Seoul International Forum on Elections (SIFE)

The Seoul International Forum on Elections (SIFE) is an annual international conference organized by the National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea. It has been held every year since 2015, growing into an important event bringing together officials from election management bodies and global experts in the fields of elections and democracy and international organizations to advance election systems and democracy around the world through active discussions.

Originally, the 2020 SIFE was intended to be held the day before the 21st National Assembly elections in April with international observers and partners present. However, after the spread of COVID-19 around the world, the NEC decided to cancel its International Election Observation Program to ensure the safety of its partners and therefore delayed the forum.

Antonio Spinelli, Senior Advisor, Asia and the Pacific of International IDEA will contribute to the Forum’s discussion with the presentation “Managing Elections under COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities”.