NDI - Guinea

Africa: 'Decisive Moment for Democracy' - John Kerry

smajestic — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 19:02:07 +0000

Source:

All Africa

Article Link:

Published Date:

10/06/2015

Last May, I shared in an extraordinary moment. I had the privilege, together with many leaders from across Africa, of bearing witness to the first peaceful, democratic transition of power between two parties in Nigeria.

I traveled to Lagos earlier this year to emphasize that for the United States, Nigeria is an increasingly important strategic partner with a critical role to play in the security and prosperity of the region. I also said that it was imperative that these elections set a new standard for democracy across the continent.

There is no question that this is a decisive moment for democracy in Africa. Later this month, four countries – Guinea, Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Central African Republic – are scheduled to hold presidential elections, and soon after we hope to see elections in Burkina Faso. People across Africa must seize this opportunity to make their voices heard; and leaders across the continent must listen.

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.

NDI’s Pat Merloe Testifies Before Congress on U.S. Election Support in Africa

blesswing — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 18:32:58 +0000

NDI Director of Electoral Programs Pat Merloe testified at a hearing, “U.S. Election Support in Africa” on March 18 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.

“Support for democratic elections in Africa should build longer-term democratic political dynamics that result in responsive, accountable governance,” Merloe said. “International election observation can play an important role in achieving peaceful, credible elections in Africa.”

Watch the hearing »

Read Pat Merloe’s full statement here »

Read more:

NDI's Christopher Fomunyoh Testifies Before Congress on "Nigeria on the Brink?"

Experts to Discuss Critical African Elections at NDI

Published on March 18, 2015

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See the 2015-2016 calendar for African elections	60.27 KB
See a map of 2015-2016 African elections	129.47 KB

Experts to Discuss Critical African Elections at NDI

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:09:17 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/25/2014

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The implications for democracy of 30 African elections slated through 2016 will be discussed next week by senior Africa experts during a briefing and roundtable discussion at the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

The event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 9:30 a.m. at NDI, 455 Massachusetts Ave., NW. It is cosponsored by NDI and the Constituency for Africa (CFA).

Johnnie Carson, former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs and a member of the NDI Board of Directors, will open the forum. Panelists are Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI regional director for Central and West Africa programs; Keith Jennings, NDI regional director for Southern and East Africa programs; Jeffrey England, NDI deputy director for Middle East and North Africa programs; and Richard Klein, senior advisor for NDI Elections. Kenneth Wollack, NDI president, and Melvin Foote, president of the Constituency for Africa, will provide welcoming remarks.

Thirty African countries are slated to hold elections between now and the end of 2016. They are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

The conduct of the elections and their outcome could help consolidate nascent democratic institutions and practices across Africa. But if they are viewed as flawed, the elections could result in violence, protracted conflict and democratic backsliding.

The event is part of the Ronald H. Brown African Affairs discussion series sponsored by the CFA.

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Every year, CFA holds the Ronald H. Brown African Affairs series in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend. The program is named for the late Commerce Secretary, Ronald H. Brown, who was a leader in forging ties between the U.S. and Africa.

###

WHAT: NDI/Ron Brown Roundtable Discussion on “Critical Elections in Africa 2015/2016”

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 2, 9:30 a.m. — 12 p.m.

WHO: Johnnie Carson, former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs;

Kenneth Wollack, NDI president; Mel Foote, president of the Constituency for Africa (CFA);

Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI regional director for Central and West Africa programs;

Keith Jennings, NDI regional director for Southern and East Africa programs;

Jeffrey England, NDI deputy director for Middle East and North Africa programs; and

Richard Klein, senior advisor for NDI Elections

Moderated by
Jennifer Cooke, director, CSIS's Africa program

WHERE: National Democratic Institute, 455 Massachusetts Ave, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001

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Event invitation.	115.24 KB

Guinea Wins with Women

dleonard — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 13:17:28 +0000

Guinea’s legislative elections last year were the first competitive, multiparty polls for seats in the National Assembly since the country gained independence in 1958. New polls were scheduled for 2011, six months after the election of Alpha Condé, the first democratically elected president in 52 years, but debate and confusion between the government and opposition parties over electoral reforms delayed them for three years.

While the elections represented a major milestone, there were few gains for the country’s women. Guinea’s electoral law requires party lists to have 30 percent women candidates, but there are no penalties for political parties that don’t comply. Five competing parties did not reach the quota. Twenty-five women won seats, giving them 21 percent representation. Currently, Guinea’s government includes only five female ministers out of 35.

To help women overcome these barriers, women from six political parties and two NDI partners—the Consultation Framework of Women and Girls of Political Parties (Cadre de Concertation des Filles/Femmes des Partis Politiques de Guinee, CCFPPG) and the National Political Party Youth Forum in Guinea (Forum National des Jeunes des Partis Politiques en Guinee, FONAJEP)—came together in the capital, Conakry, in June to work on how to increase the number of women candidates.

They used an NDI tool called the “Win With Women Political Party Assessment,” which aims to boost women’s involvement, support and meaningful participation in political parties. It has been used recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Kosovo and Burkina Faso, where the tool helped four political parties assess progress they had made in including women during 2012 elections. One party established a designated space in its headquarters for women to use for meetings, while another established women’s wings in all local party branches.

At the two-day Conakry meeting, the Guinean women said they believed strongly in party loyalty, but said they had little influence in party decision making, whether about spending, establishing community priorities or nominating someone for a position. And they talked about the difficulty of getting nominated for a leadership position, a process for which there are almost no rules in some political parties.

The training covered the role of women in political parties and the importance of parties giving women the opportunity to participate. Those at the meeting identified challenges, highlighting the lack of training provided by parties as well as more complex issues of internal and structural barriers. The women identified strategies to promote women within their parties and the government, such as putting women high enough on candidate lists to allow them to be elected and offering training for women in local languages.

NDI's program in Guinea is supported by USAID.

Read more:

Published Sept. 5, 2014

Fostering Peaceful and Credible Elections by Enhancing the Confidence of Political Parties and Voters in the Electoral Process

jcradit — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 21:23:31 +0000

Author:

Lex Paulson

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/01/2014

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English, French

English

French

Attachment	Size
Download the report (English)	1.14 MB
Download the report (Français)	2.76 MB

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

Guinea: Rapid Steps Needed to Ensure Credible Elections

dleonard — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:28:04 +0000

Source:

All Africa

Article Link:

Published Date:

02/27/2014

On Nov. 15, 2013, the final results of Guinea’s legislative elections were announced, which brought a sense of relief for Guineans, who had been waiting to vote for several years due to numerous electiond elays. However, this is not the time for Guineans to “relax.” The 2015 presidential elections are approaching, and “two key issues must be resolved...for [them] to be peaceful and credible.”

First, government officials “must determine whether a new biometric voter register should be drawn up before the 2015 presidential polls.” Secondly, officials and politicians ought to “reach a consensus on the nature and depth of necessary electoral reforms.” The 2013 elections “revealed shortcomings in the legal and institutional framework of Guinea's electoral system, such as a weak Independent National Electoral Commission,” which have to be addressed.

“Guinea is clearly still finding its way on its path to democracy....Only by acting now can stakeholders ensure that they have time to plan effectively and work together so that the presidential elections in 2015 stand a greater chance of success.”

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

Promoting the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in West Africa

dleonard — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 18:25:25 +0000

Some 39 countries have signed the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), created by the African Union (AU) in 2007 as a roadmap to encourage better governance across the continent. It sets out international standards of good governance and democracy in such areas as rule of law, free and fair elections, and condemning unconstitutional changes of government.

Some countries are using the charter as a guide during difficult transitions. Mauritania, for example, relied on its principles to negotiate a return to constitutional order after a 2008 coup. But other countries have had difficulty following it. West Africa, which represents more than half of the 20 countries whose legislatures have formally adopted — or ratified — the charter, has been the venue for 10 out of the 14 attempts to disrupt constitutional and democratic governments, such as in Mali and Guinea Bissau, since the charter was created.

Two recent studies found that the charter has gotten little attention or recognition from governments and civil society in West Africa since it came into force in February 2012. There is an absence of political will to implement and enforce it, and few citizens are aware of it, the studies concluded.

The research, which looked separately at Anglophone and Francophone West African countries, was conducted by the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON), a coalition of nonpartisan citizen observations groups from 11 countries, and NDI. The studies’ goal was to determine if there was a way to make the charter more effective in West Africa.

Members of WAEON — including groups from Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo — met in Abuja, Nigeria, May 5-8 to discuss the studies’ findings, reflect on each country’s progress, and draw up national and regional strategies to promote the charter. Though there is no formal enforcement procedure, participants in the symposium hoped that educating citizens about the charter and the rights that it protects would encourage them to pressure their governments to adhere to it, and motivate civil society organizations to monitor and publicly report on governments that are not following it.

About the Charter:

The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) was adopted by the African Union (AU) in January 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Because it required a minimum of 15 countries to ratify it to become operational, it did not come into force until February 2012.

Countries that ratify the charter agree to:

Have representative systems of government with separation of powers between branches
Promote democracy, rule of law and basic human rights
Ensure democratic rule and constitutional changes of power through free, fair and transparent elections
Respect ethnic, cultural and religious diversity

The charter authorizes sanctions by ECOWAS for countries that fail to meet those requirements for democratic government. The sanctions include refusal to support candidates for positions within ECOWAS or suspension of the country from the group’s decision-making bodies.

Countries that have ratified the charter are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Togo and Zambia.

During the symposium, hosted by the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a Nigerian election monitoring organization, participants outlined goals for how WAEON can, over the next year, encourage West African countries to use the charter’s guidelines to strengthen democracy in the region. One goal was to educate WAEON members on how other countries are promoting the charter to citizens and lawmakers. In Kenya, for example, one civic group distributed simplified versions of the charter to help the public understand its basic requirements.

Participants discussed holding exchanges among WAEON countries so visitors could learn how others were using the charter. The constitutions and political institutions in Ghana and Sierra Leone, for example, reflect most of the charter’s principles, such as democratic governance, respect for human rights and free elections.

WAEON organizations also agreed to make efforts to promote the charter — one of the key pillars of which is free and fair elections — before, during and after elections.

“Even after a good election, we cannot take democracy for granted and that is the principal lesson that we draw from Mali and Guinea Bissau and some other countries that may be facing challenges,” said Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI regional director for Central and West Africa, while in Abuja for the event.

WAEON participants also agreed to create more awareness about the charter with such groups as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the UN and parliamentary committees across the region. On the last day of the symposium, a WAEON delegation visited the ECOWAS Parliament, located in Abuja, and met with the Election Division and the parliament leadership to encourage creation of a regional monitoring system for the charter. The WAEON delegation included James Lahai, WAEON’s Anglophone researcher; Oumar Diallo, WAEON’s Francophone researcher; Hajia Limota Goroso of TMG; Fomunyoh; and Franklin Oduro from the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in Ghana, who represented the WAEON Secretariat.

At the end of the symposium, WAEON issued a press release calling “on all governments in West Africa to demonstrate greater commitment towards consolidating democracy in their countries by implementing fully the tenets of the” charter.

Read more:

Published June 28, 2013

Press Release: Meeting of the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON) on the Status of Implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in West Africa

dleonard — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:58:06 +0000

Author:

West Africa Election Observers Network

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/28/2013

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English, French

English

French

Attachment	Size
Read the release in English.	85.01 KB
Read the release in French,	82.42 KB

West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON) Field Guide Series

dleonard — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:26:20 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/12/2013

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

English, French

Nonpartisan citizen observers play an important role during elections by raising public confidence in the election process, deterring electoral malfeasance, exposing irregularities, and providing citizens with important information concerning the integrity of elections. In 2011, with support from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) through a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), citizen observer groups from 11 West African countries formed the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON) to support nonpartisan election observation in the subregion and increase dialogue and cross-fertilization among observation organizations from different countries. As of March 2013, the following organizations are members of WAEON: Burkina Faso’s Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples (MBDHP), Ghana’s Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Guinea’s Consortium pour l’Observation Domestique des Elections en Guinée (CODE), the Ivorian Convention de la Société Civile Ivoirienne (CSCI), Liberia’s Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD), Mali’s Appui au Processus Electoral au Mali (APEM), Nigeria’s Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Niger’s Association Nigérienne pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (ANDDH), Senegal’s Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), Sierra Leone’s National Election Watch (NEW), and Togo’s Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile (CNSC). WAEON aims to strengthen electoral processes and encourage citizen participation in democratic governance. The network is part of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (www. gndem.org). Since its inception, WAEON has organized a series of training academies for its members on topics such as systematic election observation, communication techniques and strategies to prevent election-related violence, and sustaining electoral and political reforms in the post-election period.

The training academies inspired the network to develop a series of practical field guides as easy to use reference tools for citizen election observation groups. To date, three field guides have been published in English and French:

Systematic Methods for Advancing Election Observation
Outreach and External Communication
Materials for Professional Election Observation: Designing Forms, Manuals and Trainings

English

French

Attachment	Size
Systematic Methods for Advancing Election Observation (ENG)	2.86 MB
Méthodes Systématisées (FR)	1.7 MB
Outreach and Communication (ENG)	1.5 MB
Le travail de proximité et la communication externe (FR)	1.5 MB
Materials for Professional Election Observation (ENG)	2.28 MB
Matériel à la disposition des observateurs (FR)	2.01 MB

Guinea on Brink of Chaos Over Long-Delayed Poll

dleonard — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:42:44 +0000

Source:

Reuters

Article Link:

Published Date:

05/01/2013

Tension caused by the failure of Guinea’s politicians to agree on a date for a delayed legislative poll to complete the country’s transition to civilian rule is resulting in violence, jeopardizing the economy and causing fear that the military will step in. Between February and April, there have been at least 12 deaths and over 300 injuries from violence related to the polls, originally scheduled for 2011.

"‘The risks for Guinea are enormous,’ said Christopher Fomunyoh, Africa regional director for Washington-based think tank National Democratic Institute (NDI). ‘The ethnic undertones to the political debate in Guinea are growing increasingly polarizing.’"

In Guinea, Political Parties Commit to Pursue More Transparent Elections

fstovall — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:27:33 +0000

Legislative elections are fast approaching in Guinea and political tensions are on the rise. The anticipated May 12 polls will mark the West African country’s first competitive legislative elections, and there is increasing mistrust and suspicion between ruling and opposition parties. In the past week, politically motivated riots have broken out in the capital, Conakry, leaving many people wounded and several dead.

To curb electoral violence and build trust among political party leaders and their supporters, NDI launched a political party pollwatching program on Feb. 20. The program aims to enhance confidence in the electoral process among political parties and the public and encourage peaceful acceptance of election results. NDI will provide technical assistance to existing political coalitions, which include the most nationally representative and largest ruling and opposition parties. Both coalitions plan to deploy NDI-trained pollwatchers in more than 6,000 of the county’s estimated 11,000 polling stations. The targeted polling sites were chosen after preliminary investigation on potential hotspots for irregularities or conflict.

NDI and Guinean party leaders hope that pollwatching by party delegates will deter fraud and irregularities, and allow parties to document irregularities and -- should they occur -- address them through peaceful, lawful means.

NDI has begun in-depth consultations with the party coalitions on ways to recruit and train nearly 20,000 pollwatchers. NDI will train master trainers on the principles of party pollwatching, non-violence, non-interference, and how to document and report fraud and other irregularities. Thereafter, the master trainers will train other trainers at the regional level, who in turn will train party members to serve as pollwatchers at the level of precincts and polling sites. More than 300 training sessions will be organized across Guinea before election day. Planning and training will be done with all participating party coalitions together when possible to foster greater trust and better inter-party relationships.

Chris Fomunyoh, NDI regional director for Central and West Africa, was in Conakry to launch the new party initiative. At a press conference with party leaders from across the political spectrum, Fomunyoh emphasized the need for transparent and credible elections. “It’s very encouraging that so many parties want to participate in a credible, transparent electoral process, and if we all work together toward that goal, Guinea will have reason to be proud.” He hoped that by emphasizing inclusivity, Guinean political parties will recruit women to serve as at least 30 percent of the pollwatchers, and to include young people.

Fomunyoh and NDI colleagues also met with President Alpha Condé and leaders of the main opposition parties, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Touré, who came in second and third, respectively, in the 2010 presidential election.

Read more:

Published March 15, 2013