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Happy Democracy Day!
Young people take part in the Kosovo Assembly's open house celebrating Democracy Day. Photo by Arben Llapashtica
NDI wishes you a happy International Day of Democracy, an annual global celebration of human rights, the rule of law and other principles that unite democracies around the world. This day, Sept. 15, was designated by the United Nations to reaffirm the universality of democratic values and recognize the aspirations of people around the world to have a say in how they are governed and make free choices about how they live their lives.
For nearly 30 years, in 130 countries, NDI has worked to strengthen new and emerging democracies. We welcome contributions to our work as we support people around the world who want a voice in how their countries are governed.
International Leaders Gather in Charlotte During Democratic National Convention
Last week, more than 300 diplomats and political leaders came together in Charlotte, N.C., to observe the American political process as part of NDI's International Leaders Forum. Guests attended panel discussions on U.S. domestic and foreign policy during the day and observed convention proceedings in the evenings. They also had the opportunity to forge international and cross-party connections in informal gatherings outside the convention program. "One of my favorite events," said former Secretary of State and NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright, "is hosting our international friends for this great political activity: a convention."
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 MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski recreate the "Morning Joe" show at ILF with TIME's Mark Halperin, New York's John Heilemann, Huffington Post's Sam Stein and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Photo by Jensen Sutta
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Panelists discussed a range of topics, including the history of the primary process, conventions and presidential debates; how opinion polling is changing; open Internet for better governance; and challenges to global poverty relief. In addition to Albright, speakers included Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader and NDI vice chair; Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC; John Heilemann, New York magazine; Mark Halperin, TIME; Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post; Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker; Sam Stein, The Huffington Post; Jack Lew, White House chief of staff; John Podesta, former White House chief of staff; David Miliband, former British foreign secretary; Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minister of Zimbabwe; Ashley Judd, actor and humanitarian; Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense; Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman and NDI board member; Frank Fahrenkopf, former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman and co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD); Paul Kirk, co-chairman emeritus of the CPD and former senator and DNC chairman; Michael Steele, former RNC chairman; pollsters Peter Hart, Stan Greenberg, Jon Cohen and Whit Ayres; Vin Weber, former U.S. representative; Ginny Hunt, Google; and the mayors of Charlotte, Philadelphia, Houston and Florence, Italy.
Members of Congress who spoke included U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, John Kerry, Barbara Mikulski, Jeanne Shaheen and Ben Cardin; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; and Representatives James Clyburn, Chris Van Hollen, Gregory Meeks, David Price, Sheila Jackson Lee, Russ Carnahan and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also serves as chair of the DNC.
Although this was the eighth time NDI has hosted the International Leaders Forum, this year marked the first time panels were open to the public and live online. Recaps of each panel are available online and videos from each panel will be archived as they become available. You can also see photos from ILF on Facebook and read participant reactions on Twitter.
As Steve Kerrigan, CEO to the Democratic National Convention, told the international visitors at NDI's opening reception: “You add a component to this convention that we really cherish. Sometimes we get so caught up in the politics of what we do here we forget that the eyes of the world are watching and what we do is important to so many.”
ILF is privately funded by donations from individuals, foundations and corporations.
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NDI and the International Republican Institute Host Aung San Suu Kyi
NDI and the International Republican Institute (IRI) will honor Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at a dinner on Wednesday, Sept. 19. In addition to Aung San Suu Kyi, NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright and U.S. Senator John McCain, chairman of IRI, will give remarks.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize laureate, Congressional Gold Medal recipient and tireless champion for peaceful political reform, spent almost 15 of the last 20 years under house arrest. She took a seat in parliament last May following historic Burmese by-elections in April. Watch this rare event on www.ndi.org/live, or follow along using #ASSK. Read more»
Political Parties and CSOs Use Lessons Learned to Prepare for Angola Elections
Angolans went to the polls on Aug. 31 for the third election in the country's history, and the first presidential election since a civil war ended in 2002. Before election day, NDI brought together representatives from political parties, civil society, academia and government for two days of meetings in the Angolan capital to talk about how to make the elections credible and transparent. Read more»
Celebrating Democracy Day in Kosovo
The Assembly of Kosovo joined with NDI to mark International Democracy Day with an open house, civil society organization fair and the inauguration of the assembly's new visitors center. See pictures»
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In Georgia, Interactive Website, New Polling Data, Give Citizens Access to More Election Information
As Oct. 1 parliamentary elections approach in Georgia, an innovative website is breaking new ground by pulling together election monitoring information and historical data on voting patterns to help political parties, candidates, civic organizations and academics learn more about the Georgian political process. Read more»
NDI recently released results of a public opinion survey measuring Georgian voters' attitudes toward the parliamentary elections. In addition to measuring the popularity of different parties, the survey found that voters care most about jobs, territorial integrity and affordable healthcare. Read more»
NDI Staff Member Provides an Inside Look Into Nepal's Political Climate
Nepal has survived considerable political turmoil in recent years, including an armed conflict, failure of the Constituent Assembly to deliver a new constitution and the inability of leadership to form a sustainable government. Ram Guragain, NDI senior political advisor for Nepal and a native Nepali, discusses next steps for the country and how NDI is working with parties, elected officials and citizens in this turbulent time. Read more»
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Congratulations to Golos, Winner of the 2012 Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award
NDI congratulates Golos, Russia's largest independent election monitoring organization and a long-time NDI partner, on receiving the 2012 Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award.
Since 2000, Golos has been the pre-eminent domestic source for nonpartisan reporting on Russian elections. Golos' interactive map of electoral violations, launched for the December 2011 parliamentary polls, became an Internet sensation when it openly documented widespread irregularities as reported by election observers across the country.
The Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award was established in 1980 by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. The award aims to help people who, because of their opinions, beliefs or conscience, are persecuted and imprisoned. Read more»
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