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Narrator: Thank you for Listening to Dialogues on Democracy, presenting expertise and stories
from 25 years of building sustainable democracies. I'm Joseph Marcus. IFES conducts assessment
missions throughout the world. I spoke with Peter Erben, IFES' Senior Global Electoral
Adviser, and current Chief of Party in Indonesia. Peter Erben has over 20 years of electoral
management experience and has conducted over 15 assessment missions in a variety of regions.
Peter, what trends tend to occur within a country's electoral environment when there
is a power vacuum?
Peter Erben: After authoritarian regimes the trend is an insatiable appetite for participation
in the population - and a demand for immediate representative government. This is often combined
with extreme suspicion between opposing interest groups and society-wide unrealistic expectation
for what the new found freedom and democracy can bring. In this situation there is often
little or deeply flawed national electoral capacity, and at times a level of tension
between interest groups that make it challenging to establish a nascent electoral authority.
In fragile democracies, we often see that the electoral and political environment is
compromised, particularly voters questioning the integrity and effectiveness of politicians,
democracy and the electoral institution.
Narrator: What is an assessment mission? Who is involved and how do these missions work?
PE: We are typically 3-5 senior international experts who are selected to have combined
expertise that cover all electoral disciplines. A team can, for example, consists of: a team
leader, whose a senior electoral manager, an electoral legal experts who specializes
in election law and standards, a election technology expert who covers voter registration,
results management and so on, and an expert covering areas with wider involvement such
as voter education, gender, and disability issues. We gather as much empirical data as
possible from existing documentation and an exhaustive range of meetings, analyze the
data in light of the international experience, standards and best practices. Pivotal to the
mission is the full participation of national experts to ensure that all data
gathering and analysis is sensitive to the local context.
Narrator: Within a partnering country who does IFES work with?
PE: On an assessment mission IFES consults with all stakeholders who are involved in
and who are affected by the electoral process: most often the electoral institutions themselves,
often called the election commission, those competing for office, academia, civil society
and voters themselves through focus groups and surveys. One of the interesting aspects
of our assessment missions is that they happen at time happens to nations still being ruled
by authoritarian regimes but with an aspiration to become a democracy. Recently I spoke to
a general and we talked about the fact that their ballot boxes do not have any type of
securities, and the general did look at me with some surprise and said that, that would
truly not be a problem because in elections managed by them nobody would dare tamper with
a ballot in the box.
Narrator: What challenges exist when we enter these situations?
PE: Gaining access to the country, for example securing appropriate visa, and organizing
logistics and security in-country can be a complex challenge. In nascent electoral environment
access to information and relevant stakeholders can be really difficult. One approach we use
to overcome all of the above challenges is to engage with national experts and organizations,
as well as regional institutions.
Narrator: Who utilizes IFES' assessments? How do they use them?
PE: The assessment is most often presented in a comprehensive report in the excess of
100 pages plus annexes. The report is not a typical election observation report, it
is more of a peer-to-peer effort to offer specific electoral stakeholders, such as the
election commission. Some assessment reports are made publicly available by the decision
of the key recipients of the report. You can for example see a comprehensive pre-election
technical assessment released publicly by the Thai election commission by googling "download
IFES thailand assessment". An assessment always contains conclusions and recommendations
that affect all key stakeholders in the electoral process certainly almost always to the donor
and the national election commission, but often also to civil society and others.
Narrator: Why are these assessment missions important for the electoral environment?
PE: Assessments are fundamental to ensure that the challenge in a given situation is
well understood, that potential solutions are economical and effective, and that international
standards and best practice are well considered with a full understanding of the local context.
Narrator: For more Dialogues on Democracy, informations on Peter Erben and IFES' assessment
missions, please visit our website. www.IFES.org