Contributors to "Elections and Security"
The Elections and Security Focus On was written by Sean Dunne in December 2006. Sean Dunne holds a Bachelor’s degree in information technology from the University of Central Queensland, Australia, and a Master’s degree in politics from New York University, USA. Mr. Dunne has a military and law enforcement background, and since 1999 has been a Political Affairs Officer of the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division. He has been involved in elections in more than 20 countries around the world, many of them occurring in the context of post-conflict or transitional circumstances.
The views expressed in this article are solely the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the position of the United Nations or imply the Organization's endorsement.
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Contributors to "HIV/AIDS and Elections"
The HIV/AIDS Focus On is based on a report developed by Kondwani Chirambo at IDASA (The Institute for Democracy in South Africa). It was compiled and further enriched with external sources by Johan Lindroth, whilst on secondment to International IDEA.
Since HIV/AIDS was first discovered in 1981 more than 20 million people have died from AIDS, and today one person is infected with HIV every five seconds. Africa is the continent worst stricken by HIV/AIDS, and Asia and Eastern Europe are experiencing a terrifying increase in the number of persons infected with the virus.
The IDASA research project had the objective of investigating the probable impact of HIV-AIDS on electoral processes as a key facet of the democratisation process in Africa. The rationale is that democracy requires strong institutions and the full participation of citizens in political, social and economic life to be sustainable. The main message from the research report is that the legitimacy and effectiveness of the South African democracy and its electoral processes risk being undermined by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
On behalf of IDASA we would like to thank the following persons and institutions for their cooperation and support: the Rockefeller Brother Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, Citizen Surveys, the Electoral Institute of South Africa, Derek Davids, Mary Caesar, Marietjtie Myburg, Vasanthie Naicker, Shaila Gupta, Paul Graham, and People Living with HIV/AIDS and care givers who supported the project.
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Contributors to "E-Voting"
Focus on e-voting was produced by Nadja Braun, whilst on secondment to International IDEA from the Swiss Federal Chancellery in cooperation with Maria Helena Alves (Independent Consultant of the ACE-Project), Jeff Brady (IFES), Kristina Lemon (Senior Administrative Officer at the Swedish Election Authority), Anna Kessling (Analyst at the Swedish Ministry of Justice) and Robert Krimmer (Research Group E-Voting.at of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration). Ms Nadja Braun worked as an expert forthe Council of Europe working group on e-enabled voting and as a legal adviser for the Swiss e-voting projects
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Jerry Mindes was formerly Director of Strategic Business Development at IFES. Mr. Mindes is a recognized expert on issues affecting the political, social and economic advancement of people with disabilities in developing nations. For more than five years he led IFES' global initiative to enfranchise people with disabilities and guided IFES' work in the broader field of human rights and elections, working in over 15 nations in every part of the developing world.
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Contributors to "Direct Democracy"
Focus on direct democracy was produced by Ellie Greenwood, whilst on secondment to International IDEA from the UK Electoral Commission. The work was undertaken as part of IDEA's project on the global use of direct democracy. The project is considering how the use of direct democracy can enhance democratic systems, and aims to produce a series of tools outlining options for the design of direct democracy institutions.
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The material in this ACE Focus On comes from the Cost of Registration and Elections (CORE) Project initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IFES; written and produced by Jeff Fischer and Dr. Rafael López Pintor. The primary goal of CORE is to assist governments and independent organizations in their efforts to identify and examine all forms of election-related costs and funding sources.
IFES is also grateful for the support provided by Linda Maguire of the UNDP and would also like to acknowledge research and editing assistance provided by members of IFES' staff that included Will Covey, Jamie Crowley, Joanne Faulkner, Maya Serban and Rakesh Sharma.
last modified September 08, 2006