December 2010

Local Partners Work to Bring Accountability to Elections

Egyptian candidate debate organized by Partners in Change.

Millions of citizens around the world, sometimes at great personal risk, work to safeguard elections in their countries by monitoring, reporting on and helping citizens participate in all aspects of the elections process. NDI regularly supports and works with many of these individuals and organizations as they seek to deter and expose fraud, ensure voters' rights and shine a light on sometimes secretive government procedures. Here are some examples:

In Egypt, which recently held elections for its lower house of parliament, the Institute worked with the Egyptian Association for the Support of Democracy (EASD) to train and deploy 5,000 observers who documented fraud, violence and election law violations. Using text messaging technology, EASD monitors reported real time information from polling stations that was posted to

the organization's website, drawing a local and international audience of more than 30,000 people. Another NDI partner in Egypt, Partners in Change, sponsored debates and street theater performances as part of get-out-the-vote efforts in the run-up to the elections. The events educated voters on the importance of voting and provided forums for voters to hear from individual candidates about their platforms.

Recent

parliamentary elections in Kosovo were generally peaceful, but some irregularities will need to be investigated more fully, according to a

preliminary statement from the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), an international election observation group. ENEMO fielded 12 long-term observers and 188 election day observers from 23 countries, including 37 American observers organized by NDI, who monitored 861 polling stations.

SuNDE observers attend a training session on the voter registration process.

The voter registration process has just ended in Sudan, which is preparing for a referendum that will determine whether the southern part of the country secedes from the north. The Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) and the Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE), both nonpartisan coalitions of civil society groups and NDI partners, are monitoring all steps of the referendum, including the registration process. Seven hundred SuNDE and SuGDE observers monitored registration centers in both the north and south and in five of the eight international registration centers. The groups

released a joint statement saying registration "was conducted free from violations

that could significantly impact the integrity of the process, despite some shortcomings."

Before Peru's Dec. 5 run-off elections for department presidents (similar to state governors), NDI's civic partner, Transparencia, organized, recorded and broadcast debates

among the top candidates on radio and television. The debates aimed to help citizens become more informed about the candidates’ election platforms and compare their leadership styles.  Now, in the wake of the elections, NDI is collaborating with Cuidadanos al Dia, a government watchdog group, to create a website where citizens can track how well the newly-elected officials live up to their campaign promises.

Nicaragua Leadership Program Supports Emerging Leaders

In Nicaragua, where opionion research shows young people increasingly dissatisfied with political parties and institutions, a consortium of academic institutions has created a new program to help engage the next generation in the political process. Young men and women from 49 civic organizations and 10 of the country's major political parties and movements are earning a Certificate on Leadership and Political Management focusing on democratic values and leadership. By providing this type of training, which will be expanded in the coming years, the certificate aims to empower the part of the population with the greatest potential for political involvement. NDI helped organize the consortium. Read more»

Montenegrin Ministries Changing the Way they Approach Policy Making

Scott Persons, NDI's resident director in Montenegro, discusses the Institute's work with government ministries to improve their internal and external communications. The program has resulted in more community input on how to solve problems facing the country and more efficient operations within the ministries. Read more»

Electoral Reform Needed to Build Public Confidence in Afghan Electoral Process and Political Institutions

As Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission released the final results for the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, NDI called for a formal and comprehensive review of the country's electoral system that would lead to reforms. Noting systemic flaws and tensions resulting from credible allegations of fraud and other irregularities, the Institute said that without electoral reform, public confidence in Afghan elections and governance will continue to erode. Read more»

Election Commission Chair Pledges Best Effort to Improve Elections in Nigeria in 2011

A legacy of electoral fraud, political violence and stalled democratic development has marred the past decade of civilian rule in Nigeria, which is planning for elections in 2011. Speaking at NDI, Attahiru Jega, the new chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission, said that improving the electoral process is vital to the country's democratic development and noted the growing consensus on the need for credible elections. NDI President Kenneth Wollack noted that with Jega's appointment "hope has replaced pessimism" regarding upcoming polls. Read more»

Women Win, Lead in Jordan and Southern Africa

Jordanian women candidates enjoyed record levels of success in the country's Nov. 9 parliamentary elections. For the first time, a woman candidate from Amman won her seat outside of the country's quota system; six of Jordan's 12 governorates elected the first women from their regions; and, for the first time, a Bedouin woman was elected. Jordan's new election law doubled the number of seats reserved for women from six to 12. The increase, coupled with the additional woman candidate who won outside the quota, will bring to 10.8 percent the number of women in parliament. Read more»

In southern Africa, women's political participation in Zambia and Lesotho lags behind other countries in the region. Women from both countries have participated in an NDI leadership academy where they learn campaign, advocacy and public speaking skills, and practice techniques to build coalitions and raise funds. Participants will use these skills in upcoming local and national elections. Read more»

2011 World Press Freedom Day to be Held in U.S. for the First Time

NDI has joined a number of democracy, human rights and free press organizations in the preparations for World Press Freedom Day, which will be held in Washington, D.C., May 1-3, 2011. The events will focus on media freedom in the digital age. More than 20 organizations working to advance free expression worldwide are collaborating with the U.S. Department of State and UNESCO to plan the program, 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. Read more»

August 2010

New and Established Democracies Celebrate Past Successes and Look to the Future of Democracy Support

Former Polish President Lech Walesa and Madeleine Albright at the 10th anniversary meeting of the Community of Democracies

Community of Democracies Celebrates 10 Years

Representatives

from many of the world's established and new democracies came together

in Krakow, Poland, last month to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the

Community of Democracies, a global coalition

focusing today on meeting challenges to democracy and strengthening the

role of civil society.

NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright, who as U.S. secretary of state was an initiator of the organization, spoke at the gathering,

saying "those who are blessed to live in a democracy have an obligation

to repay that blessing by upholding free institutions and by teaching,

protecting, and cherishing democratic values." Read more»

Transatlantic Democracy Dialogue Begins

To

encourage stronger transatlantic ties on democracy support, senior U.S.

and European policymakers came together in Washington, D.C., for the

start of a two-year dialogue to discuss ways to fortify cooperation on

democracy and human rights. The dialogue is chaired by Albright; Jerzy Buzek,

president of the European Parliament; Javier Solana, former European

Union high representative for the common foreign security policy; and Vin

Weber, former congressman and former chairman of the National Endowment

for Democracy (NED). It is organized by NDI with primary

support from the European Commission and the NED. The

dialogue will, through a series of conferences and working papers,

produce actionable recommendations for improving democracy support

programs. Read more»

Commemorating the Frost-Solomon Task Force

Frost (left) and Rep. David Price (center) speak to Ibrahim Samadi, a participant in the parliamentary research service institute from Afghanistan.

The

benefits of transatlantic cooperation were celebrated in early June at a

commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Frost-Solomon Task Force,

which provided assistance from the U.S. Congress to new parliaments in

Central and Eastern Europe emerging from communist rule. Its programs

were based on the principle that successful democratic transitions in

the former communist countries depended on the establishment of

effective democratic legislatures. Former Rep. Martin Frost, for whom the task force was named along with the late Rep. Gerald Solomon, attended the commemoration in Warsaw, Poland, along with

representatives from 10 of the former Soviet bloc countries. Read more »

Toward Better Parliamentary Research Services

Many

of the representatives from the original Frost-Solomon countries stayed

in Warsaw to share their experiences during a week-long parliamentary

institute organized by the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a

successor to the task force. Representatives from 11 parliaments on

four continents, all HDP partner parliaments, took part in the institute

that focused on developing and strengthening parliamentary research

services. "Where democratic governance has taken root...commissions such

as ours can provide an added boost by sharing our own experiences, good

and bad," said Rep. David Price, chairman of HDP. Read more »

NDI Analysis: Burma's Electoral Framework is Fundamentally Undemocratic

A

new NDI report found that Burma's new election laws and constitution

have created a framework that is fundamentally undemocratic for the

first national elections to be held in the country since 1990. Based on

a legal and human rights analysis, NDI concluded that the election

process will not be a step forward and risks being yet another setback

in a country that has been governed by the military for almost half a

century. The process "is clearly designed to guarantee a pre-determined

outcome and, therefore, does not meet even the minimum of international

standards," the report said.

Read more »

Read the full report »

New Technologies Create Opportunities, Risks in Democracy Support

Speaking at a panel at the Krakow Community of Democracies meeting, NDI Chief Technology Officer Chris Spence explored the role of technology in democratic development and the challenges and opportunities it poses in closed societies. Spence also addressed the importance of using technologies in new and emerging democracies using examples from Afghanistan and Uganda.

He noted that while technology can provide useful tools, to be most effective they must be used to support well-organized "off-line" activities by civil society groups.

Read more »

Read Spence's remarks »

In Angola, Radio Program Connects 'Parliament and Me'

"Parliament

and Me," a new radio talk show in Angola, is working to establish a

connection between elected representatives and their constituents as the

country rebuilds after a 27-year civil war. NDI partnered with Radio

Ecclesia, a capital city radio station with a wide audience, to create

the weekly program, which educates citizens about the role of

parliament.

The

program also explores historical, political and legal issues that many

Angolans may not be familiar with, such as the origins of the Angolan

parliament, the laws it has passed and the impact of women parliamentarians.

Read more »

In Macedonia, New Legislative Research Institute to Aid Lawmakers

Macedonia is working to establish a professional parliamentary research service that will

enhance the ability of its legislature to advance democratic

governance in the country. The parliament is undertaking a

three-year project to create such a service, which will help lawmakers obtain

the necessary information to generate and amend legislation, oversee

public expenditures and monitor how laws are carried out.

The

research service is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and

Cooperation and implemented by NDI and its Macedonian partner, the

Institute for Parliamentary Democracy.

Read more »

Iraqis Discouraged by Post-Election Government Negotiations

Iraqis

are becoming increasingly frustrated about the delay in the formation

of a new government and a majority of them believe that the country is

headed in the wrong direction, according to a recent public opinion poll

conducted by NDI.

Among

the survey's other findings, 42 percent of those polled thought Ayad

Allawi, representing the Iraqiyya coalition, which got the most votes in

the March 7 elections, should become the next prime minister, compared

to 14 percent who supported current Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. The most

important problem facing average Iraqis, they said, is delivery of basic

services.

Read more »

Increasing Women's Political Participation Around the Globe

Part of NDI's core mission is working with women around the world to help them gain leadership skills and access to power:

Afghan Women Seek Major Role in Peace-building:

Women from 33 of the country's 34 provinces attended a symposium in

Kabul, Afghanistan, to find ways to ensure that women's rights are integrated into the government-initiated peace and reconciliation process. They listed 13 recommendations for the Afghan government to

follow to address women's needs.

Coalition Boosts Effort to Implement Gender Quota Law in Burkina Faso:

Last year the legislature in Burkina Faso passed a law requiring that

30 percent of candidates on political party lists be women. Now, a

coalition is suggesting ways to fully implement the law.

Middle Eastern Women Gain Political Inspiration in Wisconsin: A

group of young women from across the Middle East who aspire to

political careers spent two weeks at a leadership retreat in Madison,

Wisc., the culmination of a year-long Young Women Leaders Academy.

There, they learned from elected women leaders about public service and

political campaigns.

Mayan Women Train One Another to Increase Their Political Voice:

To help overcome the political and economic challenges facing Mayan

women in Guatemala, NDI has published a series of training guides to

help equip the women with the concrete skills they need to pursue

political leadership opportunities.

Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors Launches

In

more than 90 countries, millions of citizens have joined nonpartisan

election monitoring efforts to safeguard electoral integrity, hold

government accountable, mitigate politically motivated violence and

promote the right of citizens to participate in public life.

For the first time, those groups have joined together to form the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors, which launched a website

this month that compiles thousands of documents, manuals and best

practices. As the site continues to evolve, domestic election monitors

around the world will be able to exchange information, form

relationships and continue to learn from each other.

Multimedia Not To Miss

Be sure to check out:

Pop star Bobi Wine performs his song, "A Serious Matter," to help promote peaceful elections and the use of an NDI-supported election hotline in Uganda.

A short video

highlights the interaction between citizens and members of parliament

in Cambodia as part of a NDI's constituency dialogue program.