April 2010
Citizens Become Involved in Sudan Political Process
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Members of SuGDE prepare to submit
accreditation forms for 2,500 election day observers.
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Large numbers of Sudanese citizens took part in generally peaceful but deeply flawed elections this month, the nation's first polls in 24 years.
NDI supported the work of two civic networks, the Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE) and the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE), that joined forces to create the only coordinated Sudan-wide domestic nonpartisan election monitoring effort. With SuGDE covering the north and SuNDE the south, they received more than 13,500 reports from over 4,300 trained and accredited election observers who were deployed to over 2,000 polling stations across all of Sudan’s 25 states. Read more»
The observers found many failings in the election process and the five days of voting. "...the elections did not fulfill the Interim Constitution’s and Comprehensive Peace Agreement's aspirations for democratic transition and did not adequately meet the requirements of the National Elections Commission rules and regulations," the groups said in a joint statement. Particular problems included poor election administration, incidents of violence, harassment and intimidation, and lack of understanding of their roles by some parties, candidates and supporters.
The elections were an important milestone for Sudan and were required by the country's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005, that ended the country's civil war. NDI has worked extensively in Sudan since 2002 with the goal of helping Sudanese citizens develop the tools needed to build a more democratic society.
In the runup to the election, the Institute worked closely with SuGDE, a coalition of eight nonpartisan civil society groups, and SuNDE, a coalition of over 75 community groups. Both networks were created for election observation and SuNDE was also engaged in voter education. Read more about the two groups' preparations for the elections»
SuNDE conducted a two-week voter education campaign in October, holding 375 events in 37 counties in all 10 states of southern Sudan. Events ranged from election briefings for key community leaders to presentations at town markets and community events. Topics included the importance of participating in the elections, what offices were up for election and voter registration procedures. Read more»
A major part of NDI's work in Sudan has been focus group research on problems Sudanese people face in their communities, their understanding of the political process and their vision of the future. Imagining the Election explores what citizens in southern Sudan and the Three Areas knew of and expected from the 2010 elections. Losing Hope looks at citizen perceptions about progress toward peace since the signing of the CPA. Read more»
 NDI also produces and broadcasts an ongoing radio program, Let's Talk, an engaging radio drama that explores issues of good governance, civic participation and women's political participation. Sudanese listen to the broadcasts on 265,000 wind-up, solar-powered radios distributed by the Institute, and take part in listening groups throughout Southern Sudan that bring people together to talk about the lessons in the programs. NDI collaborated with Betsy Levy Paluck, a Princeton University researcher, to conduct a field experiment that demonstrated that the Sudan program’s design could increase listeners’ interest in politics and improve their civic participation. Learn about the results»
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It's not too late to get your tickets for NDI's 25th anniversary dinner celebration on May 10. NDI will honor Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe, above, with the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award. The Network of Chocó Women of Colombia will receive the Madeleine K. Albright Grant.
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With women becoming increasingly prominent in North African politics, NDI brought together women leaders from across the region to discuss the importance of strengthening the role of women in political life. The group met in Casablanca, Morocco, to collaborate on strategies for shaping and strengthening women's political and civic engagement.
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The Liberian legislature, seeking to strengthen its oversight of the executive branch, is working to improve its budget analysis skills. The country’s democratic transition — following nearly two decades of conflict and civil war — is dependent on good governance, and a strong legislature is one key component. NDI is working with legislators to help them improve policymaking in a number of areas, including the national budget, anti-corruption efforts and human rights.
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Since the ouster of the Milosevic regime nearly 10 years ago, Serbians are standing up for the notion that government is there for the public good, not private gain. But until recently, there was still no public way to hold government officials and public servants accountable. Recently, a Serbian NGO, LiNet, launched the Truth-O-Meter, a website that analyzes politicians' statements based on truthfulness, consistency and whether they fulfill campaign promises or policy pledges. The effort was spearheaded by Vuka Crnjanski, who has worked with NDI as a political party and civil society trainer.
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The unprecedented opportunities for citizen activism presented by new communications technologies, such as cell phones and social networks, was the subject of an NDI panel at the recent World Movement for Democracy (WMD) assembly in Jakarta, Indonesia. The WMD was initiated by the National Endowment for Democracy and exists to "strengthen democracy where it is weak, to reform and invigorate democracy even where it is longstanding, and to bolster pro-democracy groups in countries that have not yet entered into a process of democratic transition."
The Jakarta meeting, April 11 – 14, brought together over 600 participants from more than 100 countries. NDI also hosted a panel at the assembly on the role of party internationals in fostering democratic parties.
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Ten years ago, Sushmita Subba Manandhar began working as an office assistant for NDI in her native Nepal. As she assisted with logistics at NDI events, she also listened to the discussions among ministers, politicians and activists, and the topics piqued her interest. Now, Manandhar is visiting Washington, D.C., as an Andi Parhamovitch fellow to study how women in the U.S. Congress get their voices heard and will take back what she learns to the Inter Party Women's Alliance in Nepal.
The fellowship honors Andi Parhamovich, an NDI employee who was killed in 2007 in Baghdad. The fellowship is awarded each year to a young woman who is deeply involved in building and consolidating democracy in her own country. It is designed to enhance the skills of young women so they can better organize for full political participation in their societies. Recipients come to NDI in Washington, D.C., for training and research.
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