigations surfaced that shook the political landscape, sparking large and continuous public protests and forcing the resignations of many cabinet members and high-level officials, including the President and Vice President. Despite a climate of political uncertainty and concerns over potential eruptions of violence, Guatemalans cast ballots in an overall transparent, smooth and peaceful electoral process.

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) is implementing the program “Elections; More Inclusion, Less Violence,” to monitor and mitigate electoral violence and illicit financing of electoral campaigns, support the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s (TSE) administration of the elections, strengthen traditionally marginalized civil society groups and increase social inclusion in the electoral process.

After the first round of elections in September, CEPPS members, including the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), sat down with their Guatemalan partners to gauge their impressions of how the electoral process unfolded and discuss the political environment in the country.

Each CEPPS partner invited one of their local partners to discuss these issues from their perspectives. Participants included: Maria Eugenia Mijangos, who, as a Magistrate of the TSE, was responsible for administering the elections; Pilly Salazar, a transgender woman journalist who participated in IRI’s training program for responsible journalism; and Eugenia Juárez Xol, who participated in NDI’s long-term observation of electoral violence and illicit campaign finance in El Estor.

Podcast transcript available here: bit.ly/1qsP2of

Guatemalan citizens headed to the polls in September and October 2015 to elect a new President, Vice President, Congress and other state and municipal leaders. The general elections took place against a backdrop of high-level criminal cases and popular civic protests against corruption. Starting in late April, a series of corruption investigations surfaced that shook the political landscape, sparking large and continuous public protests and forcing the resignations of many cabinet members and high-level officials, including the President and Vice President. Despite a climate of political uncertainty and concerns over potential eruptions of violence, Guatemalans cast ballots in an overall transparent, smooth and peaceful electoral process.

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) is implementing the program “Elections; More Inclusion, Less Violence,” to monitor and mitigate electoral violence and illicit financing of electoral campaigns, support the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s (TSE) administration of the elections, strengthen traditionally marginalized civil society groups and increase social inclusion in the electoral process.

After the first round of elections in September, CEPPS members recorded a podcast with Eduardo Núñez, National Democratic Institute Guatemala Resident Director; Tony Garrastazu, International Republican Institute Guatemala Resident Director; Maximo Zaldivar, International Foundation for Electoral Systems Guatemala Chief of Party on how CEPPS provided technical assistance during the 2015 general elections in Guatemala.

Podcast transcript available here: http://bit.ly/1qu9chE

Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz is currently the Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Previously, she headed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODHIR) Election Department in Warsaw since 2011, serving as its Deputy from 2009 to 2011. From 2005 to 2009, she worked on dozens of ODIHR election observation missions across OSCE member states as Deputy Head of Mission or Political Analyst. In this podcast, Dr. Martin-Rozumiłowicz discusses what inspires her work, how democracy is defined, and why IFES supports the inclusion of marginalized groups in the electoral process.

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After consultation with key national and international stakeholders, Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has developed the country’s first national gender and elections strategy with support from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). This document is intended as a tool for the CEP to promote women’s participation in all stages of the electoral process and for all relevant stakeholders to coordinate their efforts regarding gender equality in elections in an effective manner. In this podcast, Jessica Huber, IFES' Senior Gender Specialist discusses her recent trip to Haiti to attend the launch of the national gender and election strategy.

Matthew Emery is a Research Coordinator for the Center for Applied Research and Learning at IFES. In his position, Matthew works on the development of public opinion surveys and monitoring and evaluation programs. Work in these areas have allowed him to further his work on using technology methods for gathering public opinion data and examining cross-national trends in democratization. Recently, Matthew presented research based off IFES’s national public opinion surveys in Ukraine at the 2015 World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) conference in Buenos Aires examining the impacts of social media use on other forms of civic participation in Ukraine since 2010.