"Democracy," said U.S. Rep. David Price, "cannot be imposed from without but must grow from within, organically and at its own pace."

Price was speaking at a unique week-long event in Warsaw, Poland, last month that exemplified that theme. Representatives of maturing and developing democracies gathered for two purposes. The first was to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Frost-Solomon Task Force, which in 1990-96 provided assistance from the U.S. Congress to new parliaments in Central and Eastern Europe that were emerging from communist rule. The second was a Parliamentary Staff Institute to use the lessons learned through that experience to assist representatives of 11 parliaments from different parts of the world that are making their own transitions to democratic governance.

During 2006 elections in Uganda, international observers and domestic monitors reported significant violations of electoral law and protocol, including disenfranchisement of voters, counting and tallying irregularities, the use of state funds for campaign activities and the incarceration of political opposition leaders. As February 2011 elections approach, efforts are underway to head off potential repetition of these problems and violations.

DEMGroup and Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy, domestic election monitoring organizations, are carrying out a comprehensive monitoring strategy that includes a citizen hotline.

"Georgian women cannot wait another century for equal participation in the governance of our country," said Leila Aptsiauri, a member of a local city council in Georgia. She was speaking at a conference in Tbilisi, the capital, where representatives from 11 political parties discussed with civil society leaders the benefits to including more women on candidate lists and in political party leadership structures.

Kyrgyzstan's June 27 referendum ratifying a new constitution, despite some problems, reflected the will of Kyrgyzstan's voters, according to the findings of the country's leading domestic election monitoring organization, the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society.

With the vote, the nation became the first in Central Asia to opt for a system that significantly limits presidential power in relation to parliament. Voters also approved Roza Otunbayeva as interim president for a term through December 2011. They will choose a new parliament in October.