Young Iraqi women aspiring to political careers are getting a boost from a new Young Women’s Leadership School launched recently with the help of NDI Iraq staff member Ferdos Majeed.
As Nigeria prepares for presidential, legislative and governorate elections next month, a new short film, "My Vote Fit Change Naija,” urges Nigerians to vote as a peaceful means for promoting change in their country. The title, in the pidgin language popular throughout the country, means "my vote can change Nigeria."
When a Roma camp in the northern, Serbian part of Kosovo’s divided city of Mitrovica was found to have lead contamination, the government built new houses for those affected in the south of the city. The new housing has gone unoccupied, however, as Roma have balked at moving into a new community without talking with residents in advance about how they would integrate into the area's economy, education system and other aspects of community life.
Against a backdrop of unfolding events in Egypt, Indonesia’s ambassador to the U.S., Dino Patti Djalal, recalled his country’s transition to democracy and the skepticism it engendered along the way. Djalal, who has worked in the Indonesian government for more than 20 years, remembered those who doubted whether his country had a democratic future as it began the transition in 2001. People would say, “It’s never going to work. Democracy is not right for Indonesia,” he told an audience at NDI. “When you hear that enough, you tend to be affected by it,” he said.
A group of politicians, civil society leaders and academics from the transatlantic community and emerging powers – including Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa – convened recently in Washington to discuss the potential for greater cooperation on democracy support.
West African elections can run the democratic gamut. From the peaceful presidential polls held in Ghana in 2008 to the ongoing election-related standoff in Cote d’Ivoire, elections in the region have seen everything from successful transfers of power to ethnic tensions to widespread fraud.
Millions of people around the world who have organized to monitor elections in their own countries often must brave difficult conditions and personal risk in a quest for responsive and transparent governance. While they share many goals and practices, they have not had a way, on their own, to connect with one another and benefit from the knowledge of their counterparts. Instead, they have relied on organizations such as NDI to help them share lessons and experiences.
Afghan women candidates speak at a pre-election rally in Kabul.
Where women have gained a political voice around the world, there have been tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace.
NDI today condemned the government-backed violence that occurred in the wake of citizen protests in Tripoli, Benghazi and elsewhere, and joined international calls for the immediate cessation of attacks against Libyans who are exercising their right to peaceful assembly.
Afghan women candidates speak at a pre-election rally in Kabul.
Frishta Amini (left) and Farida Hamidi (right) from Nimroz province