The Congolese National Independent Election Commission (CENI) is reconvening its forum for dialogue with all major Congolese political parties, which had not met since July. The breakthrough came during a pre-election mission organized by NDI and led by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson.

NDI staff in Benghazi continue to meet with representatives of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and political activists. NDI Resident Country Director Matyas Eörsi and Senior Advisor David Rolfes report from Benghazi on the difficulties new political movements and parties are facing.

Iraqis are becoming increasingly concerned about a weak economy and poor service delivery, aggravating their frustrations with political parties and politicians. But they still believe that democracy holds the potential to improve their quality of life, and they want political parties to become more responsive to economic concerns and less focused on sectarian divisions.