Ayman Ayoub is the regional director of the west Asia and north Africa programme at International IDEA. He specializes in programmes of electoral support, legal and judicial reform. A Spanish lawyer of Syrian origin, Ayman’s work for the last 13 years has mainly focussed on the provision of specialised assistance services for elections and democratisation processes in transitional and post conflict countries, including the Middle East, West Africa, East Europe and South East Asia for the European Commission, the United Nations and other organisations.