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Making Democracy Work
In 1987, when IFES was founded, no one could have anticipated the world could change so radically so soon. Yet the man who created this organization, F. Clifton White, sensed the first tremors of the earthquake to come, the seismic shivers of an unprecedented democratic wave. But he knew that for such change to be peaceful and orderly, countries would need help. He knew that democracy and good governance do not just happen; they take skill and organization.
One thing was clear: no ideal blueprint for democracy existed. Democracy means «rule by the people,» so the people must decide how they want to be ruled. IFES has always understood that culture and tradition must be respected and that to impose any one electoral formula on a nation is neither possible nor desirable. Over the next decade IFES would earn a reputation for independence, impartiality, sensitivity, and discretion. Election commissions, government officials, leaders of emerging civil societies, scholars, members of the media, and other non-profit organizations now look to IFES for the best information, advice and technical assistance on all aspects of the election process.
The vision of IFES is far-reaching. The talents of its people - members of the board of directors, staff, and consultants - are well known. The defining features of IFES render it unique among non-profit organizations devoted to democratic change.
 IFES is international. We have offices in more than two dozen countries, an international board of directors and advisory council, and two hundred employees who represent more than twenty nationalities and who speak as many as thirty languages. Our collection of knowledge and individual experiences afford IFES a unique sensitivity to the complexities of the nations it serves.
IFES focuses on empowerment. IFES' goal is enfranchisement of underrepresented and disadvantaged individuals and groups. IFES works at all levels of society to make responsive democracy work. The Foundation serves as a resource for election administration and the development and strengthening of rule of law, civil society, and democratic institutions.
IFES offers information resources. The F. Clifton White Resource Center is one of the world's largest collections of documents, resource materials, and equipment related to elections and political processes. Most field offices have resource centers available to a wide audience. The IFES web site contains important information accessible worldwide.
IFES emphasizes results. IFES promotes measurable, objective changes: well-run and transparent elections; improved legal protections, establishment of permanent election commissions; stronger civil society, with effective nongovernmental organizations; more efficient local government; and a well-informed electorate.
The many ways IFES is making democracy work include the following activities.
Strengthening civil society organizations through advocacy skills that enable them to communicate effectively with elected leaders.
Strengthening and promoting respect for the rule of law by helping countries draft constitutions, legal codes, and developing independent judiciaries.
Providing needed training for members of parliaments and local government officials.
Conducting survey research on elections, rule of law, governance, and civil society to both design programs and evaluate their impact.
Breaking new ground in advancing the independent press to build a culture of democracy.
While IFES will expand its efforts in such new areas, we continue our work in the field of election administration, including:
Developing electoral codes and procedures.
Strengthening election commissions as institutions of governance.
Developing training materials for election administrators.
Assisting with the modernization of state activities, such as credible civil registries and the use of technology in election administration.
Promoting regional networks of election administrators to encourage and promote professionalization in election administration.
The mission of IFES is to promote strong, lasting democracies meaningful to people. Each country must find its own way to democracy, depending on different social, economic, and historical circumstances. IFES is a resource, a helping hand, and a partner in that process. We help fine tune questions and offer possible solutions.
Montenegro, FRY Advancing Reform
In May 1998, when voters in Montenegro, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), went to the polls to elect a new Parliament and municipal officials, many asked:
Could these elections avoid the violence and intervention from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that occurred after the October 1997 presidential election?
Could a republic within Yugoslavia develop a legitimate election structure and choose leaders committed to democracy?
Could Montenegro serve as a democratic model within Yugoslavia and throughout the Balkans?
With IFES' assistance, Montenegro exceeded expectations and answered all these questions in the affirmative.
As the May 1998 elections approached, there was fear the losing incumbent would again call on his supporters to arm themselves against the incoming «criminal regime,» triggering riots and bombings as he did in October 1997. To prevent such an outcome, partly by improving the technical conduct of the election, IFES conducted the following activities:
Train the trainers - IFES equipped Montenegrins with the skills to train Municipal Election Commissions and political parties responsible for training pollworkers.
Inform the voters and candidates - IFES crafted a state-of-the-art voter education campaign that included television and radio advertisements, posters, and information leaflets aimed at the general population. Special voter information materials also targeted women, ethnic Albanians, and young and first-time voters. And IFES produced a candidate handbook that I integrated all pertinent legislation and non-partisan information.
Assist the Election Commission - IFES provided impartial counsel to build confidence in the fairness of the election process and ensure the technical election concerns of all parties were addressed.
The administration of the election was an overwhelming success. All parties accepted the legitimacy of the results. Reformers took control of Parliament in a smooth transition and now govern Montenegro's executive and legislative branches.
Paraguay: Electoral Accountability
IFES' work in Paraguay began in 1989 with the first free election and reached a pinnacle in 1998. During FY 1998, IFES
Provided technical assistance to the election authorities that contributed to the most transparent national elections in Paraguayan history.
Launched innovative efforts to empower citizens to increase their participation in voting and governance, and in holding local elected officials more accountable.
On May 10,1998, Paraguay held national and general elections. Due to the contested national races, there was concern that voters would focus on the high-visibility presidential campaign and ignore local elections. The government's low profile efforts to decentralize power only added to the potential severity of citizens incognizance of their role in local governance.
To address this issue, IFES worked in partnership with 14 local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during the election to encourage informed voting. These NGOs developed educational materials and conducted workshops across Paraguay with such groups as cooperatives, professional associations, and church groups, informing citizens about elections from the local to the national level and informing voters about the candidates' platforms. These efforts paid off when more than 80 percent of eligible voters voted.
But the greatest difference happened after the 1998 election. Previously, elected officials often neglected constituents' demands or needs. Therefore, IFES worked with a wide range of civil society organizations to develop Paraguayans' ability to exercise their rights and responsibilities beyond election day.
Public civic forums were organized in all 17 departments (provinces) and in the capital. Local civil society organizations set the agenda for each forum. More than 200 people attended each forum and had the opportunity to meet their newly elected officials and present their concerns, projects, and hopes. Each forum was broadcast live on radio so Paraguayans in the most remote communities could listen to the beginning of a more meaningful dialogue between local elected officials and citizens.
The results were highly successful and have helped to increase the responsiveness of local officials. In four departments, the civic forum was used to initiate the process of decentralized planning with citizen participation.
liberia: Closing The Information Gap
As Liberia recovers from a seven-year civil war, the vitality and awareness of civil society is central in determining if the nation heals, reintegrates, reconstructs, and emerges into a relatively stable democratic rule. Will citizens be properly informed about how government and elections work, and will they be able to hold government officials accountable?
To provide a positive answer to this question, IFES is working to ensure that Liberians have access to accurate, unbiased news and information. Because such news was largely unavailable, IFES provided crucial support for Star Radio, which is a collaborative effort between IFES and Fondation Hirondelle (a Swiss non-governmental organization), and broadcasts in English, Liberian English, French, and Liberia's 14 vernacular languages. Star Radio reaches an audience of more than one million.
With USAID funding, IFES supports high quality news radio programming that highlights key issues in the election process, government, reconciliation, and development. The station's comprehensive, straightforward reporting has made it the news report of record in Liberia.
However, the Liberian minister of posts and telecommunications closed Star Radio on January 8,1998, the same time as a crackdown against other independent media. The station resumed operation in February, when the Government of Liberia restored its licenses, primarily in response to international pressure.
In October, the government shut down Star Radio's short-wave frequency, which reaches rural areas, charging the station with illegally broadcasting news on the Internet. It threatened two technical advisors from Fondation Hirondelle with deportation - despite Star Radio being a government-recognized local non-governmental organization convened by a Liberian Board of Directors. After paying a fee. Star Radio resumed posting its 10-minute news summaries on the Internet, but only broadcasts on FM now, not short wave.
Star Radio ranks among Liberia's top three most listened-to stations. A team of 40 Liberian journalists and language announcers produces the programming. Daily broadcasts include productions by Search for Common Ground and Radio Monrovia, with health, childcare, and reunification of families a focus. Special programs from UNICEF and Save the Children are also transmitted.
Star Radio has many positive spin-off benefits for Liberia. Local journalists have a unique opportunity to train in independent, objective reporting and to further their skills development. And the overall quality and quantity of news programming in the nation has increased, in part, as a response to Star Radio.
Qatar: Empowering Women
In 1998, Qatar scheduled the first elections in its history - for a 29-member municipal council - for early 1999. Unlike other Gulf monarchies, in Qatar women now have the right to vote - and to run for office, making the Qatari municipal election a groundbreaking event in the region.
IFES was the first international organization to visit Qatar to discuss the election, and the first to concentrate on women's participation. Even as nations around the world liberalize their political systems, women number among those facing the greatest formal and informal barriers to full participation in the political process. IFES aims to encourage increased women's civic involvement through transferring practical skills and information appropriate to the local context.
In 1998, IFES provided assistance to the Preparatory Committee for the Municipal Election, a group of leading Qatari women who conducted election awareness programs for women. IFES
Conducted Arabic-language training in the basics of running for office for more than 40 Qatari women, including women candidates and their campaign teams.
Worked one-on-one with candidates and their teams to develop campaign messages and campaign plans.
Prepared a comprehensive Arabic manual on running for office designed for the Qatari context.
Briefed the Preparatory Committee on successful women's voter education programs in the Arab world, and provided material from IFES-supported educational programs in the West Bank and Gaza.
In Qatar, IFES addressed a key aspect of women's empowerment for these, and future, elections: the acquisition of practical skills and knowledge. As one woman training participant told IFES, «This training cleared the path for Qatari women candidates, by opening for us new gates of knowledge in the electoral field.»
Ghana: Strengthening Civil Siciety
From nuisance to collaborator - how many local elected officials in Ghana are changing their view of civil society organizations because of 1FES' Project ECSELL (Enhancing Civil Society Effectiveness at the Local Level)?
To strengthen community organizations, enhance leaders' skills, increase understanding, and open new dialogues on how best to resolve community problems, 1FES convened three Project ECSELL workshops in 1998, with approximately 700 participants. Each workshop was held in 20 of Ghana's 110 districts - covering more than half of the nation. The workshops were held jointly for civil society leaders and District Assembly (local government) officials - many of whom sat down together for the first time.
The workshops greatly improved the dialogue between community leaders and local elected officials. For example, in one district, civic leaders plan to work jointly with district health and sanitation officials to seek solutions to major sanitation problems. A local government inspector in Dunkwa commented, «Since IFES brought the civic leaders and the [District Assembly] officers together, we understand each other better.»
In addition, community organizations are talking more to each other. Civil society participants in five districts are establishing formal coalitions. One civic leader said, «We shall be able to organize better, operate better as a team, and solve our problems jointly and collaboratively.» IFES has also received reports of strategy sessions within District Assemblies as officials work to better understand their responsibilities toward the communities they serve.
Project ECSELL successfully laid the groundwork for better communication between elected officials and their constituents, a stronger and more participatory democracy in Ghana, an enhanced and formalized role for civil society organizations, and a process that will result in better solutions making a more tangible difference in the daily lives of Ghanaians.
IFES' work on the ECSELL Project is a logical extension of its earlier work in Ghana. From 1993 to 1997,1FES worked closely with the Election Commission of Ghana to organize the highly regarded 1996 elections.
Ukraine: Elections and the Rule of Law
In Ukraine, an ad hoc approach to conducting elections has handicapped the transition to democracy. However, 1998 proved to be a ground-breaking year when parliament enacted new election laws and held successful parliamentary elections.
Training played a critical role in the development of new and improved electoral legislation. IFES worked with the newly established, permanent CEC to ensure that administrators and voters were sufficiently prepared for the conduct of voting under the new mixed system of elections, less than four months away, on March 29,1998.
The new election laws were internationally recognized as a step forward in establishing a permanent and effective system for electing legislators at the national and local levels, and were critical to ensuring their legitimacy and transparency. IFES
Developed a procedures manual for Polling Station Election Commission members, with 70/000 published to ensure that each polling station received two copies.
Produced nine one-minute and eight five-minute television programs that outline the new system of elections and the changes voters would see at the polling stations. The five-minute programs appeared on national television, with the one-minute programs broadcast at national and regional levels.
Assisted in adaptation of television public service announcements for radio broadcast.
Produced and distributed more than 270/000 copies of two posters, one with Canadian Embassy funding, explaining new election procedures.
Published all pertinent information on IFES' Ukraine web site.
IFES even helped simplify the logistics of the ballot itself. With 30 political parties running candidates for the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament), the original provisions of the law would require the ballot to be 2.58 meters in length. However, IFES provided the CEC with examples of similar party-list ballots compiled in the F. Clifton White Resource Center, which helped convince the Ukrainian parliament to reduce the length to a more manageable .61 meters.
The election - and the new laws that governed it - both proved successful, with high voter turnout, low percentage of spoiled ballots, eight political parties gaining representation in Parliament, and 114 independent candidates winning seats.
ACE - The Administration and Cost of Election Project
In 1998, IFES' F. Clifton White Resource Center, in collaboration with the United Nations and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, launched the Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project, the first global information resource focusing on alternatives in election administration.
ACE was established to help emerging democracies with one of the greatest challenges in running elections - their cost. International assistance often covers many of the expenses of a country's first elections, but usually drops off or disappears in the second or third election. These countries then face the difficulty of establishing affordable election systems that do not compromise on such matters as registering voters accurately, establishing convenient polling places, preventing fraud, efficiently and accurately counting votes, and enforcing election law.
Through its web site and a CD-ROM, ACE provides election professionals with easy access to comprehensive and systematic information on the range of choices available and their administrative and cost implications. The information includes many examples of good practices for different cultures and economies, and ways to achieve cost efficiencies without sacrificing the quality of election administration.
The ACE web site and CD-ROM are intended as living documents, benefiting from an ongoing process of feedback from users worldwide. Translations into French, Spanish, and Russian are underway to make these important resources accessible to broader audiences.
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