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.

Haiti’s fragile democracy has struggled with a host of political and economic challenges since the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship in 1986, and elections have often been flash points for hostilities. In 2010, disputes over preliminary presidential election results caused violence to erupt across the country.

As Côte d'Ivoire struggles to achieve reconciliation and build viable democratic institutions in the wake of election-related violence in 2011, it has recognized the need for credible elections and representative institutions as essential steps for reinvigorating its democratic and economic development, according to the findings of an international assessment delegation fielded by NDI.

Nepali women had much to be proud of as 172 of them were seated in the country’s new Constituent Assembly on Jan. 22. They filled 30 percent of the 575 seats that were contested during parliamentary elections last fall.

In addition to traditional lawmaking, the Constituent Assembly is tasked with drafting Nepal’s new constitution, making the presence of the women especially important.