March 16 2026
PRESS STATEMENT
VoteGuard International Launches Perceived Election Treason-Risk Index (PETRI),
a global electoral process assessment initiative
Sydney, 16 March 2026 – VoteGuard International, an Australian-registered international nonprofit organization defending the people’s authority to elect their government worldwide, today officially launched the Perceived Election Treason-Risk Index (PETRI), a global research initiative designed to assess systemic risks within national electoral processes that may usurp the people’s authority to elect their government.
PETRI provides structured, evidence-based assessments of electoral systems across countries. By analysing institutional safeguards, administrative procedures, transparency practices, and post-election accountability mechanisms, the initiative identifies systemic vulnerabilities that could weaken the integrity of electoral processes.
The initiative responds to a growing global need for comparative, transparent, and evidence-based analysis of election systems. Existing assessments often treat electoral fraud as an ordinary offence and fail to link such acts—frequently amounting to a silent coup—to necessary policy and legal reforms at higher institutional levels. PETRI aims to fill this gap.
Grounded in the VoteGuard International’s Global Model Treason Law on Elections, which defines electoral fraud constituting treason as acts that usurp the people’s authority to elect their government, PETRI evaluates risk conditions, not legal liability. The index does not determine guilt or accuse individuals or governments; instead, it provides an analytical framework to identify systemic risk patterns using publicly verifiable information.
PETRI applies a consistent methodology across countries, including structured indicators, multi-source verification, and comparative scoring. Assessments draw on official election commission reports, court decisions, election observer findings, academic research, and credible governance datasets.
The initiative will produce country assessment briefs, regional analyses, global comparative reports, and publicly accessible methodology documentation, enabling policymakers, researchers, and civil society to better understand risks affecting electoral processes. The first PETRI report is expected to be published by the end of this year.
The pilot phase initially covers selected countries across South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, testing and refining the methodology before broader global expansion.
VoteGuard International invites collaboration with researchers, academic institutions, legal and governance experts, and civil society organisations interested in contributing to this independent global assessment initiative.
Further information, methodology documents, and future reports will be available through the PETRI section of the VoteGuard International website.
Issued by:
Dr Abul Kalam Azad
Founder & Executive Director
