NDI - Burundi

NDI E-news: Nigeria, Tunisia, The Roma | April 2011

fgalleto — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:23:44 +0000

April 2011

Nigerian Elections Hold the Promise of Setting New Integrity Standard, NDI Mission Finds

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Election official with National Assembly ballot at Lugbe polling station outside Abuja.

Nigeria's recent presidential and National Assembly elections "represent a step forward from seriously flawed elections of the past" and "hold the promise of setting a new standard for integrity in Nigeria's electoral process," NDI said in a preliminary statement after the presidential poll.

The Institute fielded international observer delegations for both the April 9 National Assembly elections
and the April 16 presidential poll. The first observation mission was co-led by Joe Clark, former Canadian prime minister; Mahame Ousmane, former president of Niger; Antonio Manuel Mascarenhas Monteiro, former president of Cape Verde;
Jon S. Corzine, former U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey;
Marietje Schaake, member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands; Natasha Stott Despoja, former senator from Australia; and Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI. Clark and Ousmane stayed on as co-leaders of the presidential observation mission and were joined by Robin Carnahan, secretary of state of Missouri; and Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa.

The delegations found that, despite problems, the elections gave Nigerians a real chance to vote, and they commended the millions of Nigerians who braved long lines and hot weather to participate.

A voter marks her presidential ballot in Abuja.

NDI also partnered with a coalition of four Nigerian civil society organizations in Project 2011 Swift Count, which fielded more than 8,000 observers to conduct a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) for the presidential and gubernatorial elections, held on April 26. A PVT is a sophisticated election observation tool used to assess the integrity of the vote and count, and verify official vote totals. Observers relayed their findings by SMS messages, which were then compiled and analyzed at Project Swift Count's headquarters in Abuja.

Project Swift Count issued an interim statement
after the presidential poll confirming the results announced by Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission. With the northern part of the country protesting the re-election victory of President Goodluck Jonathan, Project Swift Count
called upon all candidates and their supporters to "respect the will of the Nigerian people and to accept the results in good faith." They also asked that all political leaders "immediately and clearly make statements denouncing all acts of post-election violence."

NDI also partnered with the National Elections Incidents Center (NEIC), a coalition of three civil society groups doing citizen observation of the presidential election. The NEIC catalogued and mapped incidents and irregularities in the voting on election day. The center concluded that "the accreditation and voting process was smooth and peaceful" at the polling stations they observed.

NDI's mission in Nigeria builds on a pre-election assessment
conducted by the Institute in October. NDI has been working in Nigeria since 1999 and has fielded international observation missions to previous elections there in 1999,
2003
and 2007.

NDI Commemorates International Day of Roma with Film Featuring Music by Academy Award Winner Hans Zimmer

NDI celebrated the culture and achievements of the 10 million Roma, commonly called Gypsies, with a short public awareness film released on International Day of the Roma. The film, Who are the Roma?, is scored with original music by Hans Zimmer. Read more»

Watch the film»

'Future Women Mayors' Academy Kicks Off in Mexico

The Academy for Future Women Mayors kicked off last month in the Mexican state of Michoacán to combat the low rate of women seeking and winning office at the municipal level across the country. The academy helps provide women activists with the motivation, skills and networks to position themselves to win mayoral races. Read more»

In Guinea, Political Parties Strive to Improve its Next Elections

In Guinea, more than 40 political parties agreed to a set of principles aimed at making upcoming legislative elections — only the second competitive elections in the nation's history — less violent, more inclusive, more efficient and ultimately more democratic. Read more»

Albanian Women Finish Political Leadership School with Chance to Test New Skills in May Elections

Local elections on May 8 in Albania are an opportunity to put more women in public office in a country with one of the lowest percentages of elected women in Europe. That was the message delivered by Jozefina Topalli, Albania's speaker of parliament, to women who had just completed a 10-month program on campaign management, messaging and advocacy organized by NDI. Read more»

Contribute Now to Help Build Democratic Societies

When you contribute to NDI, our board of directors will generously match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million. Contribute»

NDI Staff Member Seeks to Bring Women into Elections, Politics in Liberia

Mardia Greaves-Bloh visited the U.S. from Liberia for three months as NDI's latest Andi Parhamovich fellow. While in Washington, D.C., Bloh researched how civil society groups build coalitions and how to ensure that women's needs are considered and accomodated throughout the election process. She will use what she learned back in Liberia for presidential and legislative elections this year. Read more»

Assessing Public Attitudes in Tunisia, Georgia, Burundi

NDI recently conducted focus group research in Tunisia with young people, the demographic that led the revolutionary movement that overthrew President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January. The research finds that young people are concerned about being sidelined in the transition process and have a lingering distrust of political parties. NDI is sharing these findings with Tunisian leaders in the transitional government, political parties and civil society to develop policies that are responsive to and inclusive of youth. Read more»

A recent poll conducted for NDI shows that economic and social issues are the major sources of concern for Georgians. Unemployment tops the list of those concerns, followed by rising prices. Respondents also felt that politicians were not doing enough to fix these problems. Read more»

Focus groups in Burundi, a country historically fraught with ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, show that citizens today are focused less on ethnic differences than on their regional, political and economic differences. They also continue to embrace the democratic process, despite politically motivated violence and an opposition party boycott of the 2010 elections. Read more»

Our Perspectives: Debates, Yemen, the Roma and Haiti

Don't miss these pieces by NDI staff:

Matt Dippell, debates program advisor, explains how a free press contributes to a culture of debate. Read more»

Les Campbell, director of Middle East and North Africa programs, talks to NPR's Morning Edition about the future for Yemen's President Saleh. Listen»

Catherine Messina Pajic, deputy director of Central and Eastern Europe programs, describes the plight of the Roma and ways you can help. Read more»

Jim Swigert, director of Latin American and Carribbean programs, looks at the challenges facing Haiti's new president in this speech he delivered at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Read more»

Focus Groups Find Vanishing Ethnic Divisions and Continued Support for Democracy in Burundi

fgalleto — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:02:12 +0000

A recent focus group study by NDI finds that in Burundi, a country historically fraught with ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, citizens today express little apprehension about current or future ethnic strife. Instead, it is regional, political, and economic differences that divide Burundians. And, despite politically-motivated violence and an opposition party boycott of 2010 elections, Burundians still embrace democracy and see elections as the best means for choosing their country’s leaders.

These findings and others are presented in a new NDI report, The Road Ahead: Citizen Attitudes about Burundi in the Post-2010 Election Period. The Institute conducted a total of 40 focus groups in 22 communities in Burundi, offering citizens a nonpartisan venue to express their views on the 2010 electoral process and other democracy-related issues. The goal of the study is to stimulate dialogue among Burundians — in government, the opposition and civil society — on how the country can respond to citizens’ concerns.

Burundians say their country is moving in the right direction because of improved social services and development policies. Participants, particularly from rural areas, praised government education and healthcare services. "We are grateful to this government that ensures free healthcare for children under five and free primary school enrollment," said a farmer from Tora. "Women give birth for free in hospitals. Former governments didn’t achieve this."

However, there are additional challenges in Burundi that participants believe should be addressed. The government receives blame for corruption, violations of human rights and civil liberties, and for a deteriorating economy. Also, because several opposition leaders fled the country after boycotting the presidential elections last summer, participants express fears about insecurity and a new rebellion led by these leaders. Burundian participants are eager for the leaders to return and for the government to engage in dialogue with the opposition.

Read the report in English or French»

Related:

Pictured above: The cover of The Road Ahead.

Published April 25, 2011

The Road Ahead: Citizen Attitudes about Burundi in the Post-2010 Election Period

fgalleto — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:31:06 +0000

Author:

Andrea L. Levy

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

03/15/2011

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English, French

English

French

Attachment	Size
Read the report (English)	1.29 MB
Read the report (French)	1.54 MB

Burundi

fgalleto — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:48:42 +0000

The 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement brought an end to years of armed conflict and ethnic polarization between Burundi's majority Hutu and minority Tutsi ethnic groups, and created a power-sharing government composed of the country's main political actors. The end of Burundi's transition period was marked by presidential elections in 2005, in which Pierre Nkurunziza of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) was elected president indirectly by parliament.

Many hoped that the 2010 elections in Burundi — particularly the presidential elections, the first under direct suffrage since 1993 — would confirm the country's progress toward peace and reconciliation, and showcase Burundi as a model of post-conflict democratic transition. However, after the ruling CNDD-FDD won a comfortable victory in the May 2010 municipal polls, the major opposition parties alleged that widespread fraud had tainted the election. Neither domestic nor international observers agreed with these claims. The opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance of Democrats for Change (ADC), which then boycotted the presidential and legislative elections. The ADC’s boycott left President Nkurunziza as the sole candidate in the presidential race and allowed his party to sweep the majority of seats in parliament.

Since these elections, Burundi's political climate has been characterized by an atmosphere of mistrust and polarization. The ADC and the CNDD-FDD have been reluctant to engage in constructive dialogue with each other. Accordingly, development initiatives that promote respect for democratic principles and the strengthening of democratic institutions — including political parties — are needed for Burundi to resume the democratic advances it has made since 2005.

Current Activities

NDI opened its Burundi office in March 2010 to conduct a presidential debates and voter education program with funding from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy. After the election boycott, NDI redirected its program activities to support high-level roundtable debates and focus group research.

The high-level roundtables provide Burundian civic and political leaders with a platform to discuss the country's critical issues. Representatives of the government, the extra-parliamentary opposition (ADC), civil society and academics have participated in roundtable discussions on topics such as the prevention of electoral and political violence, agriculture and food security, and participatory governance and accountability. All the roundtables were recorded and broadcast by multiple radio and television stations.

NDI conducted focus group research in Burundi aimed at collecting citizen views about Burundi's 2010 electoral process. The discussions provided citizens with nonpartisan avenues for expressing their views on a range of pressing issues facing Burundi. NDI has plans to publish a report of the research findings in early 2011.

In 2011, NDI will launch a pilot program that aims to provide leadership skills and knowledge of political party development practices to youth leaders in Burundian political parties.

Past Programs

NDI's involvement in Burundi dates back to February 1992, when the Institute provided technical assistance to Burundi's political leaders in establishing a framework for the 1993 presidential election. NDI monitored the voter registration process and deployed an international delegation to observe the 1993 poll. NDI returned to Burundi in 2002 to conduct a program aimed at strengthening the National Assembly's role in the transition process. As part of a civic awareness campaign, NDI helped legislators use radio, television and parliamentary journals to disseminate information on the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Process.

Funding

NDI's programs in Burundi are funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Contact Information

For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:

Washington, D.C.
Rebecca Feeley, Program Officer (202) 728-5672

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Election Technology | May 24, 2010

fgalleto — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:10:30 +0000

TV2 Africa | Link to story »

This story on using new technologies for election monitoring efforts in Africa and around the world interviews Pat Merloe of NDI and Eric Gunderson of Development Seed.

Link to story »

EALA Workshop Summary

jbowen — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:49:05 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

02/29/2008

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	77.82 KB

East African Community - East African Legislative Assembly Workshop Resolution

jbowen — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:38:29 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

02/27/2008

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	56.6 KB

Promoting Transparency and Accountability of Revenue of the Extractive Industries: A Workshop for Legislators of the East Africa

jbowen — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:33:53 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/2008

Resource Type:

Agenda

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the agenda	93.67 KB

NDI Reports: A Review of the Activities of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

vrao — Mon, 21 Jul 2003 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

12/01/2008

Resource Type:

Newsletter

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Spring 2011: Digital Mapping, Women's Participation, Domestic Monitoring	1.2 MB
December 2008: Making Democracy Deliver	2.37 MB
Summer 2008: Kosovo, Pakistan, Sudan	571.9 KB
Summer 2007: Youth, Women, Technology	801.33 KB
Summer 2006: Bosnia, Liberia, West Bank and Gaza	462.92 KB
Fall 2005: Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait	865.42 KB
Spring 2005: Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan	813.77 KB
Spring 2004: Win With Women, Elections in Eurasia	615.17 KB
Fall 2003: Celebrating 20 Years	808.11 KB
Spring 2003: Women's Leadership in Yemen, Nepal, Senegal	468.06 KB
Fall 2002: Democracy in the Middle East, Cuba	547.6 KB
Spring 2002: Asian Political Parties, Afghanistan	528.32 KB
Winter 2001: Sept. 11, Nicaragua, Belarus	507.47 KB
Summer 2001: Election Monitors in Central & Eastern Europe	683 KB
Spring 2001: Mexico, Peru, Serbia	732.14 KB
Winter 2000: Zimbabwe, Croatia, Thailand	2.52 MB
Winter 1999: Indonesia, Nigeria, Azerbaijan	3.23 MB
Fall 1999: Nigeria, Indonesia, Morocco	1.29 MB
Winter 1998: Kenya, Poland, Northern Ireland	2.26 MB
Summer 1998: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Ghana	2.01 MB
Winter 1997: Nicaragua, South Africa, Ghana	2.93 MB
Summer 1996: Russia, International Leaders Forum	2.98 MB
Spring 1996: West Bank Gaza, Bosnia, Burundi	2.4 MB
Winter 1995: West Bank Gaza, Ukraine, Malawi	3.28 MB
Fall 1995: South Africa, Russia, Yemen	2.22 MB
Summer 1995: Haiti, Peru, Malawi	2.68 MB
Spring 1994: South Africa, Mexico, Ethiopia	3.43 MB
Summer 1993: Russia, Namibia, Nicaragua	3.52 MB
Spring 1993: Cambodia, South Africa, Yemen	3.71 MB
Spring 1992: Romania, South Africa, Bolivia	1.99 MB
Winter 1991: Zambia, Poland, the Baltics	2.05 MB
Summer 1991: Zambia, Mexico, Bangladesh	1.26 MB
Spring 1991: Namibia, Russia, Senegal	1.36 MB
Winter 1990: Poland, Namibia, Bangladesh	1.33 MB
Fall 1990: Former Soviet Republics, Haiti, Bulgaria	2.07 MB
Summer 1990: Eastern Europe, Dominican Republic, Haiti	2.7 MB
Spring 1990: Hungary, Nicaragua, Panama	1.3 MB
Winter 1989: Pakistan, Argentina, Chile	1.59 MB
Fall 1988: Chile, Pakistan, Nicaragua	1.26 MB
Summer 1988: Costa Rica, Panama, Chile	1.61 MB
Spring 1988: Tunisia, Chile, Paraguay	1.28 MB
Winter 1987: Haiti, Chile, Nicaragua	1.84 MB
Fall 1987: Haiti, Uruguay, Nicaragua	1.43 MB
Spring 1987: Argentina, Philippines, Haiti	1.22 MB
Spring 1986: Philippines, Brazil, Northern Ireland	2.26 MB
Summer 1986: Chile, South Korea, Northern Ireland	2.92 MB
Winter 1986: Mondale Assumes Chairmanship, Argentina, Haiti	3.96 MB
Summer 1985: Senegal, Northern Ireland, South America	1.15 MB

NDI Observation Delegation in Burundi for June 1 Election

vrao — Mon, 21 Jul 2003 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

05/31/1993

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the release	64.99 KB

Burundi: International Observer Delegation Post-Election Statement, June 1, 1993

vrao — Mon, 21 Jul 2003 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/01/1993

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement	143.77 KB

Burundi: Pre-Election Assessment, May 19, 1993

vrao — Fri, 18 Jul 2003 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

05/19/1993

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

French

Attachment	Size
Read the statement (French)	290.18 KB

Burundi: Pre-Election Report, May 21, 1993

vrao — Fri, 18 Jul 2003 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

05/21/1993

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	228.7 KB

Burundi: Strengthening the Legislature

vrao — Thu, 20 Jun 2002 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/18/2002

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	93.99 KB

How to Live in Democracy in Burundi?

vrao — Wed, 03 Jan 2001 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/1996

Resource Type:

Survey

Language:

English, French

English

Attachment	Size
Download the survey (English)	52.3 KB
Download the survey (French)	4.02 MB

NDI - Burundi

NDI E-news: Nigeria, Tunisia, The Roma | April 2011

STAY CONNECTED

CONTRIBUTE

READ MORE

Focus Groups Find Vanishing Ethnic Divisions and Continued Support for Democracy in Burundi

The Road Ahead: Citizen Attitudes about Burundi in the Post-2010 Election Period

Burundi

Read More

Current Activities

Past Programs

Funding

Contact Information

Election Technology | May 24, 2010

EALA Workshop Summary

East African Community - East African Legislative Assembly Workshop Resolution

Promoting Transparency and Accountability of Revenue of the Extractive Industries: A Workshop for Legislators of the East Africa

NDI Reports: A Review of the Activities of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

NDI Observation Delegation in Burundi for June 1 Election

Burundi: International Observer Delegation Post-Election Statement, June 1, 1993

Burundi: Pre-Election Assessment, May 19, 1993

Burundi: Pre-Election Report, May 21, 1993

Burundi: Strengthening the Legislature

How to Live in Democracy in Burundi?