Global Electoral Organisation (GEO) Conference 2007
The fourth gathering of the GEO network took place at the Westin Grand in Washington, D.C., from March 27–29, 2007.
4th GEO Conference
Related Documents:
The GEO Conference offers a unique opportunity for senior election officials and democracy practitioners to gather together to share common experiences and find solutions to issues in election management. IFES, an international nonprofit organization that supports the building of democratic societies, hosted this year's gathering of the GEO network at the Westin Grand in Washington, D.C., from March 27–29, 2007.
Partner Organizations
ACEEEO: The Association of European Election Officials is a nonpartisan forum, independent of national governments, for the exchange of information among election officials and experts throughout the region covered by the Association to discuss and act on ways to promote open and transparent elections with the objective of supporting good governance and democracy.
EAC: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource for information and review of procedures with respect to the administration of federal elections. Among other things, the EAC was founded to establish minimum election administration standards for states and units of local government that administer federal elections.
Elections Canada: Elections Canada is a nonpartisan organization responsible for the conduct of federal general elections, by-elections and referendums. The organization's primary goal is to present all Canadian citizens with the opportunity to participate in transparent and impartial elections and referendums. By training election officers, enforcing electoral laws and disseminating electoral information to Canadian citizens, Elections Canada is constantly striving to create a more democratic electoral system.
FEC: In 1975, the U.S. Congress created the Federal Election Commission to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act: the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law (such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions), and to oversee the public funding of presidential elections.
International IDEA: Created in 1995, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an intergovernmental organization with member states from all continents, has a mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide. IDEA operates at an interface between those who analyze and monitor trends in democracy and those who engage directly in political reform or act in support of democracy at home and abroad. IDEA works with both new and long-established democracies, helping to develop and strengthen the institutions and culture of democracy. It operates at the international, regional and national level, working in partnership with a range of institutions.
IACREOT: The International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials, and Treasurers was founded in 1971 by a group of government officials who wanted aprofessional organization that would provide a forum for the free exchange of information, resulting in improved standards for serving the public. Today, IACREOT is one of the most successful, well-respected organizations in the United States, with over 1,600 members, representing local, state, provincial, national and international associations and agencies. The elections division has approximately 1,200 members and is the most active of the four divisions.
IFES: As one of the world's premier democracy and governance assistance organizations, IFES provides targeted technical assistance to strengthen transitional democracies. Founded in 1987 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, IFES has developed and implemented comprehensive, collaborative democracy solutions in more than 100 countries. IFES' professional capacity is embodied in our expert staff and senior consultants, among whom are geographical specialists in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and functional specialists in rule of law, civil society, good governance, election administration, applied research, human rights, gender issues and public information technology solutions.
IFE: The Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico is responsible for organizing and overseeing federal elections in Mexico. The Institute is a nonpartisan organization founded on the principles of ameliorating Mexican democracy by encouraging electoral participation among Mexican citizens, promoting peaceful and periodic elections and corroborating the legitimacy of election outcomes.
EISA: The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa is a nongovernmental organization, established in 1996 and based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its mission is to strengthen electoral processes, good governance, human rights and democratic values in Africa through research, capacity building, advocacy and other targeted interventions. EISA works with governments, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organizations and other institutions operating in the democracy and governance fields in Africa. EISA has field offices in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Mozambique and implements activities in all countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
IIDH-CAPEL: The Center for Electoral Promotion and Assistance (CAPEL) of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH) was founded in 1983 with the purpose of providing technical assistance on electoral matters and promoting free elections as part of the support given to the development of human rights. CAPEL has played a key role in Latin America in creating associations of electoral authorities, which have been able to promote missions of electoral observation and technical assistance in order to ensure free and fair elections in the continent.
UNDP: The United Nations Development Programme plays an indispensable role in unifying countries with the mutual goal of building and sustaining solutions to the aberrant challenges facing the world today. The Programme regularly provides technical assistance in all stages of an electoral process, from the reform of electoral legislation to the organization of voter registration.
UNEAD: In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly mandated the creation of a small unit devoted to electoral assistance activities. The main role of this Electoral Assistance Division is to evaluate all requests for electoral assistance, to undertake needs-assessment missions, to provide consistent answers from the United Nations system to requesting governments, to work cooperatively with UN and non-UN system actors in the design and implementation of electoral assistance project activities, to develop operational strategies for electoral components of peace-keeping operations, to maintain a roster of electoral experts able to provide technical assistance on short notice, to facilitate the international observation of elections, and to serve as the UN’s institutional memory in the electoral field.
Presentations made during the plenary sessions of the GEO Conference are available as PDF documents below:
