The Fifth Global Electoral Organization Conference: Credible Elections for Democracy

Election experts from all over the world met in Gaborone, Botswana, on 7–9 March 2011 for the 5th Global Electoral Organization (GEO) conference, organized by International IDEA and the Botswana Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Opened by the President of Botswana, S. K. I. Khama, and a keynote speech by former President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, the GEO 2011 brought together politicians, academics, donors, international organizations and electoral management bodies from 50 countries to share their experiences, discuss current challenges facing elections and new approaches to managing them.

Under the theme of ‘Credible Elections for Democracy’, the conference also coincided with the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, and women’s involvement in elections was an important crosscutting theme across the entire conference. The deliberations ended with the Gaborone Declaration, which will serve as a reference point for the future to ensure more credible and inclusive electoral processes.

This report serves to summarize the major discussions stemming from the conference, and is divided into four sections, one for each language: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.