About ANFREL
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) was formed in November 1997
to promote and support democratization in Asia at the national and regional levels. It
has since established itself as the foremost NGO working for democratic elections in
the region.
ANFREL is an international, multi-sector, independent and non-political alliance
of like-minded organizations working together to advance a common vision: that
every State should have a government whose authority derives from the will of the
people as expressed by secret ballot in genuine free and fair elections held at regular
intervals on the basis of universal and equal suffrage. We strongly believe in the
principles enshrined in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR).
ANFREL’s main efforts are focused on conducting international election observation
missions, developing capacity building programs for electoral stakeholders such
as domestic election observer groups, media, and other civil society organizations
working for democratization in their home countries, and undertaking campaign and
advocacy activities to address electoral challenges and related issues encountered
in the development of democracy in Asia. These three areas of work support and
complement one another to further our mission of improving the quality of elections
across Asia.
Today, ANFREL counts 27 member organizations hailing from 18 different countries.