Encouraging a Fair Vote
Conference to explore the role of the international community in strengthening electoral commissions
The ethnic violence that erupted following recent elections in Kenya is the latest example of a fledgling democratic process tragically derailed amid the spectre of electoral corruption and vote-rigging. As the images of chaos linger, McGill University’s Centre for Developing-Area Studies (CDAS) will host Encouraging a Fair Vote: The Role of the International Community in Helping to Strengthen Election Commissions, a timely conference set to explore methods of increasing the legitimacy and efficacy of electoral processes around the world. It will be held March 13 and 14 at the Ritz-Carleton Hotel, 1228 Sherbrooke Street West.
“The goal of the conference is to offer some specific recommendations about the role of the international community in helping strengthen election commissions to well known international bodies working in this area so that they may actually be implemented,” Dr. Philip Oxhorn, Director of the CDAS, said. The conference will bring together leading international authorities in electoral promotion. (Please see link below for conference schedule and participant list).
The conference will open on March 13 with a keynote address by Edward Joseph, a prominent foreign policy commentator and analyst who has held senior positions with the United Nations and NATO. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
A series of panel discussions relating to the role of the international community in working with electoral commissions will follow on March 14. The conference is being convened by the Right Honorable Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada, and Professor of Practice for Public-Private Sector Partnerships at the CDAS.
Simultaneous English and French translation will be provided. Both events are open to the public.
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