Legislative elections are fast approaching in Guinea and political tensions are on the rise. The anticipated May 12 polls will mark the West African country’s first competitive legislative elections, and there is increasing mistrust and suspicion between ruling and opposition parties.  In the past week, politically motivated riots have broken out in the capital, Conakry, leaving many people wounded and several dead.

NDI has announced that it will award its 2013 Madeleine K. Albright Grant to the Network of Support for Women Municipal Leaders (REAMM) of Mexico. The $25,000 grant goes to community-based organizations that create greater roles for women in civic and political life.

Millions of Ghanaians voted in a close election last December that returned incumbent President John Dramani to office by a margin of less than 3 percentage points. An independent vote count by a local election monitoring organization that used SMS technology to verify returns from around the country gave many voters the confidence necessary to ensure a peaceful election process—both during the voting and in the days following.

Though few Mauritanians are able to have a say in their country’s political life, one group of dedicated women is determined to be heard. The Advocacy Initiatives Group for Women’s Political Participation (Groupes des Initiatives de Plaidoyer pour la Participation Politique des Femmes, GI3PF), a nonpartisan organization comprising women from all walks of life, is committed to encouraging women’s participation in Mauritanian politics at the local and national levels.