Library Guides: Country Information and Data Sources: Elections

Elections

International Encyclopedia of Elections by Richard Rose
Publication Date: 2000

Covers each of the more than 170 countries that have held direct elections or national referendums in this decade. The International Encyclopedia of Elections also features: -- Definitions of terms -- Explanations of relevance in the electoral process -- Important geographical and historical examples -- Problems and solutions in,different areas of election analysis. The alphabetical presentation of entries, plus a detailed index of the full contents, points readers quickly to the information they need.
Political parties of the world
Coverage of every country in the world, with details of all currently active parties of any consequence as well as concise overviews of national parliamentary and constitutional arrangements.

ACE The Electoral Knowledge Network
"The Administration and Cost of Elections [ACE] Electronic Publication represents the first-ever attempt to provide a globally accessible information resource on election administration."
Three leading international organizations worked together to produce the materials for this project:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
Reports on election results worldwide. A yearly election calendar provides a concise listing of elections. Clicking Related Links reveals a host of domestic institutions and organizations responsible for overseeing and reporting on elections.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [International IDEA]
"International IDEA produces comparative knowledge in its key areas of expertise: electoral processes, constitution building, political participation and representation, and democracy and development, as well as on democracy as it relates to gender, diversity, and conflict and security."
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
"The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) works closely with governments and stakeholders to help countries around the world meet their economic, social and environmental goals."

Other resources helpful for finding information about elections worldwide:

Election Guide
A comprehensive and timely source of verified election information available online. provided by the IFES.
Comparative Study of electoral Systems (CSES)
"The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems is a collaborative program of research among election study teams from around the world. Participating countries include a common module of survey questions in their post-election studies. The resulting data are deposited along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables. The studies are then merged into a single, free, public dataset for use in comparative study and cross-level analysis."
Political Science: Lijphart Elections Archive
The Lijphart Election Archives is a database of election results for 350 legislative elections in 26 countries. Maintained through 2003, the Lijphart Archive is most useful for historical elections research.
Parties and Elections in Europe
This site provides current information on every European parliamentary election since 1945, including some regional elections (e.g. South Tirol, Scotland, Northern Ireland), elections to the European Union, as well as more specific information on national and state elections in Germany and Austria.
Voter Turnout Database
"The International IDEA Voter Turnout Website contains the most comprehensive global collection of voter turnout statistics available."