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NDI Delegation Finds Encouraging Developments and Significant Hurdles as Nigeria Prepares for 2011 Elections

fgalleto — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:16:51 -0400

Noting heightened interest and determination among Nigerians to overcome the nation's history of flawed elections, a pre-election assessment mission conducted by NDI also identified a number of hurdles that could undermine a successful process surrounding next year's state and national polls.

"There is a deepening sense of the need to change the approach to elections in Nigeria," the delegation said in a statement released at a press conference in Abuja on Oct. 15. "Many political actors expressed concern that the legacy of flawed elections has a negative impact on Nigeria's political and economic development, as well as its standing in the world."

The statement reflected the findings of the pre-election assessment mission, which was conducted in Nigeria from Oct. 11-15 and was composed of political and civic leaders and democracy and election experts from Africa, Asia and North America. It was co-led by Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, and the Right Honourable Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada.

"The delegation observed that while many Nigerians are determined to actively participate in the 2011 elections, they are fearful that verbal commitments to electoral reform may not translate into concrete actions. The delegation found a sense of urgency among Nigerians to see demonstrable steps in election preparation," the statement said.

But the delegation highlighted problems that it said could undermine a successful election process, including delayed agreement on the legal framework for the election, security and policing throughout the electoral process, and the efficiency of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) organs at the local government, constituency and ward levels.

The delegation also pointed to continuing uncertainty over when the election will actually be held as the National Assembly considers whether to postpone the polls from January to April 2011. This "continuing uncertainty surrounding the electoral timetable could render planning even more difficult for all electoral stakeholders and potentially diminish the enthusiasm of potential voters," the delegation said.

It also noted that "a cardinal aspect of the electoral process, voter registration, has yet to begin" for the estimated voting age population of 70 million. "Many Nigerians worry that the logistical and capacity challenges associated with INEC's plans to develop a new, electronically-based voter register could further delay the registration process," the statement said.

As Nigeria's election preparations move forward, the delegation issued a number of recommendations. They included:

Nigeria's leadership should continue to affirm its commitment to free, fair and credible elections.
The government should make clear that electoral misconduct by public officials, politicians, and members of the security services will not be tolerated.
The National Assembly and state assemblies should act to permit postponement of the elections from January 2011 to a later date.
INEC should continue to enhance and facilitate regular and open communications with political parties, civil society, security services, media, the public and other election stakeholders, and develop a voter education program.
Election observers should be granted accreditation well before the start of voter registration and observers should be guaranteed access to registration centers, polling stations, and tabulation facilities.
Security services should require that all officers remain neutral, avoid intimidating voters and ensure that priority during elections is placed on protecting civilians.
Political parties should consider measures to reduce politically motivated violence.

Other members of the delegation include Christiana Thorpe, chairman of the Sierra Leone Election Commission; Peter Lewis, director of the African studies program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Nazmul Kalimullah civil rights activist and professor at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh; Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa; and Barrie Freeman, NDI deputy regional director for Central and West Africa.

The delegation met with the chairman and senior officials of the INEC, political party leaders, members of the National Assembly, presidential aspirants, civic and religious leaders, government officials, the acting inspector general of police, journalists, academics, citizen election observer groups, development partners and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Read the full statement»

Pictured above: Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, and the Right Honourable Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada

Published October 15, 2010

NDI Delegation Finds Encouraging Developments and Significant Hurdles as Nigeria Prepares for 2011 Elections

fgalleto — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:16:51 -0400

As Nigeria's election preparations move forward, the delegation issued a number of recommendations. They included:

Nigeria's leadership should continue to affirm its commitment to free, fair and credible elections.
The government should make clear that electoral misconduct by public officials, politicians, and members of the security services will not be tolerated.
The National Assembly and state assemblies should act to permit postponement of the elections from January 2011 to a later date.
INEC should continue to enhance and facilitate regular and open communications with political parties, civil society, security services, media, the public and other election stakeholders, and develop a voter education program.
Election observers should be granted accreditation well before the start of voter registration and observers should be guaranteed access to registration centers, polling stations, and tabulation facilities.
Security services should require that all officers remain neutral, avoid intimidating voters and ensure that priority during elections is placed on protecting civilians.
Political parties should consider measures to reduce politically motivated violence.

Read the full statement»

Pictured above: Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, and the Right Honourable Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada

Published October 15, 2010

NDI Election Mission Recommends Measures to Increase Voter Confidence in Ukraine

rrunyan — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:12:18 -0400

Noting a high level of political polarization and cynicism in Ukraine’s electoral environment, a NDI pre-election observation mission said actions are urgently needed to increase transparency and build voter confidence before Oct. 31 local elections.

In a joint statement issued Friday with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the delegation said the last several elections in Ukraine, including the presidential election earlier this year, were widely considered to meet international standards for democratic elections. “The Oct. 31 local elections represent an important opportunity to build on and consolidate that accomplishment,” the statement said.

NDI said it welcomed the pledge by President Victor Yanykovych to ensure that the elections, the first since he took office, are democratic, noting that the legal framework for local elections contains improvements over previous laws. “However,” the statement said, “additional measures are urgently needed in the implementation of the laws to increase transparency and build voter confidence in this election.”

NDI said it had continuing concerns regarding both the legal framework for the elections and the conduct of the campaign. It cited such specific problem areas as:

A pattern of harassment of candidates and civic activists by government officials;
The composition of Territorial Election Commissions (TECs), which opposition groups have denounced as unfair;
Pressures on media;
Issues with local party branch representation;
Impediments to observation by domestic election monitoring groups; and
A shortened timeframe for the campaign period.

The statement also put forward a number of recommendations for the Oct. 31 polls, as well as for the longer term. For the short term, they included:

Investigation of allegations of misconduct by public officials surrounding the elections, including any form of harassment or interference with candidates or observers;
Ensuring a level playing field and an enabling environment for free elections;
Barring the use of administrative resources to benefit the campaign of any candidate or party; and
Expeditious consideration of requests from domestic monitoring organizations.

For the longer term, the recommendations included:

Full investigation of complaints of government pressure on the business interests of media owners;
Strengthening the independence of the judiciary to advance the rule of law and create greater public confidence in the court system;
Exploration by the parliament of options for setting up nonpartisan, independent electoral commissions based on a consensus of the major parties;
Accompanying further revisions to the election law by an open and transparent process of consultation, aiming at the broadest possible consensus; and
Simplified procedures for accreditation of domestic observers and lengthening of timelines for accreditation.

The NDI delegation was co-led by David Collenette, a member of the Canadian House of Commons for more than 20 years, and Katie Fox of the United States, NDI’s deputy director for Eurasia programs. Other members were Jennifer Collins-Foley (U.S.), executive director of the Center for National Policy, and Eka Siradze-Delaunay (Georgia), executive director of the Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, representing the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO).

The Oct. 3-7 delegation assessed electoral preparations and the pre-election environment, including campaign activities, the electoral legal framework, legal mechanisms for addressing electoral complaints, the role of domestic nonpartisan observers, and the accuracy of media reports and their influence on public opinion. Members met with party leaders, senior government officials, election authorities, nongovernmental organizations and representatives of the media.

More information about the IFES assessment delegation’s findings and recommendations can be found at www.ifes.org.

NDI’s mission was funded through a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Published October 8, 2010

Debates Get Parties Focused on Issues Facing Bosnia

fgalleto — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:18:19 -0400

Before voting in the general election on Oct. 3, citizens from around Bosnia tuned in to watch candidate debates that were novel in focusing on issues that voters said they care most about. The debates, along with a series of regional town hall-style meetings, provided Bosnian parties a platform from which to present concrete policy approaches to voters.

These events, which take cues from U.S. presidential debates, represent one of the sole examples of constructive and collegial political dialogue in an electoral campaign marked by typical post-war Bosnian politics, where ethnic divides dominate political rhetoric and parties in electoral campaigns engage voters solely through ethnically divisive invective.

Two major Bosnian public television stations — Bosnia and Herzegovina Radio Television (BHRT) and Radio Television Republika Srpska (RTRS) — partnered with NDI to produce and broadcast the three televised political debates. The topics for discussion at both the debates and regional forums were identified as those most deemed most important to citizens in NDI's public opinion research, which revealed a citizenry focused on the economy and its livelihood.

The debates, on the last three Thursdays in September, took place in Banja Luka on Sept. 16, featuring the parties most popular in the Republika Srpska; on Sept. 23 in Mostar, including parties ranked highest in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Sept. 30 in Sarajevo, showcasing parties from both of Bosnia's political entities in a relatively rare joint policy discussion at the national level. The parties invited to participate had received the highest levels of support in NDI's public opinion research.

The two-hour Banja Luka debate was broadcast live throughout the country and then rebroadcast the next day on statewide television station BHTV. A taped version is posted on the RTRS website video archives along with a video of the second debate in Mostar.

In Banja Luka, five high-level party representatives discussed their policy platforms and explained their approaches to priority issues for citizens. Topics were determined through public opinion research, as well as through questions videotaped from citizens on the street. In one taped question, played on a screen in the studio, a young man asked about jobs for young people. Participants addressed the issue by explaining their parties' approaches to reducing youth unemployment. Most responses described anti-corruption projects that would support a hiring system based on meritocracy, rather than backroom deals and connections; while one party president presented a difference approach of building a skilled labor force through education.

The eight pre-election regional forums brought political party representatives together in a more intimate setting to debate economic issues and field questions from citizens in the audience. A Sept. 4 regional forum in Livno took place in a public space at a downtown shopping mall. About 100 citizens posed substantive questions about unemployment to a panel of seven party representatives from the local ruling and opposition parties.

A forum in Tuzla on Sept. 13 saw an even more frank exchange about youth unemployment between about 70 voters and a panel of local party leaders. The citizens challenged parties to put a stop to political favoritism in employment and promote a system of meritocracy. The inclusion of two young political candidates made the debate particularly relevant.

To carry out this project, NDI has drawn on its institutional partnership with the United States Commission on Presidential Debates and has also sought advice on debate format and approaches from a civil society organization advisory board including such groups as Women for Women, the Center for Civic Initiatives, and the Youth Communications Centre, among others. This approach has enabled a wide spectrum of voices and opinions from the Bosnian non-governmental sector to participate.

On election day, Bosnians will vote to elect representatives to their state parliaments, as well as regional parliaments representing the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The polls will also decide the president of the RS and the federation's tripartite presidency — a rotating presidency that includes one representative from each of the country's three major ethnic groups.

NDI has worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1996, supporting the long-term development of political parties, citizen participation in the political process, and professional and transparent legislative bodies. NDI's current programs, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), advance issue-based politics through policy development and open debate among political parties and citizens. NDI's debates and forums project is funded through USAID.

Related:

Pictured above: Debate moderators greet a participant before the Sept. 30 national debate.

Published October 1, 2010. Updated October 6, 2010

Iraqi National Youth Caucus Works to Turn Youth Priority Issues into Policy Changes

fgalleto — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:07:37 -0400

As Iraqis work to create a new government, a group of young people is working to perfect the civic advocacy skills they need to influence how policy is made.

Members of Iraq's National Youth Caucus (NYC) came together recently to discuss their strategies for ongoing advocacy campaigns for improving high school and college education and combating the high rate of youth unemployment.

Over the past year, NYC members—an informal network of 70 political activists from around the country—have focused on how to integrate young people into Iraq's political life with the goal of having an influence on policy. They met in Erbil in August for a three-day conference, where they also discussed expanding their activities to advocate for a freedom of information law.

Learning From Romanian Civil Society

Five women and 10 men from Iraq's National Youth Caucus (NYC) traveled to Romania in June to learn about the role of civil society in a young democracy. In meetings with Romanian parliamentarians, political parties, civil society organizations and youth activists, participants learned that access to information and political decision-making are key elements in activating the role of youth in political life.

Caucus members were impressed by the ease with which civil society representatives in Romania communicate with decision-makers, the high level of trust between the government and civil society organizations (CSOs) and the efficacy of CSOs that build coalitions and have broad citizen support. Representatives of both CSOs and the Romanian government emphasized that citizens and CSOs must take the initiative to claim their rights and help advance the democratic process; they cannot wait for the government to act first.

Study mission participants were exposed to many new advocacy strategies and campaign techniques. One caucus member from Kirkuk noted, "Our campaigns will benefit from the ideas that worked successfully for Romanians: using blogs, documentary films, photography, theater, media outlets, SMS, Facebook, Internet, websites and radio interviews between young people and officials; collecting information about politicians so we know where they stand; and gaining legitimacy and financial support from international NGOs."

Since returning from Romania, NYC members have defined their expectations for progress in Iraq and expressed a desire to assert themselves as civic leaders and future political leaders. In the words of one caucus member from Najaf, "We are the future of Iraq—many of us will be tomorrow's parliamentarians and ministers. I intend to be one of them."

Caucus members have focused specifically on how to get results through political activism. In their communities, the young people conducted surveys about citizens' priorities to inform their advocacy campaigns, and they will use that information to make their case in meetings with members of parliament, government ministers and provincial council members. NDI has been working with the group since 2007 to strengthen caucus members' skills in leadership, community outreach, negotiation, political communications and conflict management.

The conference provided an opportunity for the caucus members to share advocacy activities from their respective provinces and finalize plans for rallying citizen support to persuade Iraqi decision-makers to enact solutions identified by the caucus.

"The responsibility of civil society is to enable society to transform and to encourage citizens to participate in community building," said a caucus member from Muthanna, emphasizing the caucus' goals of transforming society and building stronger communities.

As part of their efforts, the NYC members incorporated lessons learned during a study mission to Romania undertaken in June. They adopted several strategies borrowed from their Romanian counterparts, such as inviting young people to speak out through nationwide interactive blogging and developing regional advocacy campaigns with other youth networks. In particular, members want to raise awareness about the need for freedom of information legislation, which was pivotal to many civil society successes in Romania. "This legislation can be used to prevent corruption. If citizens have a right to public information, including public expenditures, civil society can demand accountability," said one NYC member.

Related:

Pictured above: Panelists at the NYC conference lead a discussion on the progress of their advocacy campaigns and how their plans will change in light of the ideas gleaned from meetings in Romania.

Published on October 14, 2010

Middle Eastern Women Gain Political Inspiration in Wisconsin

rrunyan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:19:29 -0400

The Young Women Leaders Academy (YWLA), a year-long program that aims to inspire and empower young Middle Eastern women to pursue political careers in their home countries, culminated in a two-week retreat in Madison, Wisconsin, last month, where participants met with elected women leaders from across the state and honed their leadership skills and political aspirations.

The participants are now back in their home countries, where they are pursuing a range of options, from starting their own advocacy organizations to running for elective office.

In a region of the world where women remain underrepresented in public life, the academy helps the women acquire the skills and confidence needed to pursue political careers. By giving them instruction on campaign and advocacy skills, as well as introducing them to peers and mentors to exchange information and help each other, the YWLA hopes to increase the number of women leaders across the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Young Women Leaders Academy has been a turning point in my life,” said Chantal Souaid from Lebanon. “I want to transmit knowledge from YWLA to the women in my country. Women need empowerment, training and someone to tell them they are equal to men. In my career, I now want to open up the space for women to become leaders and run for political office.”

Since returning from Madison, another participant, Hamsa Ballout from Palestine, was elected to the Hebron media committee of the Fateh party after an intra-party campaign, making her the only woman on the board of seven leading journalists. Ballout said she was inspired to seek the position at the academy and the campaign skills she acquired there made it possible.

In Madison, the women participated in advanced workshops on communications, blogging, media relations, maintaining a work-life balance, non-governmental organization management, advocacy and grassroots outreach.

The women spent time with Wisconsin political leaders including U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, First Lady Jessica Doyle and the youngest member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, Kelda Helen Roys. Through conversations about public service, campaigns and work-life balance, participants built connections with the women and drew inspiration from their work.

At the end of the retreat, NDI mentors worked with each participant to develop individual career objectives and leadership development plans. Participants came away with concrete goals. Batool Al Khalaf of Saudi Arabia, who has started several public speaking clubs for women and young people, plans to use her network and trainings skills to develop civic leadership programs in a country where power is extremely centralized. “I want to start a social entrepreneurship initiative to expand leadership training opportunities for youth,” she said, adding “I also want to go to law school and become a lawyer.”

The retreat, organized by NDI, reinforced the leadership skills the women had gained during an initial two-week intensive academy held at Georgetown University in Doha, Qatar, in July 2009 and subsequent independent projects that each woman carried out in her country to engage more young women in politics. The retreat also helped foster and strengthen a growing network of young women in the region who provide each other with ongoing support and advice as they enter the world of politics.

“These women at the retreat have really inspired me,” said Sally El-Baz, a founding member of an opposition party in Egypt. “My dream is to become a member of Parliament and to truly represent the people of Egypt.”

Pictured Above: Rajaa Kantaoui, an academy participant from Morocco, talks with Anita Weier, a participant in a Wisconsin political training program, at a networking event about their shared desire to run for elected office.

Published July 27, 2010

Despite Violence, Voters in Afghanistan Show Commitment to Democratic Process, NDI Finds

rrunyan — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:02:30 -0400

Although violence marred the electoral process in many parts of the country, millions of Afghans turned out to vote in legislative elections Sept. 18, showing courage and resolve to move their nation toward a more democratic future, NDI said in a statement issued Monday.

“Afghanistan’s 2010 electoral process has demonstrated that millions of Afghans – as candidates and their agents, voters, domestic election monitors and polling officials – are committed to ensuring that the nation’s government reflects the will of the people,” the Institute said.

But NDI also pointed out that many problems, some dating back to Afghanistan’s first elections in 2004, still have not been addressed. These include a defective voter registration process, barriers to women’s participation, and the need to secure the independence from the executive of Afghanistan’s two election bodies, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).

NDI fielded an observation mission for the elections for the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the National Assembly. Some 164 Afghan and international observers from 13 countries operated in 30 of the country’s 34 provinces and visited 730 polling stations on election day, despite the limitations created by the security situation.

The Institute stressed that its statement today is preliminary as it is too early to fully evaluate the quality of Afghanistan’s election process. Many steps remain to be completed, including the difficult challenges posed by the detection of fraud, which severely marred the last election cycle in 2009.

“Because the margins between the contesting candidates will likely be slim,” the statement said, “a small number of votes could affect the outcome of the elections for some candidates. Therefore, it will be critical for domestic and international observers to closely follow the tabulation and complaints process throughout the post-election period.”

Potential irregularities include improbably high turnout rates in insecure areas, high turnout at women’s polling stations, suspiciously high numbers of votes cast at a single polling station and the statistically anomalous distribution of votes among polling stations within a polling center. How the IEC responds to any irregularities will affect the credibility of the elections.

NDI noted that the IEC’s preparations this year showed substantial improvement over past elections, citing in particular the IEC’s adoption of several fraud mitigation measures. These included the removal of approximately 6,000 former polling officials suspected of engaging in fraud in 2009, rotating provincial and some district polling officials to distance them from local power and patronage networks, eliminating the ability to transfer ballots from one polling station to another, and placing unique serial numbers on the ballots to better detect fraud.

But many challenges remain, NDI said. “There is a continuing pervasive mistrust of the electoral institutions among a broad range of electoral participants, including candidates, political party leaders and activists, journalists and many Afghan citizens,” according to the statement.

Some of the problems NDI noted are the widespread belief that the IEC and the ECC are vulnerable to political pressure and the existence of a massive number of false voter identification cards.

In much of the country, the balloting proceeded in an orderly manner on election day. However, NDI observers identified several problems in some areas of the country, including ballot shortages, problems with ink, and the attempted use of the false identification cards. The extent to which these problems may have affected the electoral process is unclear.

The Institute also focused on the security situation. The statement noted that “violence and the threat of violence shaped every aspect of the elections process.” It impeded the ability of candidates to campaign in some areas of the country, hindered the recruitment of polling officials, influenced the placement of polling centers, prevented balloting from taking place in more than 1,000 polling centers, and prevented domestic and international observers as well as candidate agents from reaching many polling sites.

The statement includes a number of recommendations for improving the electoral process. These included:

The Afghan government should investigate and vigorously prosecute election-related crimes, including violence by candidates’ supporters and the misuse or attempted misuse of voter identification cards.
The Wolesi Jirga should take steps to ensure the independence of the IEC and the ECC.
The ECC should be made into a permanent body rather than expiring after the certification of election results.
The ECC should take steps to ensure that provincial complaints commissions adopt uniform procedures and act in a transparent manner.
An accurate voter registry and /or civil registry should be prepared.
Alternatives to the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) system should be reviewed.
Steps should be taken to ensure greater female access to polling stations.
Greater security for women candidates is needed.
The Wolesi Jirga should launch a comprehensive review of the electoral process.

NDI’s election mission builds upon the Institute’s 25 years of experience observing over 200 elections around the world and its significant election-related and operational experience in Afghanistan. The Institute arrived in Afghanistan in early 2002. For this year’s election, it conducted orientation sessions for more than 1,700 candidates (68 percent of the total), organized training for political parties and campaign schools for more than 240 women candidates (62 percent of the total), and provided technical assistance to the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan, the country’s largest domestic election monitoring organization. It also was involved in the training of 35,000 candidate agents across the country who reported on election day activities.

The Institute’s election observation mission in Afghanistan is funded through a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Read the full statement»(English | Dari| Pashto)

NDI’s website, www.afghanistanelectiondata.org, provides information for mapping and analysis of Afghanistan election data from 2004, 2005 and 2009.

Read the press release» (English | Dari | Pashto)

Pictured Above: Candidate agent observers watch the sealing of a ballot box.

Published September 20, 2010

NDI Analysis: Burma's Electoral Framework Is Fundamentally Undemocratic

rrunyan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:02:20 -0400

The process surrounding national elections in Burma, expected later this year, “is clearly designed to guarantee a pre-determined outcome and, therefore, does not meet even the very minimum of international standards,” according to an analysis by NDI that was released Aug. 1.

NDI examined the country’s new election laws and constitution in the context of preparations for what will be the nation’s first national polls since 1990. In that earlier election, the people of Burma voted overwhelmingly for the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, but the military government refused to let the NLD take office and Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 18 years imprisoned or under house arrest.

“The upcoming elections,” NDI said, “appear to be designed to gain international acceptance for an illegitimate process.”

The study drew on contributions from numerous experts in the region and comparative election, constitutional and human rights law. Since 1995, NDI has worked with partners to advance the cause of democracy in Burma. The 2010 elections in theory could have provided an opportunity to advance democratic progress and national reconciliation, which in turn could have helped significantly improve the lives of people in Burma. Based on its analysis, NDI came to the conclusion shared by many experts that the election process will not be a step forward and risks being yet another setback.

The Institute cited four areas in particular in which the constitution and the new election laws fall short of basic international standards:

Government based on the will of the people. “In Burma, the constitution establishes a structure designed to perpetuate military rule,” the report said.
Basic human rights. The Institute noted the severe political repression in Burma: freedoms of expression and assembly have been sharply curtailed and the activities of political parties restricted. There is no independent judiciary and the media are prevented from reporting freely on the government and political process. Those who criticize the regime are often physically assaulted or imprisoned, which has led to the government holding at least 2,100 political prisoners.
Freedom to stand for election. This is circumscribed in Burma, both by the election laws and the detention of regime opponents, the analysis said.
Impartial election administration. “In Burma, the electoral administration was appointed unilaterally by the regime and has shown itself to heavily favor the military regime and its allies,” NDI said.

The key predicates that could allow for a credible and transparent process remain those consistently called for by Burma’s democracy activists and their supporters in the international community, according to the Institute. They are:

Burma’s military regime should release political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD and opposition leaders and enter into a serious dialogue with them on a democratic transition process.
All political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic minority groups must be allowed to participate in elections.
All civil and political rights necessary for elections should be introduced and observed, including the freedoms of expression, association and assembly.
A process should be crafted that would allow for review and amendment of contested elements in the constitution. This process should address specifically the role of the military and the treatment of ethnic minorities.
Election laws and procedures should be revisited to allow adequate time for parties, including those that are prevented from participating or have chosen not to participate because of restrictions in the law, to organize and participate, and to ensure that the elections are administered by an independent commission appointed in consultation with the opposition.

If each of these recommendations is adopted, allowing for a meaningful election, unimpeded election observation by domestic and international actors should be permitted to increase confidence in the process, NDI said. Without those fundamental changes, and in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, the presence of observers would be seen as giving legitimacy to a clearly undemocratic process. The Institute has organized more than 150 international election observation delegations over the last 25 years.

Pictured Above: Members of the Women’s League of Burma participate in a protest.

Click here to read the full report.

Published on August 2, 2010

Central American Leaders See Transparency as Key to Public Security

rrunyan — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:40:20 -0400

Public security is the number one issue for Central American countries, especially those in what is known as the Northern Triangle, which includes El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In 2008, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala registered homicide rates of 58, 55 and 48 per 100,000 people, respectively. More than three quarters of the population in Central America believes that insecurity is the greatest problem facing the region, according to a recent United Nations report.

Over the past decade, many governments in the region adopted “mano dura” (strong arm) national security policies to respond to citizen pressure for action against rising crime rates. These policies focused on short-term, punitive solutions and ultimately failed to bring down violent crime. This strategy also weakened the legitimacy of democratic institutions – particularly judicial systems and police forces damaged by corruption, the influence of organized crime and high levels of impunity. In Guatemala, for example, approximately 95 percent of criminal cases reported to authorities are never adjudicated.

At a recent forum, leaders from government, political parties, business, academia and civil society in the region gathered in El Salvador to get to the root of the problem by highlighting the link between security and transparency.

“States with high levels of corruption and impunity are particularly susceptible to the infiltration of groups linked to organized crime,” said Eduardo Nuñez, NDI’s resident director in Guatemala and director of NDI’s regional program to promote civil society participation in public security issues. “These groups undermine the states’ ability to form policies that effectively address the issues of insecurity and the spread of violence.”

The 150 forum participants identified and agreed to implement concrete actions to fight corruption and increase transparency. They included strengthening collaboration between civil society and government to root out corruption in state security agencies; creating violence prevention plans, especially at the municipal level; and improving oversight of political contributions to prevent the infiltration of drug money in democratic politics.

A declaration was signed by the participants that reaffirmed the commitment to address the epidemic of violence in the region. In writing the declaration, forum participants examined and built on past regional and international agreements that set out plans to stem corruption and violence.

One mechanism for getting more results may be to establish a regional impunity commission, like the U.N.-backed Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala, CICIG). CICIG works with the Guatemalan government to investigate and dismantle criminal organizations believed to be responsible for the high level of crime and weak judicial system. It is credited with resolving several high profile cases. Central American leaders, including Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, have encouraged discussion on whether a similar regional body could help governments in the sub-region tackle the challenges of transnational crime.

“There is wide interest in understanding the role of this commission, its mandate, its mechanisms, its results, its limits,” Nuñez said. “The extraordinary growth of organized crime in the region warrants extraordinary measures to contain it, and among them the CICIG model deserves to at least be considered.”

The CICIG commissioner Francisco Dall´Anese, along with Nuñez, attended the two-day forum supported by NDI and co-sponsored by the Salvadoran Government, the Central American Integration System (Sistema de Integración Centroamericana, SICA), the National Foundation for Development (Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo, FUNDE) and Transparency International. The declaration and policy proposals of the forum will be assessed in a year when a similar forum convenes in Costa Rica.

Pictured Above: Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes (far left) provides opening remarks at the forum on transparency and public security in San Salvador, El Salvador held Sept. 28-29.

Published October 8, 2010

In Haiti, Citizens Voice Ideas and Concerns about Rebuilding

fgalleto — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:34:04 -0400

How do you rebuild from an earthquake that flattens infrastructure, leaves 1.5 million people homeless and kills more than 230,000?

The Action Plan for National Recovery and Development of Haiti seeks to answer this question and views last January's earthquake as "a window of opportunity." The draft plan spans the next 10 years and includes detailed plans for rebuilding infrastructure, water and sanitation systems; expanding housing and the labor market; and improving education, healthcare and democratic institutions.

"Nobody has been spared, and no one can pick themselves up again alone," the plan states in its introduction. "We must build on this new solidarity which is expected to trigger profound changes in behavior and attitudes."

Key factors in helping to move the plan forward will be enlisting the cooperation and support of Haitian communities and individual citizens and providing them an opportunity to add their input.

One avenue for this kind of involvement is Haiti's initiative committees (ICs). Developed more than a decade ago with NDI support, the ICs have operated in 179 municipalities across the country and involve 35,000 Haitians and 3,500 civic organizations, including 400 women's groups. Before the earthquake, the IC network organized communities to conduct damage assessments after hurricanes, repair roads, facilitate medical treatment, provide potable water, and promote transparency in government development projects.

Now, ICs are coordinating a series of presentations on the action plan so their members — along with other members of the Haitian public, mayors, town council members and other local government officials — can learn the details, ask questions and add their own suggestions.

Meetings have been held around the country and are structured to address general topic areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, education and tourism. After a government official presents details of the plan, attendees split into groups depending on their interest or expertise, and then collaborate on ideas and suggestions for their particular topic. They present their suggestions to the group, and the comments are recorded by IC members so they can be incorporated into a document that will highlight a community’s priorities for reconstruction.

Haitian citizens listen to the presentation of the plan in Les Cayes.

Recently, an IC in Les Cayes, a port city on the southern peninsula, brought community members together to review the plan. Silien Mimose, speaking on behalf of area women's groups, emphasized the need to incorporate women into all aspects of reconstruction. Délimont Jean Luckner, speaking for educators, questioned the country's ability to implement universal and free public education, given the government's education track record before the earthquake. He pointed out that the school year was scheduled to begin a week after the meeting, but that no efforts had been made to open schools or reach out to homeless or displaced parents.

These dialogues are part of a larger effort that includes information sessions, communal- and departmental-level town hall meetings and regional forums to increase citizen understanding and participation in the National Plan for Reconstruction. After participating in the dialogues, IC members will work with citizens in their communities to form follow-up committees to monitor progress of reconstruction projects being carried out by local and national government in their communities.

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Pictured above: A presenter at the IC meeting in Les Cayes

Published October 12, 2010