Democracy Is What We Build Together

At Partnerships for Integrity (P4I), we are working alongside courageous civic actors, reformers, and institutions to defend democratic systems and cultures, and to strengthen integrity in some of the world's most challenging environments. This issue takes us from Nairobi to Cambridge, Accra to Chisinau, with stops in Brussels along the way. Below are highlights from our most recent work.

Kenya: Building Toward 2027 Election

P4I co-founder Katherine Ellena spent a week in Nairobi reconnecting with old and new partners in Kenyan democracy and elections. The visit came exactly one year ahead of Kenya's 2027 general elections, and a week after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) gazetted new campaign finance regulations. Along with key civil society partners, Katherine met or spoke with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Alternative Justice Service (AJS) and the Judicial Committee on Elections (JCE), continuing P4I's longstanding partnerships in Kenya as these institutions prepare for their role in protecting electoral integrity, electoral justice, and peaceful polls.

Cambridge: Tracing Geopolitical Corruption and Illicit Finance

Co-founder Typhaine Roblot joined strategic advisors Laura Stefan and Dr Ingrida Kerusauskaite at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime. This year's programme focused on asset recovery and the rule of law, with a packed alternative programme on Geopolitical Strategic Corruption and Illicit Finance, curated by Dr Kerusauskaite under the auspices of the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge and the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences. Typhaine spoke across both days of the alternative programme, on detecting geopolitical strategic corruption and on mitigating its consequences, alongside a wide range of academics and practitioners. Connections made at forums like this can be catalytic, including on cross-border data sharing, and accountability is strongest when it is collective. Congratulations also to Dr Kerusauskaite and the full editorial board on the official launch of the International Journal of Economic Crime, a welcome new home for rigorous, cross-disciplinary research on corruption. Feel free to submit original scholarly contributions on any topic in economic crime here.

Accra: A High-Level Convening on Money in Politics

P4I also took part in the High-Level Convening on the Financialization of Politics in Ghana, convened by CDD Ghana, Open Society Foundations, TI and the AU Advisory Board against Corruption (AUABC). Typhaine moderated a session with speakers from the OSF, the European Network of Political Foundations, and the Election Observation Group of Kenya on the complexity of foreign financing in politics and the need to strengthen detection, investigation, and international cooperation, while ensuring that regulation does not become a tool to restrict civic or political space. The week was a reminder that no institution can address these challenges alone. It was also a chance to reconnect with old and new partners including Kenya's IEBC and ORPP, CHRAJ Ghana, ACFIM, UNODC, EISA, TI, and the Oslo Center. Key takeaways included the adoption of the Accra Declaration on political finance transparency and the development of a Model Law under the leadership of the AUABC. P4I insisted on the need to bring prosecutors and judicial actors into the conversation and protect them from attacks and pressure when investigating politically sensitive cases, and on the importance of transparency in giving civil society and investigative journalists the evidence they need to hold violators accountable.

P4I is glad to have been part of these conversations and stands ready to support implementation of these new commitments across the continent, working alongside African and international partners.

Moldova: Inclusion Throughout the Electoral Cycle

P4I co-founder Meredith Applegate delivered an extended training session, Understanding Inclusion Throughout the Electoral Cycle, for election officials and persons with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova, in continued partnership with the disability rights organization InfoNet Alliance. Drawing on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, EU and Council of Europe standards, legal frameworks, and comparative research, the session brought together Moldova's Central Election Commission, district and precinct commissions, organizations of persons with disabilities, and civil society and election-monitoring groups to work through how inclusion has to be built in at every stage of the electoral cycle, not only on election day.

Small Grants: Ideas from around the world

The application window for our first Local Democracy, Community Impact Grants closed on 31 August. This global micro-funding initiative, offering grants of up to 1,000 euros to small organizations and motivated individuals, was designed to support creative, community-led ideas that strengthen civic engagement and democratic participation, with applications welcomed in English, French, and Spanish. Thank you to everyone who applied. We were moved by the range and creativity of the ideas submitted from across the world, and we look forward to sharing which projects we will be supporting in the weeks ahead. We received applications from 41 countries and are excited to be able to support these incredible grassroots ideas.

Human Security: A New Community of Practice

P4I has joined the Human Security Community of Practice convened by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), regularly taking part in peer exchanges on how human security approaches can intersect with community-centered democracy initiatives. A focus on human security has real power to bring communities together to solve local challenges, an important dimension of democratic culture and active citizenship that we embed in our own programming. Building bridges between real, local challenges, such as housing, climate resilience, and conflict, and the work of building inclusive, responsible, and accountable democracies is central to why P4I exists.

Prosecuting Electoral Corruption Is Possible

A recent dataset shows a substantial increase in convictions of former heads of government for corruption. Not all of this is political or electoral corruption, but it is part of the picture. Drawing on a set of successful cases from around the world and on our own work with prosecutors, courts, and anticorruption institutions, P4I distilled the lessons into a short paper, Prosecuting Electoral Corruption Is Possible, now available to download from our website. We will discuss our findings in a panel at the International Anti-Corruption Conference in December. Together with TI France and Expert Forum, we will convene prosecutors, judges and civil society leaders to examine landmark corruption cases, prosecution challenges, and strategies to strengthen accountability in political finance. Join us if you are planning on attending!

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Accessible Elections for Voters with Disabilities

P4I co-founder Melika Atić and electoral law expert Dr Manuel Wally authored a comparative study for the Council of Europe on the participation of persons with disabilities in electoral processes. Developed in consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities and the Central Election Commission, it draws on practice in Croatia, Estonia, Germany, and Ireland to set out practical steps for Bosnia and Herzegovina: accessible polling stations, voter information in formats people can actually use, tools for independent and secret voting, training for polling staff, and structured cooperation with organizations of persons with disabilities. Most of these sit within the CEC’s existing powers and need no change in law.

Bosnia and Herzegovina held general elections on 4 October, the first with new voting technologies used countrywide. Preliminary turnout was 42 percent according to the Central Election Commission, which makes removing barriers to participation all the more important. International observers’ findings are available from the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly and in the full preliminary statement. As the country builds on this first rollout, the study’s call to build accessibility into election technology is more relevant than ever.

South Asia: The Political Finance Community of Practice Keeps Growing

The South Asia Political Finance Community of Practice met again in July, August and September, and welcomed two new members during this time: the University of Dhaka and the Association of Democratic Reforms in India. These discussions are helping members identify priority areas for cooperation in the months ahead, particularly the transparency of political finance data, regulatory loopholes, practical challenges around disclosure of financial reports by political parties and candidates, and the complementary role of CSOs and oversight bodies. Thank you to P4I strategic advisor Barbara Stonestreet for her continued support of this initiative.

New York UNGA side event

Partnerships for Integrity joined the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) and Cyrus R Vance Center for International Justice for KDI’s ‘Democracy Futures Dialogue’ in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Discussions focused on Artificial Intelligence, Democratic Integrity, and the Future of Democratic Governance – and the importance of developing a Global South-informed framework for responsible AI governance in democratic societies.

Thank You for Standing with Us

At P4I, we remain committed to integrity, inclusion, and democratic courage, and we are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters who make this work possible. 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.

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