International Development Grant
Advancing Democracy through a Strong and Inclusive Electoral Process
Project Number: CA-3-D000749001
Status: Closed
Country/Region:
Maximum Contribution: $12,000,000.00
Start Date: July 29, 2014
End Date: March 31, 2020
Duration: 5.7 years
Project Description
The project aims to increase the credibility and effectiveness of elections in Indonesia ahead of the next national elections in 2019 benefitting up to 186 million registered voters. It seeks to strengthen the legal framework and the ability of Indonesia election authorities to administer future elections reduce election-related violence and increase the participation of women youth and marginalized groups in the electoral process. The project integrates lessons learned from the 2014 national elections into the next election cycle (2014–2019) most importantly into the new legislature’s deliberations on the fundamental electoral legal framework reform. Project activities are implemented countrywide with a special focus on areas of greatest risk for contested or violent elections such as Aceh and Eastern Indonesia. Project activities include: (1) providing technical assistance to legislators and civil society on how to prepare and support reforms to elections laws; (2) training women leaders and conducting advocacy campaigns to increase the number of women in the election commission and in political representation; (3) training election management personnel to improve access for voters with disabilities; (4) assisting the election commission with upgrades to key systems and databases such as the voter registration list; (5) developing voter education campaigns and social media tools to inform the electorate (in particular youth women and marginalized groups) about voting rights the process and the importance of participation.
Expected Results
The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved legal and regulatory framework for electoral processes; (2) strengthened management of the electoral operations; (3) increased inclusiveness of women youth and other potentially marginalized groups in the electoral process.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved as of (March 2020) include: (1) through the She Leads Program women’s participation in the electoral processes has increased: (a) 241 women trained on key leadership and advocacy skills; (b) 76 of these 241 women applied to be National Commissioners increasing the proportion of women applicants from 17% to 28%; (c) 57% of all She Leads Program participants were involved as election officials at the local level in the 2017 regional elections; (d) 251 women candidates and parliamentarians strengthened their skills in public/media outreach constituent relations-building campaigning messaging and fundraising to strengthen their confidence to successfully compete for electoral positions at the national and subnational levels of government; (2) helped to put in place more efficient and robust management and information technology capabilities within institutions responsible for managing elections; (3) six fully integrated electoral information systems/applications developed and 2 277 officials trained on the IT applications; and (4) supported a coalition of 43 civil society organizations to give input and recommendations to Parliament on the new electoral law in preparation for the Presidential elections in 2019.
Key Information
Executing Agency:
IFES - International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
OGM Indo-Pacific
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Project-type interventions
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Department-Initiated