International Conference on Africa's democratisation and electoral processes.

The African Union (AU), the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), and International IDEA will be convening an international conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, early in March 2007, on Africa's democratisation and electoral processes.

The Conference will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 5th to the 7th of March 2007. Attendance at the Conference is by Invitation Only.

The official languages for the Conference are English and French.

The conference follows the successful hosting of the All Africa Conference on Elections, Democracy and Governance in April 2003 in Pretoria, South Africa, which was co-hosted by the African Union and the Electoral Commission of South Africa. The 2003 conference brought together 350 delegates from across Africa, including representatives from 52 African countries.

The March 2007 conference will be attended by delegates from all over the world and aims to examine a range of themes pertinent to Africa and beyond, including:

* Politics, Representation, and Participation: The Political Dimensions of Electoral System Design in Democracy building.

* Enhancing the Capacity of Political Parties as Agents of Democratisation: Towards creating political parties that are democratic, representative, and trusted by voters.

* Re-engineering constitutional frameworks for peace, democracy, and development.

* The Nexus between Democracy and Development.

* Enhancing the Legitimacy and Capacity of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs): EMB independence and the financing of elections.

* Discussion panels on issues pertinent to Latin America and Asia.

The Conference seeks to achieve the following objectives:

* Provide useful impetus to the ongoing efforts on the African continent especially those spearheaded by the African Union Commission to foster increased commitment among the AU member states to democracy, elections, and governance through instruments such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, NEPAD, and APRM;

* Bringing together continental, regional and national policy makers and implementers, members of academia, civil society, and development partners to discuss the challenges facing democracy and elections around the world today, address lessons which can be learned from both old and new democracies in an effort to leverage effective solutions to democratic challenges especially in emerging democracies;

* Interrogate the relevance and viability of the methods, strategies, and approaches employed by the 'champions of democracy' in seeking to build and strengthen Africa's democratic experiment; and

* Explore opportunities for the strengthening of south-south cooperation in the areas of democracy and electoral assistance and experience sharing.