Subject: Updated Time: Partnerships for Meaningful Elections in Africa
From: "Courtney Creek" <[email-masked]>
To: "Courtney Creek" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2016 15:15:30 -0500

The National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Foundation for
Electoral Systems (IFES), and the International Republican Institute (IRI)
cordially invite you to a discussion on:

Partnerships for Meaningful Elections in Africa:

Lessons from 2015 and Projections for 2016

Friday, January 29, 2016

10:30 - 12:00*

*If the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announces a delayed

opening of more than two hours, then the event will start at 11:45 a.m.

National Democratic Institute

455 Massachusetts Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20001

8th floor Boardroom

Speakers:

Enhancing civic engagement in elections through parallel vote tabulations

Richard Klein Senior Advisor for Elections Programs, NDI

Establishing Situation Rooms as a new platform for information sharing
around elections

Sarah Pray Senior Policy Analyst for Africa, Open Society Foundations

Broadening electoral participation with youth and women

Gretchen Birkle Regional Director for Africa, IRI

Employing innovation and technology to improve election administration

Rushdi Nackerdien Regional Director for Africa, IFES

Leveraging implementing partner interventions with US government support

Leah Kaplan Democracy and Governance Officer, United States Agency for
International Development Mission in Cote d’Ivoire

Moderator:

Sophia Moestrup Deputy Director for Central and West Africa, NDI

Closing Remarks:

Keith Jennings Senior Associate and Director for Southern and East Africa,
NDI

More than 15 African countries held national elections in
2015--including Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Tanzania--and a similar number
is set to do so in 2016, notably the Central African Republic, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, and Zambia.  Many of the 2015 elections
provided citizens with a genuine opportunity to express their political
preferences and determine the leadership of their countries.  International
partners supported efforts by national electoral management bodies, civil
society groups, and citizens to guarantee credible and transparent election
processes that reflected the choice of the voters and bestowed legitimacy
on the winners.  As more African countries prepare for presidential polls
in the new year, representatives of partner organizations will assess the
2015 elections and their impact on democratic governance on the continent,
and discuss the outlook for upcoming elections in 2016.

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