As Egypt embarks on its journey from autocracy to democracy, Egyptian political party and civil society leaders are finding it helpful to hear from those in other countries who participated in similar transitions in their own countries. Since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February, NDI has been bringing experts and leaders from Chile, Indonesia, Poland, Romania and Serbia to Cairo to meet with youth leaders, civil society and new political parties about the lessons they learned from their own countries’ experiences.

Liberia is preparing for the country’s second national elections since the end of the civil war in 2003. The presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for Oct. 11, will provide a critical opportunity for citizens to evaluate the performance of elected leaders and consider their alternatives. On Aug. 23, Liberians will hold a referendum on four constitutional amendments passed by the legislature last year.

Local elections on May 8 in Albania are an opportunity to put more women in public office in a country with one of the lowest percentages of elected women in Europe. That was the message delivered by Jozefina Topalli, Albania's speaker of parliament, to women who had just completed a 10-month program on campaign management, messaging and advocacy organized by NDI.

As Tunisia emerges from decades of autocratic rule, long restricted political parties are grappling with a sudden freedom to organize.

Under President Zine El-Abadine Ben Ali, who Tunisians toppled in January, many opposition parties were outlawed and political debate was severely constrained. Since his departure, more than 40 new parties have been authorized by the transitional government, with about 20 more awaiting registration.

NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright issued this statement on the death Saturday of longtime NDI board member Geraldine Ferraro.

Peaceful elections in Niger this month received praise from nonpartisan citizen election observers, despite a number of administrative problems surrounding the voting.  The presence of the observers, according to international monitors, helped ensure election transparency.

Against the backdrop of rapidly unfolding democratic developments in the Middle East and North Africa, 50 experts from Europe and North America meeting in Brussels last week expressed support for democratic reform movements and called on the transatlantic community to emphasize democracy assistance within the transatlantic relationship.