While youth in Nicaragua make up one quarter of the country’s population, the next generation of leaders faces significant barriers to getting involved in their country’s political process.

In 2014, reforms to the Nicaraguan Constitution increased the authority of the president and limited the ability of citizens, including young people, to get involved in the political process.

100 days since Tunisia’s newly-elected government entered office, Tunisians are reporting frustration with the discrepancy between candidates’ promises for more citizen engagement and their actions as elected officials. Despite their disappointment, Tunisian citizens still seek opportunities to connect with their elected leaders, according to newly released NDI focus group research.

LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) groups, both in Central America and elsewhere, face a common challenge: how to build coalitions around a common cause among diverse people and groups who do not always share the same needs or goals.

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Every Saturday since mid-April, thousands of Guatemalans have gathered peacefully in front of the main government offices to protest corruption and impunity. They are pressing for, among other things, significant reforms in the electoral and justice systems, a reaction to the discovery of tax evasion, money laundering and influence peddling among high government officials.

In Honduras, a series of recent protests have taken place as citizens call attention to corruption and impunity. In response to the latest corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of $120 million from the Honduras Social Security Institute (IHSS), a growing movement led by young people using social networks has organized mass “torchlight marches” (Marcha de las Antorchas) in major cities across the country.  

In the run up to Burkina Faso’s first ever multi-party legislative and presidential elections on Oct. 11, voters report being most concerned about their daily economic and social well-being. They also revealed that they want to contribute to the democratic process alongside their elected leaders and take an active role in the country’s reform process, according to focus group research conducted by NDI in February.  

Since 2006, NDI’s Rinor Beka, senior program manager, of Kosovo has been at the center of his country’s democratic transition.  

Together with his NDI colleagues, Beka has built bridges between different players in Kosovo’s political arena, including members of parliament, political parties and citizen groups, to ensure that their priorities “focus on people” and continue to lay the foundations of democracy.