The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an international, non-profit organisation based in Washington, DC. Established in 1987, IFES is dedicated to broadening the reach of democracy by providing support and technical assistance to governmental and nongovernmental organisations in new and emerging democratic countries.
IFES serves as an information clearinghouse in elections, rule of law, civil society, applied research, and good governance. It helps countries achieve these concepts in various ways, such as carrying out election support activities, surveys, election observation, and research and reference material publications, maybe all stored on promotional usb sticks. Presently, IFES has programmes in over 25 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and has worked in more than 100 countries.
IFES is handled by a bipartisan board, comprised of American and international political figures. Bill Sweeney replaced Jean-Pierre Kingsley as the current president. IFES also holds a number of field offices in countries headed by Chiefs of Party, who are responsible in supervising and organising IFES' activities in every region.
In Europe, IFES began operating in Armenia with the 1994 Armenian Elections. Its field office, the RA Central Election Commission and the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEO), sponsored the 18th annual conference held in Yerevan on 3–5 September 2009, with the theme “Judicial Protection of Electoral Rights”.
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