Guatemala has been plagued by electoral violence for decades. It includes intimidation of voters, and harassment, assaults and even assassinations of candidates, their families and activists by organized criminal groups and drug traffickers.

NDI staff member Lila Jaafar testified July 24 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Subcommittee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen presided over the hearing, “The Struggle for Civil Society in Egypt.”

“There is still a great hunger for democracy in Egypt – especially among the youth who now recognize that it will take more than street demonstrations to create a more pluralistic and democratic system,” Jaafar said during her testimony.