Free and Fair Elections

In places where authoritarian regimes and malign actors wage ideological battles against democratic norms and institutions, elections have become the frontline in the ongoing struggle for democracy. As an endorser of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, IRI has published numerous reports on the overall quality of electoral processes and their adherence to internationally recognized standards.

IRI’s election observation methodology provides a framework for understanding long-standing and contemporary threats to election integrity. Using IRI’s evidence-based and proven field guides, staff and partners can rapidly analyze all aspects of an electoral cycle to identify democratic gaps in the campaign environment, constitutional and legal framework, election administration, information space, and campaign finance for a given election. Recognizing the essential role that citizen poll watchers play, IRI empowers citizen observers with tools and resources to independently assess the conduct of an election and, importantly, to confidently publish and defend pre- and post-election reports and recommendations.

Growing external interference from foreign autocrats, internal influence from malign actors, and new vulnerabilities to free and fair elections brought about by the digital transformation of society have tested public confidence in democratic institutions. Building resilient electoral institutions with the capacity to thwart long-standing and evolving threats requires sustained and coordinated effort.

Throughout the electoral cycle, IRI and its partners conduct pre- and post-election assessments and long- and short-term election observation that benchmark and document electoral progress or setbacks – including legislative reforms between election cycles.

During and after Election Day, IRI programs focus on operationalizing observer recommendations through advocacy campaigns and building political will and consensus for implementing reform agendas. By establishing cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder dialogues and formation of thematic working groups, IRI helps ensure that proposed reforms are prioritized in legislative plenaries. Where political will for reform is absent, IRI helps to fertilize the democratic aspirations of citizens by supporting citizen-government coalitions and year-round election reform advocacy.

Elections are high-stakes events. While their success can help cement a path to democratization, electoral mismanagement or political manipulation can upend transfers of power and can lead to violent outcomes. Fomenting violence is a strategy that bad actors routinely employ to shape political outcomes.

IRI’s Institutional Electoral Violence (EV) Mitigation Framework provides a roadmap for understanding the drivers of electoral violence and proposes intervention strategies to mitigate the corrosive effect of EV on credible elections. The Framework consists of the Vulnerabilities to Electoral Violence (VEV) assessment, used to understand risks for violence. It also includes a Program Guide for Mitigating EV in Sub-Saharan Africa (and accompanying Evidence Briefer), which IRI uses to pair evidence-based programming with identified risks. The Guide is based on two years of research that interrogated and synthesized evidence on specific interventions employed in Africa to mitigate electoral violence.

Effective voter education starts early and continues throughout the election process. Voter education is especially critical in post-conflict and transitional countries where constituents may have new leaders or even a new system of government, and where the election could have an unprecedented impact on a country’s democratic trajectory.

Working with citizen groups, electoral management institutions, and non-governmental organizations, IRI enables its partners to conduct rigorous constituent outreach through dissemination of voter education materials designed to inform voters about steps of the voting process and to provide essential information about who is eligible to vote; where and how to register; how to check the voter lists; what type of elections are being held; where, when and how to vote; who the candidates are; and how to file complaints.