Parallel vote tabulations (PVTs), a powerful citizens' tool to analyze the integrity of voting and counting processes as well as the accuracy of official election results, were the subject of a "PVT Academy" held at NDI's Washington office Nov. 17-20. Some 23 participants from 17 countries, all experienced in conducting PVTs, came together to share expertise and harmonize best practices.

Mayan women in Guatemala, who are estimated to be 20 percent of the population, are substantially underrepresented in Guatemalan politics. Despite 1996 UN-sponsored peace accords that called for increasing political involvement of the indigenous population, indigenous women were rarely included on candidate lists in the most recent election in 2007, and only two of the 158 deputies in Congress and one of 333 mayors across the country are Mayan women.