All of Sierra Leone’s eight registered political parties have signed an “Open and Safe Elections Pledge” to promote an electoral atmosphere free of violence and intimidation and to encourage women to participate in the election process. The country is slated to have presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Nov. 17.

When the Kosovar government released its ambassadorial nominations last fall, there was a glaring omission — no women were on the list. A group of women members of parliament (MPs) protested at a news conference, which led the government to increase the number of women nominees to one-third.

But when the national television station reported on the press conference, it played traditional wedding music over what the women were saying, making it look more like a party and distracting from the serious message the women MPs were trying to get across.

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.

“Parties that take women’s political participation seriously benefit from stronger electoral positions, access to new groups of voters and stronger relations with their constituents,” NDI President Kenneth Wollack said at the Feb. 29 launch of a new guidebook for political parties.

The guide, Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women’s Political Participation, was written and produced by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and NDI.