What Really Works to Prevent Election Violence

One in five elections worldwide is marred by violence—from burned ballot boxes to violent suppression of peaceful rallies, to assassinations of candidates. A USIP study of programs to prevent violence suggests focusing on improving the administration and policing of elections. The study, of elections in Kenya and Liberia, found no evidence that programs of voter consultation or peace messaging were effective there.  A series of speakers discussed these findings.

Speakers: Pat Merloe Senior Associate and Director for Election Programs, NDI

John Tomaszewski Africa Director, IRI

Joshua Changwony Deputy Executive Secretary, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO, Kenya)

Oscar Bloh Chairman, Elections Coordination Committee (ECC, Liberia)

Inken von Borzyskowski Assistant Professor, Florida State University

Jonas Claes, facilitator Senior Program Officer, Center for Applied Conflict Transformation, USIP

Debra Liang-Fenton, facilitator Senior Program Officer, Center for Applied Conflict Transformation, USIP