NDI - NDI in the News

Pakistan Vote to Test Army's Willingness to Cede Power | May 8, 2013

dleonard — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:36:28 +0000

The Wall Street Journal | Link to story»

The outcome of Saturday's Pakistani elections won't just determine the next civilian government: It will also test the idea that the country's powerful military has pulled back from manipulating politics and accepted democracy.

This lack of visible meddling by the military in Saturday's election doesn't mean it isn't occurring, cautioned Peter Manikas, director for Asia programs at the National Democratic Institute, which is fielding observers for Saturday's vote.

"We have no evidence that the military is interfering in elections," said Mr. Manikas, who has observed Pakistani elections since 1990. "But I can't say for sure. It was doing some things in the earlier elections that were not apparent to us—so there is always a possibility."

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Pakistan election violence targets both secular, Islamist politicians | May 7, 2013

dleonard — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:28:16 +0000

The Washington Post | Link to story»

Bomb blasts tore through two campaign events in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people, authorities said, as attacks ahead of Saturday’s national election continued against liberal politicians as well as a pro-Taliban Islamist party.

“It’s obviously a new tactic,” said Peter Manikas, director of Asia programs for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, which has sent 44 poll watchers here. “It’s a different type of violence in trying to disrupt the election as a whole. It makes everything unsafe.”

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US congress told March 4 election was free and fair | April 17, 2013

dleonard — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:19:49 +0000

Daily Nation | Link to story»

Three groups which helped the electoral commission prepare for the March 4 polls have told the US Congress that the elections were credible.

“It is the view of the NDI, based on its intensive work, that Kenya’s presidential election results were credible, though the process included important flaws,” Dr Keith Jennings, the regional director for Southern and East Africa National Democratic Institute, said.

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Democracy Organizations Testify at Hearing on Kenyan Elections | April 16, 2013

dleonard — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:31:45 +0000

Talk Radio News | Link to story »

Leaders from several democracy promotion organizations testified at a congressional hearing today regarding Kenya’s national elections in March.

The hearing, held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Africa and chaired by New Jersey Republican Chris Smith, featured testimony from Keith Jennings of the National Democratic Institute, Paul Fagan of the International Republican Institute, and Bill Sweeny of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

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4 Things the Movie 'NO' Left Out About Real-Life Chile

dleonard — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:27:20 +0000

The Atlantic | Link to story »

In the new film NO, the rule of Augusto Pinochet ends after Chile's voters get inspired by a peppy ad campaign designed by a skateboarding, politically agnostic ad executive named Rene, played by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

But in reality, the struggle to depose Pinochet and return Chile to democratic governance was a decades-long slog in which dozens of opposition leaders toiled to register voters, hammered out a platform, and persuaded bitter enemies to work together.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, each side -- Yes" and "No" -- was given 15 minutes of TV advertising time each night. The pro-Pinochet side alternated between cloying propaganda and foreboding images warning of an apocalyptic post-Pinochet future. Meanwhile, the campaign led by a coalition of opposition parties -- the "No" -- did in fact concoct a positive, joyful ad campaign, and Chileans did, for a number of reasons, overwhelmingly vote down Pinochet.

"But what led up to that last 30 days was only the last snapshot of a very long struggle," said Ken Wollack, head of the National Democratic Institute, which helped to set up election monitoring during the plebiscite.

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Women Politicians Call for Increased Participation | March 5, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:19:43 +0000

Jakarta Post | Link to story »

As many as 14 women politicians from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste called for bigger and better female political representation and participation in Southeast Asia. The call was made during the regional Women’s Leadership Forum Promoting Women’s Representation in Southeast Asia held in Kuta over the weekend.

The forum is part of the regional program “Building Sustainable Partnerships to Promote Women’s Political Representation in Southeast Asia” that is supported by Kemitraan in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Indonesian Women’s Coalition (KPI), Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) of Malaysia, the Women’s Caucus of Timor Leste, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Center for Popular Empowerment (CPE) of the Philippines.

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Miles From Home, Syrians Vote In Free Elections | March 3, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:16:54 +0000

NPR | Link to story »

In Syria's northern province of Aleppo, the war is far from over. Yet civilians are planning a dramatic gesture: an election for a civilian government.

Grer is part of a workshop on election monitoring. The course is sponsored by the National Democratic Institute in Washington, D.C. Erin Mathews, the program director, says Syrian activists reached out to NDI to help ensure a fair vote for Syria's largest city.

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Rainsy Tells Election Observers to Stay Away | Feb. 26, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:14:38 +0000

The Cambodian Daily | Link to story »

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has appealed to the international community to refrain from sending observers to Cambodia’s national elections in July so as not to lend legitimacy to the poll.

Laura Thornton, resident director of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, said there was a “disengagement” from international parties that have previously sent monitors to Cambodian elections.

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Tsulukiani and Alasania on Official Visits Abroad | Feb. 22, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:05:51 +0000

The Messenger | Link to story »

Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani is paying an official visit to the U.S. On the first day of the visit the Minister held meetings with the President of National Democratic Institute (NDI) Kenneth Wollack, as well as with the President of the National Endowment for Democracy Carl Gershman.

NDI is an important partner for the Ministry of Justice, having helped with reforming the election code and verifying a complete and accurate voters' list. The meeting with Carl Gershman was closed to the media. According to unofficial sources Tsulukiani spoke about the changes proposed by the new government which are mainly aimed at furthering democracy in Georgia.

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Kenya: IEBC Must Fix the Results Transmission System Fast | Feb. 19, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:03:09 +0000

The Star | Link to story »

Last Sunday night, Citizen TV's 'Kibaki Succession' segment on its 9pm 'Sunday Live' programme featured not the usual discussion by David Makali and Peter Opondo of the week's events, but instead host Julie Gichuru interviewing the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Issack Hassan.

Last week, the IEBC called IT-savvy representatives of political parties to a meeting on Friday at the Sunshine Holiday Inn in Westlands, Nairobi, where the use and efficacy of the equipment to be employed for the election counting and reporting was to be demonstrated. A representative of the US National Democratic Institute (NDI) was also present.

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The Spy in Your Pocket: Mobile Journalism's Risk | Feb. 13, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:00:16 +0000

Committee to Protect Journalists | Link to story »

"Reporters need to understand that mobile communications are inherently insecure and expose you to risks that are not easy to detect or overcome," says Katrin Verclas of the National Democratic Institute.

Activists such as Verclas have been working on sites like SaferMobile, which give basic advice for journalists to protect themselves. CPJ recently published a security guide that addresses the use of satellite phones and digital mobile technologies. But repressive governments don't need to keep up with all the tricks of mobile computing; they can merely set aside budget and strip away privacy laws to get all the power they need. Unless regulators, technology companies, and media personnel step up their own defenses of press freedom, the cellphone will become journalists' most treacherous tool.

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People on the Move | Feb. 13, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:56:09 +0000

Roll Call | Link to story »

Stephen Whisnant has been hired as director of philanthropy at the National Democratic Institute. He was managing director of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He also has served as a campaign director at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

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Dialogue's Importance Lies in Content and Outcomes | Feb. 13, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:49:43 +0000

Yemen News Agency | Link to story »

President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi stressed on Wednesday the dialogue conference's importance lies in its content and outcomes not in the portion of participation or attendance.

During his meeting with National Democratic Institute (NDI) regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Les Campbell, the President also underlined the importance of doing every effort to enhance the dialogue concept and show its significance for the country as part of the arrangements for holding the national dialogue conference scheduled for March 18.

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U.S. NDI Implements Gender Equality Project in Ukraine | Feb. 12, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:45:39 +0000

ForUm | Link to story »

Yesterday, February 11, foreign minister Leonid Kozhara met with the director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Ukraine Kristina Vilfor, the Foreign Ministry press service informs.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the NDI activity in our country, particularly in the context of the implementation of projects in the field of gender equality, improvement of electoral legislation and constitutional reform.

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OAS Celebrates 50 Years of ‘Electoral Observance’ | Feb. 11, 2013

fstovall — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:43:01 +0000

Merco Press | Link to story »

Electoral observance “serves to build the foundations of Latin American democracy” said Organization of American States, OAS, Secretary General Jose Miguel Inuslza during opening remarks at a Roundtable entitled “International Election Observation: Progress and Challenges,” held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Roundtable is part of the celebrations to mark 50 years of OAS electoral observations. Participating in the event were the OAS Director of the Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation, Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian; the Director of the Centre for North American Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Democracy and Election Management at American University, Robert Pastor; Senior Associate and Director of Electoral Programs at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Patrick Merloe; the Director for the Americas and Europe Division of the UN General Secretariat and former Director of the OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, Elizabeth Spehar; and the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the OAS, Ambassador Bayney Karran. Following a questions and answer session, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, delivered the closing remarks for the event.

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