NDI - Romania

NDI Pre-Election Delegation to Romania, Jan. 13-18, 1992, Executive Summary

fstovall — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:07:07 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/18/1992

Resource Type:

Executive Summary

Language:

English

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NDI Pre-Election Mission to Romania, Sept. 3-7, 1992

fstovall — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:59:29 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/07/1992

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

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

fstovall — 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»

NDI E-news: Democracies in Transition, African Elections | March 2011

fstovall — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:25:16 +0000

March 2011

Emerging Democracies Learn from Transition Experiences of Other Countries

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Sergio Bitar, who helped found the Party for Democracy during Chile's democratic transition, recently returned from Cairo.

Democratic transitions take time and patience. Each country is different, seeking to adapt the principles common to all democracies to its unique character and circumstances.

But there are also lessons to be learned from the experiences of other nations that have made the shift from autocracy to democracy — a process that has just begun in Tunisia and Egypt, where citizens are deciding on new constitutions, leaders, political parties and other elements of their new societies.

In Tunisia, NDI recently brought experts from Bulgaria, Hungary and Portugal to meet with Tunisian political party leaders to share experiences from their countries' democratic transitions. Similarly, in Egypt, transition leaders and experts from Chile, Indonesia, Poland, Romania and Serbia are meeting with civil society and party leaders. They were able to discuss a range of issues including relations with the military, reconciliation processes, coalition building, and electoral and constitutional reform.

Krastyo Petkov, involved in the democratic transition in Bulgaria, with NDI Senior Program Officer Gabriella Borovsky in Tunis.

Against this backdrop, 50 experts from Europe and North America met in Brussels this month as part of an ongoing transatlantic dialogue on democracy support, co-chaired by by Jerzy Buzek, president of the European Parliament; Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. secretary of state and chairman of NDI; Javier Solana, former EU high representative for the common foreign and security policy; and Vin Weber, former U.S. representative and board member of the National Endowment for Democracy. In a statement, the participants expressed their support for democratic reform movements and called on the transatlantic community to emphasize democracy assistance within the transatlantic relationship.

NDI also hosted a roundtable for rising democratic powers, including representatives from Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa, on democracy support. These countries have valuable experience in democratic and economic development, but they are often not present in discussions on democracy support because they tend to be neither major donors nor recipients of development assistance.

As part of the two-day roundtable, Indonesia's ambassador to the U.S., Dino Patti Djalal, spoke about his country's transition to democracy and compared it to events unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa. "My advice to many of the countries undergoing democratic transitions is, don't let fear drive you," he said in a talk at NDI.

Youth Academy Empowers Tomorrow's Political Leaders in Rwanda

People under the age of 25 comprise two-thirds of Rwanda's population, but they are largely excluded from political life. NDI's recently expanded Youth Political Leadership Academy helps young leaders acquire practical political skills needed to have a say in their country's future. Read more»

Film Urges Nigerians to "Activate the Power of their Thumb"

As Nigeria prepares for presidential, legislative and gubernatorial elections, a new short film, "My Vote Fit Change Naija," urges Nigerians to vote as a peaceful means to achieve change in their country. Produced by Youngstar Foundation and NDI, the film links voting to potential improvements in jobs, roads, electricity and health care, and stars a number of famous actors from the Nigerian film industry. Read more»

Election Monitors Note Minor Problems as Niger Peacefully Elects New President

Peaceful elections in Niger this month received praise from nonpartisan citizen election observers, despite a number of administrative problems surrounding the voting. NDI's partner, the Nigerien Association for the Defense of Human Rights, trained 2,025 observers who were stationed in all of Niger's eight regions on election day. Read more»

West African Election Observers Promote Credible Elections

In West Africa, some elections have led to successful transfers of power, while others have been marked by widespread fraud. Citizen election observation groups from 11 countries have formed the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON) to help ensure accountability, increase honesty and accuracy, and improve the credibility of elections in the region. Read more»

NDI Reports: Spring 2011

The new issue of NDI's newsletter, NDI Reports, explores how the mapping of election data can identify trends or anomalies in election results, examines recent advances and setbacks in women's political participation, and reports on a new global network for citizen election monitors.

Read the newsletter or browse the archives»

First Parhamovich Fellow Bringing More Young Women into Politics

Two years after her visit to the U.S., Ferdos Majeed, the Institute's first Parhamovich fellow, helped to launch the Young Women's Leadership School in Iraq. Read more»

Tijuana Civic Groups Use Opinion Research to Strengthen Police Reform Proposal

A recent study conducted by NDI's partner, the Citizen Coalition for Public Security, shows that while residents of Tijuana believe security improvements have been made, the perception of municipal police is still largely negative. The coalition is using the data to work with local elected officials on making improvements in public security. Read more»

Policymakers Share Strategies to Help Roma Minorities

A summit meeting held recently in Romania brought together officials from eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe who are responsible for policies to assist Roma minorities. Though there are an estimated 10 million Roma in Europe, they remain largely excluded from the political system due to discrimination, segregation and poverty. Read more»

NDI Celebrates 100th Annual International Women's Day

Hon. Nora Shimming-Chase (right) speaks with a participant at NDI's International Women's Day event in South Africa.

The 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, an annual observance of the achievements of women around the world, was celebrated this year with a recognition of past triumphs and calls to action for promoting women's equality. NDI marked the occasion with events in Colombia, Kosovo, South Africa and Washington, D.C.

At any given time, nearly 75 percent of NDI country programs have a dedicated component addressing women's political participation, a recognition of the words of NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright that "the political participation of women results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace."

Policymakers Share Strategies to Help Roma Minorities

fstovall — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:50:16 +0000

When a Roma camp in the northern, Serbian part of Kosovo’s divided city of Mitrovica was found to have lead contamination, the government built new houses for those affected in the south of the city. The new housing has gone unoccupied, however, as Roma have balked at moving into a new community without talking with residents in advance about how they would integrate into the area's economy, education system and other aspects of community life.

This is the sort of well-intentioned but less than effective initiative that government agencies tasked with Roma relations are trying to learn from and avoid in the future. A recent summit in Bucharest, Romania, attempted to do just that, convening policymakers from eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe who are responsible for carrying out national strategies for inclusion of Roma minorities, also known as Gypsies. The officials’ job is to overcome deeply entrenched mistrust, segregation and poverty in Roma communities, despite their shoestring budgets with few staff, minimal political capital and little real authority within their governments.

Though there are an estimated 10 million Roma in Europe, they generally live outside mainstream society and are excluded from the political system through discrimination and segregation. Despite an emerging middle class, most Roma communities remain impoverished, plagued by crippling unemployment, high illiteracy rates, poor infrastructure, and lower-than-average life expectancy, conditions that stem from centuries of ethnic persecution, including slavery and genocide.

In a candid exchange at the NDI-sponsored summit, policymakers shared their frustrations and triumphs securing resources, finding accurate Roma demographics and building support for their initiatives, both within their governments and Roma communities. Participants consistently stressed the importance of listening to the communities’ needs to avoid well-intentioned but ineffective projects. The group agreed on eight ways to increase the agencies’ effectiveness, including improving data collection on Roma communities to get a better handle on the need for their programs, and promoting and protecting the political participation of Roma women.

Doru Romulus Costea, Romanian state secretary for foreign affairs, and Ilie Dinca, president of Romania’s National Agency for Roma opened the event, which also featured Istvan Gyarmati, representing Hungary’s newly-formed Lantos Institute. Jan Marinus Wiersma, former member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands and president of the European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network, emphasized European cooperation in his remarks. "It is essential that more information is exchanged about what works and what not," he said. "Good intentions are not enough and many projects have failed because of bad judgements caused by a lack of intimate knowledge about the Roma community."

The idea for the summit stemmed from a 2009 NDI report, Assessment of Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania, which found that the country’s National Agency for Roma was plagued by high leadership turnover, a lack of long-range planning, limited financial backing and little influence within the Romanian government. To give it more authority, NDI recommended, among other things, that it partner with civil society and local governments. The Institute concluded that similar actions would benefit Roma agencies throughout the region, which, in many cases, are struggling to improve their outreach to Roma communities.

The Institute will continue to work with leaders of Roma policy agencies as they seek to build collaborative relationships, share best practices, and engage regional institutions, such as the European Union and the Decade of Roma Inclusion, toward their common goals.

The conference was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy with support from the Open Society Institute.

Related:

Pictured above: Gabriela Hrabanova, director of the governmental council for Roma community affairs in the Czech Republic, speaks at the summit.

Published February 28, 2011

Regional Summit of Roma Policymakers

fstovall — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:21:39 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/19/2011

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
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Alice Ratyis

fstovall — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:01:41 +0000

Alice Ratyis is the resident representative of NDI in Romania. Ms. Ratyis graduated with a degree in journalism and gained experience in effective communication and strategic planning while acting as an NGO activist for many years. After graduating, she worked as a councilor of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, where she learned the inner-workings of a political organization. Working for NDI as a political party trainer and later as a freelance consultant, she also gained experience working with political parties from Romania and throughout Europe. In addition, she has experience in campaigning in Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, the U.K. and the U.S.

Center-Right Political Party Youth Leaders Gather from across the Balkans to Form Political Network

fstovall — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:24:50 +0000

As ethnic divisions ease in the Balkans, political parties across the spectrum are finding the need for new approaches that focus on thoughtful policy debate rather than personality and ethnicity. Young leaders in particular will play an important role in these changes.

In partnership with the VMRO-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), NDI co-hosted a meeting Feb. 5-7 of 35 young leaders from center-right Balkan political parties. At the meeting in Skopje, Macedonia, participants focused on how to attract youth to conservative values in the 21st century as well as how to tackle a wide range of issues, including those not traditionally seen as conservative.

The young people displayed an enthusiasm to leave behind the Balkans' troubled past of ethnic divisions to "set an example of multi-cultural integration and cooperation," in the words of a declaration signed at the conclusion of the meeting by the young political leaders.

Perspective at the meeting was provided by speakers from conservative parties from elsewhere in Europe who had experience with these issues. For example, Rob Thomas, from the British Conservative International Office, described the conservative experience in the United Kingdom (UK) in the early 1990s trying to modernize the party, reformulate policy and integrate new public communications techniques.

UK conservatives, he noted, began to tackle issues that were not traditionally seen as conservative — such as the environment, health care and social justice — while adhering to European conservative beliefs in a strong government, individual and economic liberty, and thriving civil society. The discussion concluded that conservative ideas of liberty, opportunity and choice should be attractive to young people and need to be presented as dynamic and forward-looking, supporting change and reform.

NDI enlisted Lucinda Creighton, a conservative member of parliament in Ireland, who spoke about her experience as a youth leader in the Fine Gael party and activist in the Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP). A spokesman for the Junge Union of the German Christian Democrat Union (CDU) also presented.

At the end of the two-day meeting, the participants co-signed the declaration to establish a network of young, center-right political leaders in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The international secretaries of the parties' youth wings will coordinate regular communications to promote youth engagement on policy development.

The development of such regional networks to share experience and best practices is part of NDI's regional initiative to support political parties in southeastern Europe. NDI assists parties in the development of policy platforms that are based on ideology and represent citizens' interests. NDI has worked with mainstream parties of the left, center and right in the Balkans for more than 15 years, helping them build organizations, bring new people into politics, contest elections responsibly and work in parliament on behalf of constituents.

These political parties are striving to provide leadership as their countries move toward membership in the European Union. They face the simultaneous challenge of articulating their political identity and applying it to policy and reform initiatives, while tackling persistent issues like corruption, the economy and unemployment.

NDI conducts its regional political party initiative with the goal of helping parties in the Balkans learn from each other and from sister parties around Europe on their roles in contemporary Europe. The initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and has active support from a variety of European party foundations. The British Conservative International Office and the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung joined NDI and VMRO as co-sponsors of the event.

Building on participant engagement on ideological discussion and the need for regional networking, NDI will support these center-right party youth organizations as they work toward common priorities and promote youth engagement on policy issues. The Institute will also use discussions at such gatherings to support center-right partners as they work to articulate ideology and pursue policy reforms.

Picture above: Gerti Bogdani (second from left) is the youngest member in the Albanian Parliament. He built popularity as a mayor of a sub-municipality in the capital of Tirana by addressing constituent needs. In Skopje, Bogdani discussed how his Democratic Party (DP) gathers youth supporters and their proposed education policy reforms in Albania. He sits next to fellow speaker Lucinda Creighton (far left) also the youngest Member of Parliament in Ireland.

Published March 11, 2010

Women Social Democrats of Southeastern Europe Reach across Borders for Shared Goals

fstovall — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:53:48 +0000

As the countries of southeastern Europe struggle to move beyond a legacy of violent conflict and consolidate their democratic institutions, women leaders play an essential role. Frequently, women serve as the vanguard of political change, willing to break with established traditions and accepted wisdom to advocate for reforms. However, women politicians in the region have little place at their parties’ decision-making tables and are frequently absent when policy is developed. To foster cooperation among like-minded women leaders in the region, NDI, from Oct. 9 to 12, convened women from Social Democratic parties for a conference on the role of women's party organizations and Social Democratic approaches to policy topics.

Forty women legislators and leaders of political party women's forums gathered to discuss their common challenges. They stressed the importance of creating a regional network to develop policy solutions, carrying out joint projects and strategies, training women party activists, and moving issues of importance to women to the top of parties’ policy agendas. The event brought together representatives of 14 Social Democratic parties from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia, and connected them with western European counterparts, including policy experts from Germany and Sweden.

With funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the event was co-organized by NDI, the European Forum for Solidarity and Democracy, the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the Olof Palme International Center of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, and Socialist International Women. The Democratic Party hosted the conference in Serbia, following on Social Democratic regional party forums held in Croatia and Serbia in the last year.

Panel sessions focused on the most acute political, economic and social problems facing women from European democracies in transition, including addressing the effects of the current economic crisis, bolstering their position in the labor market, providing labor protections for working women, identifying the role of women's forums in party structures, responding to women's security concerns, and including women's policy platform issues in party agendas.

At the gathering, women legislators and senior party officials strategized on how to increase women's leadership in policy development and legislative advocacy and identify advancement opportunities for the next generation of women political leaders. They agreed to create a coordination body to spearhead establishment of a regional network that would help with these tasks.

"I support the idea to establish a network of women of Social Democratic parties, because we all need to learn from each other's experiences," said Gorica Majovic of the Democratic Party of Serbia. "We all have similar legislative frameworks. Why not use this opportunity to create a sub-network of women parliamentarians from Social Democratic parties?"

After the conference, participants from the Socialist Movement for Integration in Albania and the Democratic Party in Serbia collaborated on several bilateral projects to encourage women entrepreneurship. The Institute also sponsored a consultative visit by Sonja Lokar, a leading Social Democratic voice in Slovenia, to work with the women's wing of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) on creating a development plan to coincide with the group’s 10th anniversary.

NDI's regional party development program aims to help parties develop policy agendas and connect with like-minded parties in the Balkans and Western Europe. The program has been funded by the NED since 2005. In 2010, NDI will continue to organize similar gatherings of in southeastern Europe to encourage cross-border exchange.

Pictured above: Women leaders from southeastern Europe gathered with peers in Serbia to brainstorm solutions to common challenges.

Published November 24, 2009

NDI Report Assesses Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania

fstovall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:13:50 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/01/2009

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

Media Type:

PDF

English

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Assessment of Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania

fstovall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:11:06 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/01/2009

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English, Romanian

Media Type:

PDF

English

Romanian

Attachment	Size
Read the report (English)	1.8 MB
Read the report (Romanian)	964.97 KB

Progress Made but Obstacles Remain to Roma Political Participation in Romania

fstovall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:52:11 +0000

Romania has made definite progress in integrating Roma into the country's political life, but there are still significant barriers that require attention before Roma can be considered full and active participants in the country's political system, according to the findings of a new NDI report, Assessment of Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania.

For Roma, the largest ethnic minority in Romania, social attitudes toward and among Roma present the greatest barriers to civic engagement, party outreach and policy debate, according to the report. "These attitudinal and motivational barriers will require a long-term commitment to address and resolve," it states.

Other barriers are structural, relating to elections, parliamentary representation, and the effectiveness of various government agencies, such as the National Agency for Roma or the National Council for Combating Discrimination. "These can be addressed in large part through budgeting or legislative reform, provided the political will exists," the report explains.

The report, the largest and most comprehensive study of its type, is based on the findings of an assessment conducted in Romania between March and July 2009. The study was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society Institute. The assessment was based on research, public opinion polls, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and the Romanian field assessment. This year's study is a follow up to assessment missions conducted by NDI in 2003 in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia to determine how Roma could use the political process more effectively to address longstanding issues of social and economic exclusion.

Using the 2003 missions' findings and recommendations, NDI has conducted programs throughout the region to help Roma improve their engagement in political and civic life. The latest assessment will be used to inform the Institute's future programming and aid others, such as Romani civic and political activists, government officials and program implementers, as they address the long-term disenfranchisement of Roma and improve living conditions for Europe's poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Based on its findings, NDI developed recommendations that highlight the importance of including Roma issues on political agendas at all levels and the need to devote improved financial and human resources to the problem. Specific recommendations include:

Romania's mainstream political parties need to address more publicly and meaningfully the dire situation facing Roma and develop effective outreach strategies with designated liaisons to the Roma communities and Romani NGOs.
Funding to civil society by the Romanian government as well as the international community should be increased for projects to boost political participation, enhance civic activism and education and promote issue-based advocacy.
The Government and Parliament of Romania should strengthen the mandate, neutrality and resources of the National Agency for Roma to improve coordination among the various ministries and other governing bodies dealing with Roma issues.
The National Council for Combating Discrimination should be promoted more broadly as a public service agency for Roma and all groups that suffer discrimination.
The Roma Party should seek to win back the Romani voters it has lost by reassessing its platform and strategy, and reinvigorating the party with a new generation of supporters, candidates and leaders who will demonstrate their commitment to public service.
Civil society should play a larger role in breaking down the barriers preventing Roma political integration by drawing on a variety of approaches that include training and cultivation of young Roma leaders, civic education projects targeted at both Roma and non-Roma, community organizing projects that bridge ethnic lines, and constructive engagement with Parliament and government to promote a broadly supported, clearly defined legislative agenda.
Finally, the European Union and the international community should continue holding Romania accountable for its legal obligations with regard to human rights and anti-discrimination, promoting cultural diversity in its member states, and funding programs targeted at increasing Roma political inclusion.

Read the full report»

Read NDI's 2003 Assessment of Roma Political Participation in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia»

Pictured above: The cover image from Assessment of Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania.

Published on October 1, 2009

Liberal Parties in the Balkans Plot a Shared Course Toward the Future

ggreene — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:50:04 +0000

With the Croatian People’s Party (HNS) serving as host, NDI brought some 25 representatives of Balkan Liberal political parties to the Croatian capital, Zagreb, for two days of discussion about advocacy of Liberal views on Balkans issues at the European level.

Highlighting the November seminar were policy workshops on ethics reform, gender equality, national security and economic opportunity. Participants also agreed to co-sign a letter calling for Europe-wide visa liberalization for citizens in the Balkans, in keeping with the Liberal emphasis on individual liberty. The seminar built on a new network of Liberal Parties in Southeastern Europe (Libseen). NDI and the HNS were joined by the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and the Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) as event co-sponsors.

The seminar was part of an NDI initiative to help political parties in Balkan countries readying themselves for membership in the European Union (EU) and broader Euro-Atlantic networks. As they move slowly toward joining the EU as full-fledged democracies, these nations wrestle with the demons of past ethnic wars along with present-day challenges of corruption, unemployment and other ills. Among the many efforts dedicated to readying Balkan governments, civil society and the private sector for the rigors of EU membership and other Euro-Atlantic alliances, few have focused on democratic reforms needed to make the grade. And fewer still have addressed the role that political parties play in providing the vision, leadership and ideas that will deliver the region from its troubled past and move it on toward Europe.

NDI has worked with mainstream parties of the left, center and right in the Balkans for more than 15 years, helping them build their organizations, bring new people into politics, contest elections responsibly and work in parliament on behalf of constituents. This leaves little time to consider bigger questions of how parties espouse and articulate their political identity, devote energy to developing policies responsive to the public interest and provide anxious citizens with clear reform plans to see their countries through uneasy transitions.

That’s why NDI began the regional party initiative, with the goal of helping parties in the Balkans learn from each other and from sister parties around Europe on their roles in contemporary Europe. The Institute grouped its partners in Social Democratic, Liberal and Conservative groups, respectively. The initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and has active support from a variety of European party foundations.

Liberal parties in the Balkans have an especially important role in championing individual freedoms in a region exiting home-grown communism. Liberal parties have served in government, particularly in such countries as Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania that have seen quicker European integration, more robust economic growth and faster development of a middle class as compared to their neighbors.

The parties gathered in Zagreb – from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – were joined by counterparts from Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, as well as Liberal International. LI Secretary General Emil Kirjas affirmed the importance of cooperation among Liberals in the region as well throughout Europe.

The vice president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform (ELDR) party and LIBSEEN chair, Vesna Pusic, underscored this point in a keynote address. The ethnic wars of the 1990s that destroyed Yugoslavia were a betrayal of the values that its peoples share, she said, noting that peace and stability will ensue from functioning democratic institutions and civil society that span the sovereign borders that now mark the former Yugoslavia. Democracy cannot be imposed, she added, but rather will grow through the cultivation of home-grown political leaders with common understanding of shared values and issues. In this context Liberal ideas should be pursued throughout the region, she said.

Participants discussed how to form coalitions with parties to the left and right without sacrificing Liberal values, how to enhance national security without damaging individual rights, and whether gender quotas and other policies designed to promote those traditionally excluded from leadership detract from Liberal tenets on individual merit. There was also an interesting discourse on policy formation, led by Christian Moon, deputy head of U.K. LibDem policy and research center, in which he offered that party policies arising from consultation of rank and file often produce positions that don’t mesh with the inevitable compromises that occur within coalition governments seeking broad public support. What emerged through the discussions was a heightened recognition of challenges and opportunities among those who are charged with advocating Liberal ideas and values in the Balkans.

In the seminar’s wake, NDI country teams will put the discussions to good use in supporting the Institute’s Liberal partners in-country. With NDI support, HNS officials visited Kosovo in December to share their experiences in setting up party structures with New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), a new Liberal party. As well, Dutch VVD representatives were in Kosovo recently to assist the Autonomous Liberal Party (SLS), which represents Kosovar Serb communities.

Pictured above: Robert Benjamin (left), NDI director for Central and Eastern Europe, with Vesna Pusic (center), vice president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and chair of the Liberal Southeastern Network (LIBSEEN), and Boris Blazekovic, director of the Croatian People’s Party’s Political Academy, at a November conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

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Published on Dec. 23, 2008

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 »

Europe's Roma Gaining Political Rights

ggreene — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:13:14 +0000

Spread across Central and Eastern Europe, Roma suffer disproportionately from human rights discrimination, social segregation and economic impoverishment.

Sixteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, most citizens in Central and Eastern Europe have seen steady political and economic gains. However, the Roma—among the region’s largest minority—remain politically marginalized.

While international efforts focus on improving Roma living conditions, the issue of political participation has not been adequately addressed. It is, after all, the sole means by which Roma themselves can address their long-term community needs in such critical areas as housing, education, employment and healthcare.

For the past two years, NDI has helped Roma to increase their political participation. In Bulgaria, Macedonia and Slovakia, NDI is training new Roma leaders on public opinion research, issue advocacy, incorporation into mainstream political parties and outreach to Roma communities.

In April 2006 NDI convened its second Roma Regional Leadership Academy in Bucharest, Romania. The academy brought together emerging Roma leaders from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Academy participants reviewed how to developing strategic relationships with mainstream political parties; assess draft legislation with a view toward its impact on Roma communities; compare governmental National Action Plans for Roma throughout the region; and monitor the implementation of those plans.

Increasing political participation promises tangible benefits not just for Roma communities – who comprise nearly 10 percent of the population in some areas — but for the entire region. Continued political isolation of fast-growing Roma populations could threaten political stability in countries that are struggling to join the European Union. The full political enfranchisement of Roma — as voters, advocates, and elected officials — is vital to completing the region’s transition to democracy and ensuring political stability.

(Photo courtesy of the Milan Simecka Foundation)

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Published on March 21, 2006

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