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The Future of Electoral Integrity : How will the public perceive elections in the 2030s?

Date of Event: Wednesday, 13th July 2022

Time of Event: 14:00–16:00 (GMT + 1, UK Local Time)

Place of Event: Webinar

Overview

The legitimacy of an election depends largely on the actual and perceived integrity of the electoral process. If voters and candidates believe that an election is fraudulent or has been poorly administered, they may not accept the outcome.

If electoral integrity is questioned, this can lead to widespread public dissatisfaction and disinterest, but can also escalate to violence, ineffective governance and long-term instability.

With electoral integrity being put into question by politicians across the globe, whether with genuine cause or not, as well as the rise of illiberal democracies, it perhaps has never been so important for electoral management bodies (EMBs) to ensure that they have undertaken exhaustive and systematic assessments of their processes, and that they act with the upmost transparency.

In recent years, there has been an increase in attempts to undermine electoral integrity, whether it be through disinformation and questioning the role of technology, issues around campaign finance and dark money or voter registration laws being used to disenfranchise certain sections of society. It is therefore important to not only think how this may affect elections today, but also turn our attention and start planning for how electoral integrity may be challenged tomorrow.

This virtual roundtable will look at how electoral integrity may be questioned in the future, what challenges may emerge which could threaten public respect for the electoral process, and what new innovations may emerge which could help EMBs maintain public trust in their processes.

Speakers

Sy Mamabolo
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission of South Africa
Dr Nasim Zaidi
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India
Laura Matjosaityte
Event Chair & Former Chair of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Lithuania from 2018-2021
Dr Bridgett King
Associate Professor at Auburn University
Shabir Ahmed
Country Director, Pakistan, at International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Agenda

  • How may electoral integrity be undermined in the 2030s?
  • Explore whether illiberal democratic practices will be more or less prominent and how EMBs can best respond
  • Learn how EMBs can increase transparency in their electoral processes
  • Discuss what EMB best practice looks like in the face of gerrymandering, voter registration laws and other processes that may seek to distort the result of an election
  • Examine how EMBs can improve their electoral integrity assessments to reduce vulnerabilities in the electoral process

Zoom Joining Instructions

  • Join Zoom meeting here
  • Meeting ID: 874 0084 3217
  • Passcode: Electoral

Timings (GMT + 1, UK Local Time)

  • 1400h: Introduction by chair, Laura Matjosaityte
  • 1410h: Shabir Ahmed (15-20 minute presentation)
  • 1430h: Sy Mamabolo (15-20 minute presentation)
  • 1450h: Nasim Zaidi (15-20 minute presentation)
  • 1510h: Dr Bridgett King (15-20 minute presentation)
  • 1530h: Panel Discussion

Forthcoming Events

Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities

If you’re interested in promoting your company, products and/or services at our events, please drop us an email and we will contact you directly. Alternatively, please call
+44 7821 863613 for more information.

How to Book

+44 (0) 20 3137 8648
info@parlicentre.org