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Remembering Oswaldo Payá
Oswaldo Payá
The tragic death of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñias, the lifelong Cuban champion of democracy, was a blow to his countrymen and to democrats around the world. Payá died in a car crash in eastern Cuba on July 22.
Payá was best known as the founder of the Varela Project, which called for a referendum on open elections, freedom of speech, freedom for political prisoners and free enterprise. The project was the first initiative that mobilized tens of thousands of Cubans across the island. Watch a short documentary on Payá and the Varela Project»
"Oswaldo was an inspiration to his fellow Cubans and to champions of democracy worldwide," said NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright. "Despite the many pressures he and his family were subjected to, he never wavered in his conviction that Cubans had the same democratic rights as other people in Latin America and around the world."
Payá was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on multiple occasions, including by Czech President Václav Havel. He received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 2002 and NDI's W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award the same year for his fearless and steadfast pursuit of peaceful democratic change in Cuba. Payá was not allowed to leave Cuba to receive the Harriman award, but he sent an acceptance message saying, "There is a growing global solidarity among those of us working peacefully for democracy, for rights. This is a universal language."
Payá is survived by his wife, Ofelia, and their three children. You can leave messages of condolence and support for the family here.
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In Georgia, Pre-Election Polling Data, Assessment Mission
NDI conducted a pre-election assessment mission in Georgia in advance of parliamentary elections scheduled for October. The delegation examined the status of electoral preparations, the conduct of political activity by electoral participants and the general electoral environment. A report with the delegation's findings is now available. Read more»
NDI also released the results of a public opinion survey designed to measure Georgian voters' attitudes toward the parliamentary elections. Read more»
Global Parliamentary Report Analyzes Changing Relationship Between Constituents and Representatives
The evolving relationship between citizens and their representatives is the featured subject of a new Global Parliamentary Report, a joint effort by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations Development Programme. The report, which aims to help parliaments, politicians and parliamentary staff fulfill their representative role, was the subject of a July 17 panel discussion at NDI. Read more»
Mexican Citizens Grill Candidates in Pre-election Dialogues
In the lead up to Mexico's July 1 presidential and congressional elections, voters had a rare chance to put questions about citizen security directly to congressional candidates during a series of eight dialogues, organized by NDI's local civic partners. "The dialogues promote a culture of transparency," said Heberto Peterson of Universidad Iberoamericana, a co-sponsor of the initiative. Read more»
Aiding Government Accountability is the Goal of New NDI Guide
A new NDI publication, Political-Process Monitoring: Considering the Outcomes and How They Can Be Measured, is designed to help citizens create and evaluate programs that encourage government accountability, known as political-process monitoring. The new guide builds on Political Process Monitoring: Activist Tools and Techniques, which the Institute published last year. Read more»
New Report from Hong Kong: A Divisive Campaign Season
The latest report in the Promise of Democratization in Hong Kong series examines last year's district council elections and the chief executive election held earlier this year. Read more»
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North Africans Making Progress on Promises of Arab Spring
Libyans went to the polls on July 7 for the first national elections since the uprising that ousted longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. For the first time in the country's history, political parties were legal, and before election day they cooperated to draft a code of conduct for the campaign that renounced violence. Read more»
This was also the first time that nonpartisan, citizen election monitors were able to observe the vote, contributing to the election's integrity. The 3,650 observers were deployed to 78 percent of the country's polling sites and found the election to be "generally free and transparent." Read more»
In Tunisia, which had multiparty elections last October, parties are seeking pointers on how to govern in coalitions. Tunisian political party leaders visited with their counterparts in Ireland, Belgium and the European Parliament on how to form, manage and dissolve coalitions for better governance. Read more»
Two new reports shed light on Morocco's ongoing political reform process. One details the Institute's observations and recommendations based on its international observation mission for legislative elections last year. The other explores young people's attitudes toward political parties and politics following the elections.
Women and Youth Make Strides in Guatemala, Pakistan, Nepal, Tunisia
Teresa de Jesús Chocoyo was recently sworn in as the only indigenous woman governor in Guatemala. While her training as a social worker helped prepare her to run for office, she also credits courses on politics and communication organized by UN Women and NDI, together with the Guatemalan Defense for Indigenous Women. Read more»
In Pakistan, women and young people — the majority of the population — can have difficulty making their voices heard. Now, youth leaders from the four major political parties — more than half of them women — are learning leadership skills and communications through a series of NDI training sessions. Read more»
More than half of Nepal's population is under 35 and eager for democratic change. But they lack the concrete skills necessary to carry it out. The Future Leadership Academy teaches political leadership, communication skills and ways to increase internal party democracy. Read more»
Women of all ages and walks of life took to the streets last year during the uprising that led to the ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Now, they are increasingly concerned that the gains made during the revolution may be slipping away and that conventional roles for women are reemerging, according to the latest focus group research conducted by NDI. Read more»
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