NDI - Moldova

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

fgalleto — 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."

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Published Oct. 5, 2011

NDI Deplores Violence in Moldova and Calls for Dialogue to Resolve Disputes

fgalleto — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:39:53 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/16/2009

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

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NDI Deplores Expulsion of International Election Observers from Moldova

fgalleto — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:06:04 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

07/31/2009

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

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NDI Deplores Expulsion of International Election Observers from Moldova

rrunyan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:21:06 +0000

NDI deplored the actions by Moldovan authorities that led to the cancellation by the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) of a mission to observe the July 29 parliamentary elections. ENEMO, a partner organization of NDI, called off its mission following a string of unwarranted arrests of ENEMO leaders and continued harassment of its observers.

NDI today deplored the actions by Moldovan authorities that led to the cancellation by the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) of a mission to observe the July 29 parliamentary elections. ENEMO, a partner organization of NDI, called off its mission following a string of unwarranted arrests of ENEMO leaders and continued harassment of its observers.

ENEMO, a coalition of 18 leading election monitoring organizations representing 17 countries of the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, had been invited to send election observers by the Moldovan government. The organization, which is highly regarded in the region for its professionalism and election expertise, received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development to carry out its observation mission. Since 2004, ENEMO has conducted multiple international election observation missions to Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Albania.

ENEMO member organizations are the leading election monitoring groups in their respective countries. ENEMO members have observed more than 200 elections, monitored more than 100 polls abroad and trained over 200,000 election monitors.

“This type of action against an international observer mission is deplorable,” said Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI, which provided logistical support to the ENEMO mission. “The aggressive actions by Moldovan authorities against this respected organization were unprecedented and demonstrated a disregard for international commitments as well as norms for democratic elections.”

Wollack noted that Moldova is a participating state in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and that its actions against the ENEMO delegation were a violation of the letter and spirit of the OSCE’s Copenhagen document, which calls on participating states to invite observers.

In a written statement on election day, ENEMO Mission Head Sergey Tkachenko said that conditions on the ground, which included his own arrest by immigration police as well as the deportation of fellow core team member Edil Baisalov, made it impossible for ENEMO to guarantee the safety of its observers and carry out its monitoring effort.

ENEMO had submitted the names of 140 experienced election observers for accreditation to Moldova’s Central Election Commission. But after much delay, only 53 observers received accreditation and many who had received invitations were denied entry. Tkachenko was among those denied accreditation.

On July 27 and 28 Moldovan authorities began targeting ENEMO observers, preventing delegations from entering the country, forcibly entering hotel rooms and arresting and deporting observers who had already passed through customs.

ENEMO is one of the signatories of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, which was launched in October 2005 at the United Nations. NDI was one of the initiators of the declaration. It is now endorsed by 32 intergovernmental and international nongovernmental organizations, which are engaged in improving standards for nonpartisan international election observation.

Read the full statement by ENEMO»

NDI Expert Explores “Semi-Presidentialism” in Central and Eastern Europe

ggreene — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:27:42 +0000

As co-editor of the recently published book Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe, Sophia Moestrup, NDI senior program manager for Central and West Africa, examines the effects of “semi-presidentialism,” on democratization in the region since 1990. “Semi-presidentialism” – a regime situation where there is a directly elected president as well as a prime minister responsible to the legislature – exists in more than half of all Central and Eastern European countries.

With a collection of essays on Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, Moestrup and co-editor Robert Elgie of Dublin City University explore whether some forms of semi-presidentialism are more conducive to democratization than others. They conclude that this form of governance has not had a positive impact on democratization in Central and Eastern Europe, due largely to friction between presidents and prime ministers as well as the democratic requirements for European Union membership that dictate any and all democratic reforms in the region.

Learn more: Read about Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe at the publisher's web site| Visit site »

Moldova

jbowen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:54:18 +0000

NDI has worked in Moldova since 2003, when the Institute began a program to strengthen democratic political activism through political party and civil society development. Since that time, NDI has worked with all major parties in Moldova. Political party assistance has focused on coalition building, organizational strengthening, platform development, and voter outreach. The Institute has worked extensively with political party youth wings, helping young activists to participate in party activities and helping them to advocate for greater youth participation in political parties.

NDI’s civic assistance has primarily consisted of technical support for local nongovernmental and election monitoring organizations. In 2006, NDI began working with legislators and parliamentary staff members through workshops, consultations and study missions to help the parliament in Moldova develop its legislative and oversight functions.

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Political Party Assistance

NDI shares international best practices with political parties on coalition building, organizational strengthening, platform development, and voter outreach. The Institute organizes both single-party and multi-party consultations and workshops, and conducts activities with all interested political parties. NDI organizes workshops for youth activists to increase their influence within their respective parties and to build the leadership potential of young party members.

Civil Society Development

To help engage citizens in the separatist republic of Transnistria, NDI advises civic groups in that region on effective issue advocacy organizations. The program focuses on bringing together Transnistrian youth activists with representatives of Moldovan civic organizations to implement small-scale projects in cooperation with one another.

Legislative Strengthening

In 2006, NDI initiated a parliamentary strengthening program to share international experiences with legislators and staff members on topics such as institutional reform, committee organization, and coalition building.

Funding

NDI programming in Moldova is funded through the United States Agency for International Development.

Contact Information

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

Washington, D.C.
Laura Jewett, Regional Director

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NDI 2005 Annual Report

vrao — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

12/01/2005

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

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Strengthening Local Democracy in the Former Soviet Union, 1990-1992

vrao — Wed, 20 Dec 2000 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/01/1992

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

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NDI - Moldova

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

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

NDI Deplores Violence in Moldova and Calls for Dialogue to Resolve Disputes

NDI Deplores Expulsion of International Election Observers from Moldova

NDI Deplores Expulsion of International Election Observers from Moldova

NDI Expert Explores “Semi-Presidentialism” in Central and Eastern Europe

Moldova

Read More

Political Party Assistance

Civil Society Development

Legislative Strengthening

Funding

Contact Information

NDI 2005 Annual Report

Strengthening Local Democracy in the Former Soviet Union, 1990-1992