Over the last decade, candidate debates have increasingly become a centerpiece of elections across a wide spectrum of democratic countries. Voters in more than 60 nations tune in to learn more about candidates running for president, prime minister, parliament or local government offices.

Debates provide a rare side-by-side and unfiltered comparison of candidates, promote accountability for campaign promises, and can help decrease political tensions and conflict.

Over the last two decades, disputes over land rights, politics and religion have divided ethnic groups in Côte d’Ivoire and culminated in deadly flashpoints, including the 2002 Ivorian civil war and a post-election crisis between 2010 and 2011.

Here is a statement, issued Jan. 20 in Abuja, from the NDI and International Republican Institute joint pre-election assessment mission for Nigeria's presidential election. The delegation visited Nigeria from Jan. 15-20.  Its goals were to:

• assess  the current political  and  electoral  environment in the lead-up to the February 14 presidential election;

• assess preparations for the presidential election and offer recommendations to enhance citizen confidence in the process and mitigate violence; and

In remote and mountainous regions of Nepal, news comes slowly and it can take days to travel short distances. These conditions pose numerous challenges, including making voting problematic, both because it’s difficult to register and because voter education is limited.