NDI - Azerbaijan

NDI Celebrates Release of Anar Mammadli

njankowicz — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 11:36:36 +0000

NDI celebrates the news that Anar Mammadli and 13 other political prisoners regained their freedom in Azerbaijan on March 17.

NDI celebrates the news that Anar Mammadli and 13 other political prisoners regained their freedom in Azerbaijan on March 17. Mammadli was arrested in December 2013, shortly after his organization, the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), released a report that criticized how the presidential election was conducted earlier that year. Although no evidence of wrongdoing was ever produced, Mammadli was convicted and sentenced. He served two and a half years in prison.

Through his lifetime of activism, Mammadli has defended democracy in Azerbaijan with courage and integrity. NDI has been proud to partner with him and EMDS.

Mammadli is one of more than 100 journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, and political activists who have been unjustly imprisoned over the last three years. Most of them remain in detention. They deserve immediate release.

Civic Updates

vrao — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:55:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Resource Type:

Civic Update

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Issue 50: A Matter of Political Space (April 2016)	1.06 MB
Issue 49: Social Movements (January '16)	1.22 MB
Issue 48: Peace, Security and Democratic Resilience (August '15)	818.41 KB
Issue 47: Integration (April '15)	1011.57 KB
Issue 46: The Infomediary Role of NDI Partners (Jan. '15)	339.19 KB
Issue 45: The Role of Dialogue in Deepening Democracy (Sept. '14)	1.84 MB
Issue 44: Taking Advantage of Political Entry Points to Improve Meaningful Engagement (May '14)	1.12 MB
Issue 43: Political Inclusion of LGBT Population (Jan. '14)	1.43 MB
Issue 42: Radio as an Effective Communication Tool (Aug. '13)	1.48 MB
Issue 41: The Use of ICT to Enhance Citizen Participation (May '13)	1.57 MB
Issue 40: Supporting Inclusion of Marginalized Ethnic and Religious Groups (Dec. '12)	1.87 MB
Issue 39: Public Opinion Research (Sept. '12)	1.69 MB
Issue 38: Youth Programming (May '12)	1.83 MB
Issue 37: Mainstreaming Persons with Disabilities (Jan. '12)	1.72 MB
Issue 36: Organizational Development (May '11)	1.1 MB
Issue 35: GOTV, Voter Information & Voter Education (Jan. '11)	1.04 MB
Issue 34: Structuring and Maintaining Partnerships (Sept. '10)	306.87 KB
Issue 33: Political Process Monitoring (May '10)	419.89 KB
Issue 32: Defending Space for Citizen Participation (Aug. '09)	204.87 KB
Issue 31: Best Practices for Meaningful Citizen Engagement (April '09)	540.61 KB
Issue 30: Context Matters (Jan. '09)	311.87 KB
Issue 29: Voice, Space and Accountability (Aug. '08)	869.11 KB
Issue 28: Communications Tools (May '08)	207.88 KB
Issue 27: Using Information and Communications Techonologies (Jan. '08)	486.89 KB
Issue 26: Working with Marginalized Populations (Sept. '07)	283.24 KB
Issue 25: Ten Years of Civic Updates (July '07)	258.56 KB
Issue 24: Making Democracy Deliver (Feb. '07)	413.86 KB
Issue 23: Positive Partnerships with Local Groups (May '06)	268.06 KB
Issue 22: Political Activism for People with Disablities (Dec. '05)	458.7 KB
Issue 21: Local Fundraising and Volunteer Recruitment (July '05)	221.65 KB
Issue 20: Tips from NDI Practioners (April '05)	561.26 KB
Issue 19: Get Out The Vote (Dec. '04)	496.75 KB
Issue 18: Involving Youth in the Political Process (July '04)	277.27 KB
Issue 17: Monitoring as a Driver of Change (Feb. '04)	488.58 KB
Issue 16: Citizen Surveys and Other Organizing Tools (Nov. '03)	546.03 KB
Issue 15: Making University Connections (Aug. '03)	579.18 KB
Issue 14: Focus Groups (May '03)	334.74 KB
Issue 13: Civic Forum (Nov. '02)	279.56 KB
Issue 12: Coalition Building (Jan. '02)	195.45 KB
Issue 11: Assessment Methods (Aug. '01)	84.74 KB
Issue 10: Partnership Approaches (April '01)	109.87 KB
Issue 9: What's Voting All About? (Oct. '99)	82.5 KB
Issue 8: Global Seminar on Advocacy and Democracy Development (June '99)	481.85 KB
Issue 7: How Civic Programs Increase Women's Participation in Processes (Dec. '98)	962.34 KB
Issue 6: Post-Conflict and Ethnic Divided Societies (July '98)	120.75 KB
Issue 5: Assessing Programs (March '98)	81.99 KB
Issue 4: Training (Nov. '97)	98.85 KB
Issue 3: Resources and Communication (July '97)	74.43 KB
Issue 2: Advocacy (April '97)	94.31 KB
Issue 1: Program Highlights from Around the World (Feb. '97)	121.71 KB

Sandra Pepera

skincaid — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 18:41:17 +0000

Sandra Pepera is a career diplomat and international development professional. Before joining NDI as its director for Gender, Women and Democracy in 2014, she spent thirteen years as a senior officer at the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), including leading programs in the Caribbean, Rwanda-Burundi and Sudan. Prior to joining DFID, Sandra spent time in British domestic politics; lecturing in political science and international relations at the University of Ghana; and as a political analyst in the Political Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She has a portfolio of skills and experience which include strategy development, political and risk analysis, diplomacy, general management and corporate governance.

Much of Sandra’s career has been spent working in or on transitional economies, focusing on the building of resilient and inclusive institutions. She led work on women and politics at the University of Ghana and in outreach public policy during the period of intense and unstable political transition in the early 1990s. This included participating in a program that supported the ANC Women’s League during South Africa’s transition from apartheid to majority democratic rule in 1993.

Sandra is a member of the Cambridge Sustainability Leaders Network, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Global Board Ready Women initiative, and the International Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Journal for International Affairs (the Round Table). She holds the Financial Times Diploma for Non-Executive Directors, and serves as a trustee for the pension fund of an intergovernmental organization.

Azerbaijan Imprisons an Investigative Journalist

blesswing — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 14:14:22 +0000

Source:

Washington Post

Article Link:

Published Date:

12/12/2014

The Washington Post editorial board criticized Azerbaijan President Illham Aliyev’s recent move to jail Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilov, calling it a sign that the country is drifting toward “a bleak dystopia for human rights and democracy.”

The detainment adds to a list of recent actions taken by Aliyev to silence dissenting voices in Azerbaijan, including jailing a group of human rights activists. With Aliyev’s attempts to attract Western economic interests to Azerbaijan’s energy resources, the Post said, the president’s poor human rights record will undermine his efforts and ultimately hurt the country.

Jailed Democracy Advocate, Anar Mammadli, Receives Award for Outstanding Civil Society Action

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:40:06 +0000

Azerbaijani democracy advocate Anar Mammadli was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The award is given each year to recognize the contribution of individuals to “outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights in Europe and beyond.”

Mammadli did not accept the award in person, however, because he is in prison.

Since 2001, as chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), Mammadli helped to recruit and train thousands of Azerbaijani citizens to monitor elections in the country and participate in efforts to advance civil society activism, human rights and citizen engagement in community decision making.

Mammadli, a longtime NDI partner, has coordinated closely with various international organizations and networks in an effort to help Azerbaijan move toward international standards. During the award ceremony, PACE President Anne Brasseur thanked Mammadli for sharing “his valuable expertise on the situation in his country."

Shortly after issuing a critical report of election processes surrounding the October 2013 presidential election, EMDS was targeted by a government investigation into its finances and activities.

Mammadli was placed in pre-trial detention in December. Although no witnesses or evidence of wrongdoing have been produced, Mammadli – and two other leaders of his organization – was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on charges of tax evasion, profiteering and abuse of authority in trying to influence the outcome of the election.

The €60,000 (approximately $76,000) prize was presented to Mammadli’s father, Asaf Mammadov, at a special ceremony today in Strasbourg.

Published Sept. 29, 2014

Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women's Political Participation (Now available in Burmese)

fstovall — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:31:07 +0000

Author:

Julie Ballington

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute United Nations Development Programme

Published Date:

10/31/2011

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Urdu

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Russian

Urdu

Attachment	Size
Read the manual (English)	2.49 MB
Read the manual with case studies (English)	3.45 MB
Read the manual (Arabic)	1.9 MB
Download the poster (Arabic)	1.18 MB
Read the manual (Burmese)	4.59 MB
Read the manual (French)	2.57 MB
Download the poster (French)	670.54 KB
Read the manual (Russian)	2.82 MB
Download the poster (Russian)	256.16 KB
Read the manual (Spanish)	2.59 MB
Download the poster (Spanish)	680.95 KB
Read the manual (Urdu)	3.74 MB
Read the manual with case studies (Albanian)	10.91 MB

Equal Access: How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes

dleonard — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:59:44 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

03/06/2014

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Indonesian, Russian, Spanish, Uzbek

English

Arabic

Spanish

Russian

Attachment	Size
Download the manual in Arabic	2.54 MB
Download the manual in English	3.24 MB
Download the manual in French	2.36 MB
Download the manual in Indonesian	16.34 MB
Download the manual in Russian	2.37 MB
Download the manual in Spanish	16.87 MB
Download the manual in Uzbek	3.85 MB

Increasing Women’s Political Participation Through Effective Training Programs: A Guide to Best Practices and Lessons Learned

fstovall — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:08:23 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/23/2013

Resource Type:

Training Manual

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Russian

Attachment	Size
Download the manual (English)	994.16 KB
Download the manual (français)	1.02 MB
Download the manual (РУС)	1.31 MB
Download the manual (español)	1.08 MB
Download the manual (بالعربية)	787.23 KB

Azerbaijan: Preliminary Statement on the Findings of Election Monitoring

fstovall — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 16:00:34 +0000

Author:

Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS)

Publisher:

Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS)

Published Date:

10/10/2013

Resource Type:

Preliminary statement

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement	445.67 KB

Statement from NDI

dleonard — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:23:50 +0000

A number of articles based on fabrications and malicious propaganda continue to appear in the Azerbaijani press concerning the activities of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the purpose of its programs. These reports are completely baseless.

“Repeating a series of falsehoods over and over again does not make them true,” said NDI President Kenneth Wollack.

NDI and its local partners have helped civil society organizations, young future leaders, and other citizens cooperate peacefully and constructively with local governments to improve their communities. They have promoted dialogue to improve local infrastructure, such as roads, lights, utilities, and parks, and provided opportunities for citizens in the form of classes, book clubs, social awareness campaigns, and environmental projects. The Institute has also supported the efforts of Azerbaijani citizens to protect the integrity of their political processes through nonpartisan domestic election monitoring, consistent with the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). NDI has been transparent about these activities with Azerbaijani authorities. In fact, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Youth and Sports has nominated many young people to participate in NDI programs.

All funds received by the NDI office in Baku and its representatives have been used for these purposes and no others.

NDI is registered with the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan. Consistent with that registration, NDI has submitted all financial statements, as required by law, to the Ministry of Finance. NDI is in full compliance with local laws, including those that apply to financial disclosure.

Published April 3, 2013

Statement of the National Democratic Institute Pre-Election Delegation to Azerbaijan's 1998 Presidential Election

fstovall — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:11:03 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/11/1998

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement	470.45 KB

Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations and Code of Conduct for Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observers and Monitors

fstovall — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:06:44 +0000

Publisher:

United Nations

Published Date:

04/03/2012

Resource Type:

Declaration

Language:

Arabic, Bangla, English, French, Mongolian, Romanian Russian, Spanish

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Romanian

Russian

Attachment	Size
Read the declaration (Arabic)	267.58 KB
Read the declaration (English)	897.79 KB
Read the declaration (Bangla)	8.27 MB
Read the declaration (Burmese)	302.33 KB
Read the declaration (French)	327.02 KB
Read the declaration (Indonesian)	16.61 MB
Read the declaration (Mongolian)	345.97 KB
Read the declaration (Romanian)	275.41 KB
Read the declaration (Russian)	286.22 KB
Read the declaration (Spanish)	326.57 KB
Read the declaration (Urdu)	370.99 KB

Importance of Authentic Elections and Unhindered Election Observation Stressed at OSCE Warsaw Meeting

fstovall — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:03:47 +0000

Statements on the importance of genuine, competitive elections, the need for election observation and follow up were presented last week on behalf of the United States by Patrick Merloe, NDI’s director of electoral programs, at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw, Poland.

At the opening plenary session of the Warsaw meeting. Photo by OSCE/Piotr Markowski

The gathering, which brings together hundreds of government representatives, human rights activists and international experts, is considered the most important human rights event of the year in the OSCE region. Merloe was a public member of the U.S. delegation, which was led by Ambassador David Johnson.

Merloe presented the two statements on Sept. 30. The first noted that “free and fair elections are a necessary part of a healthy democracy” but added that “technically well-run polling does not mean that the election process is democratic." He emphasized that “a genuine electoral process also requires an open pre-election environment in which citizens can participate fully, political parties can operate freely, independent media can flourish, and an independent judicial system operates effectively.” The statement assessed the character of recent elections in several OSCE countries, including negative elections in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and generally positive elections in Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Macedonia.

The second statement addressed the importance of the overall election environment in determining whether an election meets OSCE standards and concluded by stressing that, "The United States supports OSCE election observation. ... We also believe that follow-up to recommendations made by the observer mission is very important."

Merloe also responded to a question from the chairman of Russia's Central Election Commission, who was speaking for the Russian delegation, about why observers are needed. "The Copenhagen Document [which contains OSCE commitments on democratic elections] and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provide a clear answer,” Merloe said. “They both say that the authority of government derives from the will of the people expressed in genuine elections. So, citizens, in effect, own elections, because that is where sovereignty truly resides. Citizens have the right to know that their elections are genuine. Hence, domestic observers are needed."

Read more:

Published Oct. 5, 2011

The Backlash Against Democracy

fstovall — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:08:48 +0000

Source:

Washington Post

Article Link:

Published Date:

03/12/2011

In this opinion piece for the Washington Post, Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy draws attention to the potential backlash that events in the Middle East could create with autocrats in other countries. He warns that leaders in a number of countries including Burma, China or Zimbabwe could crack down on the Internet and social medias in an effort to avert similar uprisings in their own countries.

"While in time this crisis could lead to a fourth wave of democratic expansion, in the short term we can expect a new backlash against popular pressures for democratic change. Responding to this backlash - with a much more focused effort to defend human rights and aid the work of democracy activists, for example - should be high on the agenda of the United States and other democracies. Special attention should also be given to supporting Internet freedom, including helping groups gain secure and free access to the Internet, protect themselves against malware attacks, network with counterparts in other countries, and connect with donors and technology specialists who can address their specific needs."

Global Domestic Election Monitoring Network Seeks to Share Experience

rrunyan — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:57:35 +0000

Millions of people around the world who have organized to monitor elections in their own countries often must brave difficult conditions and personal risk in a quest for responsive and transparent governance. While they share many goals and practices, they have not had a way, on their own, to connect with one another and benefit from the knowledge of their counterparts.

Enter the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors, or GNDEM, born in 2009 and now connecting 140 member organizations from more than 60 countries. NDI spearheaded the effort to create GNDEM and currently manages the GNDEM.org website.

Sierra Leone domestic monitors watch vote count during 2007 elections.

Launched last summer, the site provides easy access to more than 1,000 documents grouped into 39 priority topics identified by members. The topics range from how to maintain credibility and impartiality during observations to media strategies and the nuts and bolts of how to monitor various processes before, during and after elections.

The site also includes the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations, which was written and agreed upon by GNDEM member organizations. The effort to create and maintain global standards for domestic monitoring is similar to standards developed for international election observation adopted in 2005 and endorsed by 36 nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations.

“Citizen observation has become a movement. It’s not just a concept anymore.”

- Darko Aleksov, secretary general of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations

The Global Principles set standards for citizen observers. They are a tool for advocating for more rights for observers and for observers to be able to exercise those rights, said Darko Aleksov, secretary general of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which includes 22 monitoring groups from 16 countries in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe.

“Citizen observation has become a movement. It’s not just a concept anymore,” Aleksov said. “Around eight million people in the world so far have been recruited, trained and deployed to be domestic observers on a voluntary basis. This [Global Principles] document is a product of what we have learned.”

Networks of monitoring groups from different regions in the world – including ENEMO, also a GNDEM member – have existed for some time to share experiences. But GNDEM is the first effort to bring these regional networks and individual groups together to share knowledge on a global scale.

“NDI has helped foster regional networks and connections among groups over its 25 years of assisting citizen election monitors in more than 75 countries,” said Pat Merloe, NDI’s director of electoral programs, and part of the idea behind GNDEM is to encourage greater direct peer-to-peer exchanges.

“Traditionally, NDI has been in the best position to share global developments in citizen election monitoring,” Merloe said. “For example, if monitoring election violence becomes important in a given country, we know that efforts in Sri Lanka, Guatemala and Zimbabwe provide useful models. We bring that knowledge to bear, often bringing activists together to share experiences or otherwise helping people make connections.”

Domestic monitors audit a voter list in Indonesia in 2008.

These types of linkages are now beginning to happen through GNDEM. The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center in Azerbaijan and the Egyptian Association for the Support of Democracy, for example, have sought the network’s help in distributing reports and press releases, while a coalition of groups in Liberia has asked for feedback on its preparations for general elections next October. Organizations like the DEMGroup in Uganda and the Bahrainian Transparency Association have featured their online mapping tools with the GNDEM community, sharing how they have incorporated new technologies into their monitoring methodologies.

Regional networking is also enhanced through GNDEM. The Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Ghana, for example, which monitors issues from economic reform to conflict mitigation and plays a leading role in nonpartisan election monitoring, has worked with help from NDI over the last year to launch the West Africa Election Observation Network (WAEON), representing citizen election monitors from 11 countries. CDD-Ghana recently hosted a study mission from the Central African Republic’s coalition of election monitors, which was preparing to observe that country’s 2011 general elections.

Another GNDEM member, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), aims to improve the Lebanese electoral system and reinforce democratic electoral practices. It is working with other organizations in the Middle East and North Africa to launch a citizen election monitoring network to enhance the impact of election integrity efforts in that region. Like CDD-Ghana, LADE participated in developing the Declaration of Global Principles.

“International observation has long been effective in bringing global attention to a particular election,” Merloe noted, “but it cannot provide the deeper political understanding that citizen monitors bring, nor can it leave the lasting, substantial impact that so many citizen groups have created. After all, elections are about citizens’ rights to participate in public affairs and to establish accountable, representative governance.”

This story was originally published in the Spring 2011 edition of NDI Reports. You can read the entire newsletter here: www.ndi.org/NDI-Reports-Spring-2011/index.html. Please visit NDI’s complete newsletter archive at www.ndi.org/newsletter_archive to read newsletters dating back to 1987.