NDI and the International Republican Institute (IRI) are pleased to accept an invitation from the United States Government to designate representatives to witness the April 1 by-elections in Burma (Myanmar).  The invitation was issued in response to a request by the government of Myanmar.  One representative from each institute plans to visit the country from March 28 to April 3 to study the conduct and significance of the polls.

A survey of public opinion in Georgia released by NDI shows that jobs, territorial integrity and affordable healthcare are the top three priority issues for Georgian citizens, while concern about rising prices and inflation has dropped. In the survey, 63 percent mentioned jobs, 36 percent mentioned territorial integrity and 31 percent mentioned affordable healthcare as among their top three priority issues.

Representatives from 33 of Libya’s new political parties gathered in Tripoli March 1 to learn about the new law that will govern Libya’s first election in nearly 50 years.  The late June vote for a constituent assembly will be the first time any of these parties will wage competitive campaigns, and how well they learn the rules of the game will help determine their success as they vie to shape the future of the country.

Russia's leading independent election monitoring organization, Golos, said the March 4 presidential election was not free or fair, relative to either international electoral standards or the Russian constitution.