RESULTS OF PROJECT TO PROMOTE AFFORDABLE ELECTIONS LAUNCHED ON INTERNET

19 October 1998

Press Release
DEV/2189

RESULTS OF PROJECT TO PROMOTE AFFORDABLE ELECTIONS LAUNCHED ON INTERNET

19981019 NEW YORK, 19 October (DESA) -- Recognizing the need to provide tools, lessons and examples in the field of election organization and administration, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), has undertaken a project to promote efficient and cost-effective elections. The results of this project will be launched on a website, www.aceproject.org, on 22 October from United Nations Headquarters in New York. The material, also available on CD-ROM, provides a range of appropriate options in the organization of elections, from the first stage of designing an appropriate electoral system to the final stages of vote counting. It includes operational details, sample materials and country case studies. Over the next year, feedback will be solicited to improve this unique information collection to make it globally inclusive.

The administration, logistics and cost of an election are large, but every country must be able to afford and to administer its own elections. These are not one-time events but a recurring process that must be efficient, well-organized and sustainable.

In the 10 years between 1988 and 1998, 51 countries held first-time elections. But as these newly democratic countries approach their second or third election, they may be doing so with far less international support and far fewer resources than for their first. For example, international support enabled Cambodia to conduct its first election by spending the equivalent of $484 per vote on supporting activities such as education, security, infrastructure, equipment and personnel. Such a high level of support cannot be expected to continue, and countries must find ways to make their elections affordable and sustainable.

Following are some interesting facts from recent elections:

-- $59 million was contributed by the international community for Mozambique's first national elections held in October 1994;

-- 52,233,957 Mexicans were in possession of voter identification cards for the July 1997 presidential elections;

-- 1,600,000 security personnel watched over India's elections in February 1998;

-- 93,000 polling sites were set up in Russia for the December 1995 State Duma election;

-- 159 non-governmental organizations provided more than 3,000 domestic election observers for the Bosnia and Herzegovina elections held in September 1998;

-- 39,000 poll workers staffed the Yemen parliamentary elections held in April 1997;

-- 527,018,577 Pakistan rupees (equivalent to $6.4 million) was spent to print ballots for that country's general elections held in February 1997.

The new website, www.aceproject.org, provides access to this and other information regarding all aspects of the administration of elections, and includes many examples of good practices appropriate to differing cultural and economic contexts.

For further information contact: Maria Helena Alves, DESA (tel: (212) 963-8836; e-mail: alvesh@un.org); Torie Keller, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (tel: (202) 828-8507; e-mail: torie@ifes.org); and Cilla Ungerth-Jolis, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (tel: (011)-46-8-698-3700; e-mail: c.ungerth@int-idea.se).

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