Elections are the means through which people voice their preferences and choose their representatives. Elections are a powerful tool: they can confer legitimacy on the institutions or representatives that emerge from them, or call their legitimacy into question. Elections are fundamentally political processes and are a critical element of the UN’s mandate and UNDP’s democratic governance work. On average, UNDP provides electoral assistance to over 60 countries a year, including support provided to countries in sensitive political transition and post-conflict settings.

In 2009, UNDP launched the first-ever global project in electoral assistance – the Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS). GPECS has focused on capacity development during the electoral cycle and provided direct financial support to the electoral institutions and processes in 18 countries worldwide. It has contributed to significant improvements in the UN’s policy and applied practice in electoral assistance in all regions and in promoting gender mainstreaming in electoral processes and institutions. One of the most successful features of GPECS has been its ability to be the ‘first on the ground’ by using a rapid response, fast-track mechanism to request and approve country-level electoral support.