NDI - Cameroon

Examining the U.S. Policy Response to Entrenched African Leadership

fgalleto — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:57:15 +0000

Source:

Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

Article Link:

Published Date:

04/18/2012

Entrenched and often autocratic one-man rule is causing a “democracy deficit” and impeding political development in many African countries, Christopher Fomunyoh, senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa at NDI, said in congressional testimony April 18. But, speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, Fomunyoh said that significant political change has occurred in Africa in the last two decades through better elections and peaceful transfers of power. He was joined at the hearing, "U.S. policy response to entrenched African leadership," by Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary of state for African affairs; Earl Gast, assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

“Denying leadership opportunities to a whole generation of African youth and emerging leaders deprives Africa and the rest of the world of the tremendous talent, exuberance and energy that the continent is capable of contributing to a better world in the 21st century," Fomunyoh said. While optimistic about the democratic process in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Fomunyoh warned that backsliding through constitutional change or restricting civil society must be closely guarded against. Using recent elections in Senegal and Cameroon as examples of both extremes, Fomunyoh explained how a vibrant civil society can protect electoral processes and hold leadership accountable. In Senegal, "thanks in large measure to effective grassroots mobilization by Senegalese civil society, the media, youth movements and political parties, the electoral process was safeguarded and the country experienced a credible transition of power," he said.

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Fomunyoh Testifies to Senate on Entrenched African Leadership

fgalleto — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:25:47 +0000

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Published April 20, 2012

NDI Partners with Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to Strengthen Parliaments

fgalleto — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:42:06 +0000

NDI and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) have signed an agreement to collaborate on efforts to enhance representative government around the world. The association is a group of national and subnational legislatures of the Commonwealth, representing some two billion citizens from all faiths and ethnicities from six continents.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in Nairobi Sept. 8 by the secretary-general of the CPA, William F. Shija, and the president of NDI, Kenneth Wollack.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in Nairobi Sept. 8 by the secretary-general of the CPA, William F. Shija, and the president of NDI, Kenneth Wollack. Shija attended the signing ceremony in advance of the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference hosted by the Kenyan Parliament. Wollack was in Nairobi attending NDI's first board meeting held outside the United States. NDI Board member Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senate majority leader, also participated in the ceremony.

NDI and CPA will continue to work together to develop and promote the use of the CPA's "Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures," a guide to good parliamentary practice developed in 2006 by a CPA Study Group that drew on a number of technical inputs, including an NDI discussion document. The CPA benchmarks are being used around the world to help parliaments self-assess their procedures and processes to identify areas where democratic governance can be improved.

Wollack and Daschle noted NDI's past successful cooperation with the CPA and looked forward to additional partnership at the global level and in Commonwealth parliaments where NDI has a parliamentary strengthening program. For his part, Shija welcomed the formal partnership as a vehicle for the 175 national and subnational legislatures of the Commonwealth to work with NDI to strengthen developing parliaments.

NDI and the CPA also collaborate with other international organizations on parliamentary strengthening, including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank Institute.

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Pictured above: Kenneth Wollack (left) and William F. Shija at the signing ceremony in Nairobi

Published September 21, 2010

Cameroon: Preliminary Post-Election Statement, International Observer Delegation to the Presidential Election, October 14, 1992

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

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/14/1992

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement	140.02 KB

Cameroon: Interim Report, International Delegation to the Presidential Elections, Oct. 28, 1992

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

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/28/1992

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	198.59 KB

Cameroon: Statement of James E. Tierney, Delegation Co-Leader, Clarifying Post-Election Press Coverage: Oct. 15, 1992

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

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/15/1992

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement	36.09 KB

Democratization in Cameroon: International Delegation Report, October 1991

vrao — Mon, 11 Dec 2000 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/01/1991

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English, French

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report (English)	3.04 MB
Read the report (French)	3.51 MB

Cameroon: An Assessment of the October 11, 1992 Election

vrao — Mon, 11 Dec 2000 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/1993

Resource Type:

Assessment

Language:

English, French

Read the report in English here. Read the report in French here.

English

French

Attachment	Size
060_cm_assessment_4_75_103.pdf	2.14 MB