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Georgia Has Solid Foundation for Credible Local Elections but Concerns Remain, NDI Delegation Finds

Noting that Georgia continues to benefit from the fundamentals of democracy, a pre-election mission fielded by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) said the country has created a solid foundation for local elections scheduled to take place on June 15. But the delegation also noted that efforts to delegitimize and criminalize political adversaries are still commonplace, fueled by polarization between the country’s two main political parties.

In early parliamentary elections held on March 16, Serbia’s voters handed the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) a sweeping mandate to continue the pro-European integration program it began implementing in 2012 when it succeeded incumbent president Boris Tadic and the Democratic Party’s (DS) long tenure in government.

A record number of Hondurans went to the polls last November to vote in hotly contested presidential, legislative and municipal elections. For the first time in Honduras’ traditionally two-party system, four parties presented viable presidential candidates and won significant percentages of the popular vote, both for the presidency and congressional seats.

On April 25, 2014, Mr. Martin Luther King, III joined with the United Nations, the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union, governments and other international organizations, including the National Democratic Institute (NDI), to call for an immediate end to the conflict in South Sudan. King appealed to all political leaders, civil society organizations, community and religious leaders and the people of South Sudan to actively seek and support a non-violent resolution to the present crisis.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, where women hold just 23 percent of the seats in national parliaments and there are only three women heads of state, Catherine Samba-Panza, president of the Central African Republic (CAR), is an inspirational figure. Her position as the first female president of a Francophone country is a powerful symbol for African women, showing they can succeed even in countries where armed conflict, corruption and inequality have been the norm.

Iraqis appear to be more positive about where their country is heading than they were last fall, according to the findings of a new NDI pre-election survey conducted from January to early March. Of those surveyed, 41 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, a 10 point increase from NDI’s last public opinion poll in September.

April 8 marks International Roma Day, which celebrates the culture of Europe’s largest transnational minority while highlighting the discrimination and hardships that millions of Roma face every day. To mark Roma Day, we sat down with Florin Priboi — an alumnus of NDI programs in Romania and a visiting Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow — to talk about the significance of International Roma Day and his own efforts to help Roma realize political and social equality.

NDI mourns the death of former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez, one of the pivotal figures in Spain’s democratic transition. Mr. Suarez was chosen by King Juan Carlos to dismantle Spain’s authoritarian political system after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, and to steer the country to democracy. In 1977 he became prime minister after winning Spain’s first free elections in 41 years. Mr.

In advance of the April 5 elections in Afghanistan, NDI added new material to its Afghanistan election data website showing polling locations and domestic observer deployments. The site uses data from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission and major domestic election monitoring groups and allows users to examine the geographic coverage of polling stations in each district of the country and how that compares to observer deployments.

NDI mourns the death of Luis Maria Duarte, a member of the Institute’s Afghanistan election observation mission, who was among those killed on Thursday during a terrorist attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

Luis, of Asunción, Paraguay, was one of NDI’s long-term observers for the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections. He had assisted the Institute on several earlier election missions, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Pakistan and Peru. He had also observed elections with the Organization of American States in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Georgia Has Solid Foundation for Credible Local Elections but Concerns Remain, NDI Delegation Finds

Serbia's March 2014 Elections: A Post-Election Letter from Belgrade

International Seminar Prepares Hondurans for Electoral Reform

Martin Luther King, III Appeals for Non-Violent Resolution to the South Sudan Crisis

CAR President Catherine Samba-Panza Inspires Congolese Women Politicians

In Iraq, Pre-election Survey Shows Growing Optimism and Support for Elections

In Europe, Roma Fight for Equality

In Memory of Adolfo Suarez

New Data Added to NDI Afghanistan Election Website for April 5 Polls

NDI Mourns the Death of Luis Maria Duarte

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