Home » Data and Projects » Country Implementations Overview
IFES has developed and refined its EVER methodology through its country implementations. Regional experts cooperate with EVER technical experts on each implementation, and though each has different characteristics, challenges, and levels of funding, this approach ensures that core methodological principles and elements are always present. Thus far, IFES has implemented EVER projects in Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, and Iraq.
However, the nature of monitoring incidents of violence in different countries, different geographical ranges, and different languages makes our data set unique. And, within one country, monitoring can be subject to security risks, limitations on coverage area (even when trying to cover an entire country), and other obstacles to uniform information-gathering. It is important to understand the appropriate way to interpret what the data offers. The data in the database illustrates the patterns of incidents observed by monitors in these countries. In other words, the EVER methodology does not assert that the database captures all incidents of electoral violence in a specific country or area. It does assert, however, that the database provides accurate information in the incidents that it does capture, and that it captures enough incidents to reveal the main trends and patterns present in electoral conflict during that election in that country or area.
Additionally, the presence of incidents gathered through international media reports supplements data gathered by our field monitors and allows users to look, again, at patterns across more countries than only those in which time and resources enable us to deploy monitors and undertake programming.
Highlights of those countries in which IFES has worked are linked below. Each country description also discusses the methodological issues pertaining to monitoring and data in each country.