Doing Democracy Differently: Our Latest News

Welcome to our latest newsletter. It has been a busy and energising few months for the P4I team, and we are delighted to share some highlights with you.

Palestine: Elections at a Critical Moment

On 25 April 2026, Palestinians will go to the polls in 184 villages and municipalities across the West Bank and in Deir Al Balah in Gaza. Over recent months, P4I worked with partners in the occupied Palestinian territory to deliver a needs assessment for electoral and reform assistance at one of the most consequential moments in a generation, as Gaza's future governance hangs in the balance, trust in the Palestinian Authority is low, and civic space remains severely constrained.

What we found is a system under immense strain. A new local elections decree sparked boycott threats. Election administration is underfunded. Safeguards for a level playing field are weak. Civil society is overstretched. And women in public life are facing growing gender-based political violence.

And yet, a window exists. Electoral experts and civil society organisations are still pushing for genuine, rights-based reforms. The Central Elections Commission is navigating its first major test under new leadership. April's polls can be used to model something different: inclusive rule-making, stronger electoral dispute resolution, smarter election security, and coalitions that connect watchdog work with long-term reform agendas.

P4I proposed concrete near-term entry points: supporting domestic observation, voter education, and counter-disinformation efforts; investing in women's political participation and tackling technology-facilitated political violence as a core integrity issue, not an afterthought; and supporting local electoral experts in civil society to build a long-term election reform cycle rather than one-off interventions.

This work reflects exactly why P4I was founded: to challenge fragmented programming, build bridges across election management bodies, civil society, legal communities, and international partners, and treat each election as an inflection point for deeper institutional change. If you are working on elections, rule of law, or peace and security in fragile contexts, we would love to connect.

From the “So What?” Series

Our "So What?" series continues to grow. Following the success of our first instalment on the new international political finance standards adopted under the UN Convention Against Corruption, we have now published Episode 2, tackling foreign digital interference in elections and what states are obligated to do about it (spoiler alert: they can’t just ignore it). These practical, people-focused explainers are designed to make complex democratic developments accessible to everyone — and the response has been encouraging. Our next episode will cover the new V-Dem report… and try to find some reasons to be optimistic during a dark time for democracy.

Nepal: Election Day On The Ground

Our team was on the ground in Nepal on March 5, 2026, to witness citizens turning out in remarkable numbers, from first-time Gen Z voters to elderly citizens showing extraordinary civic commitment. We also had the privilege of working with our partner Think Big, whose community-based approach to reducing invalid ballots is exactly the kind of grassroots innovation we believe in.

The elections in Nepal were included in our Moments of Democratic Opportunity in 2026, and specifically as one of the headline contests of the year to watch as a potential genuine fork in the road for democratic trajectories, not just changes of government. The Nepal election, as with others highlighted in our article, crystallizes deeper struggles over executive dominance, corruption, and social contracts. Nepal voters spoke, and P4I will continue to stand by partners in Nepal on their democratic trajectory.   

Africa: Turning Global Norms Into Local Action

A quarter of the states co-sponsoring the new political finance resolution under UNCAC were African. That is a powerful signal and a powerful responsibility. We kicked off our 2026 Online Exchange Series, "Global Norms, Local Proof," with a landmark webinar bringing together commissioners, anti-corruption specialists, election management bodies, and civil society organisations from across the continent to ask: how do we make these new standards real for citizens on the ground?

The conversation was rich and urgent. Speakers included the Ghana Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Sénégal National Office against Fraud and Corruption, the Alliance for Finance Monitoring, and Gambia Participates, among others. We will be sharing a full recap shortly, and have been engaged in follow-up implementation discussions for a number of countries on the continent.

Kenya: Looking Ahead to 2027 Elections

P4I recently conducted an electoral analysis and needs assessment looking ahead to the 2027 elections, engaging with institutional and civil society stakeholders, implementing partners, and donors on longstanding structural and political challenges. Kenya is approaching these elections in a volatile but still competitive environment, marked by a deepening cost-of-living crisis, widening distrust in institutions, and digitally networked youth protests. The formal legal and institutional framework for elections remains broadly robust, but incomplete and contested reforms, combined with delayed boundary updates, unchecked campaign finance, creeping violence around recent by-elections, and civic space restrictions, are eroding confidence in the credibility and fairness of the polls.

Electoral Justice in Africa

P4I joined Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA)’s High-Level Continental Dialogue on Electoral Dispute Resolution in Nairobi, contributing to a continent-wide conversation on how alternative dispute resolution mechanisms can make electoral justice more effective and timely. No election is perfect: what matters is being ready to deal with disputes so that people feel justice underpins the process.  

Defending Civic Space

We were proud to speak at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on democratic renewal, civic space, and the path toward a New Democratic Pact for Europe. Our message was clear: we cannot afford to be timid. We also participated in a consultation with DG JUST on safety in politics.

Growing Our Team of Strategic Advisors

We are delighted to introduce four new strategic advisors who bring extraordinary depth and commitment to P4I's work. Maria Groeneveld-Savisaar brings over 17 years of expertise in democracy, elections, peacebuilding, and crisis prevention across the Horn of Africa, South Asia, and Central Asia. Dr Ingrida Kerusauskaite is an experienced researcher and practitioner on anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and countering illicit financing, with extensive experience across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Halima Elhjij is a governance, elections, and civic engagement specialist with deep experience in Libya and a passionate commitment to inclusive governance for women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Lamin Lighe is a seasoned electoral expert with over 22 years of experience across Africa in electoral reforms, voter registration, data management, and election security.

We are humbled by the expertise and dedication each of them brings to our mission.

Partnerships

We continue our engagement with partners and donors to identify synergies, assess needs, and co-design projects. At the invitation of Equipop, we signed the G7 women declaration and proudly joined the feminist advocacy working group. We also continue to sign partnership agreements with organisations around the world, including CSOs in Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea.

We joined Team Europe Democracy (TED) initiative and look forward to contributing to the working groups in June, and are now officially members of Nets4Dem!

Looking Ahead

2026 is not just about elections. “It is about the streets, institutions, rules, and city halls that determine whether elections in the years ahead offer genuine choices and function as real accountability mechanisms.” We published our "Moments of Democratic Opportunity in 2026" in January, where we said the following about Hungary:

In Hungary, the April 2026 election will test whether a newly energized opposition led by Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party can overcome an electoral system systematically engineered to favor Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz. A competitive race here would be a stress test of whether elections can still correct course inside one of the EU’s most entrenched illiberal democracies.

The resounding answer is yes: a country can course-correct and change its democratic future through elections, even in the most challenging of electoral environments. We encourage you to read our report, share it, and join us in seizing the other moments we highlight for 2026.

Coming Up

We have some exciting events coming up soon that we hope you can join. We are honored to have been selected to do a virtual panel at RightsCon. Our session is on May 7th at 8am GMT and will focus on localized approaches to countering online violence, particularly violence against women. Toward the end of May, we will continue our learning exchange series, focusing on data privacy, gender, and political marginalization. We will take part in the meeting of the European Partnership for Democracy in June and are honored to be speaking at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime. Keep a lookout for invitations to public events.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Thank you for being part of this with us.

How to Support Us

We are a registered charitable organization in Germany. Donations made in Germany are tax deductible and can be made via our website.

We also have cooperation agreements with registered non-profits that allow us to have tax-deductible donations in the United States and France. For US-tax deductible donations, we have an agreement with Myriad USA. Donations can be made via the instructions here, placing “Maecenata US Fund, TG25173 Partnerships for Integrity (P4I)” as the beneficiary in the method you choose; or you can donate via our every.org fundraiser here.

For France-tax deductible donations, we have a partnership with the Fondation de France; please contact us at info@p4iglobal.org to receive the instructions.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation and your country is not listed above, please reach out to us at info@p4iglobal.org.

Most importantly, your solidarity, your partnership, and your everyday actions to choose democracy remain essential to us and to everyone choosing democracy, accountability, peace, and community right now. Thank you.

We’d love to hear from you!

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