NDI - West Bank and Gaza

U.S. Officials Rely on UN Showdown to Push Return to Peace Talks | Sept. 27, 2011

fgalleto — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:56:42 +0000

The appeal of statehood among Palestinians boosted the waning popularity of Abbas and his secular nationalist Fatah Party and put rival militant group Hamas, which espouses Israel’s destruction, on the defensive, Telhami said. The U.S., Israel and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist group.

Still, for Palestinians “it’ll be a short-lived celebration because nothing concrete was accomplished,” cautioned Leslie Campbell, director of Middle East programs for the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, a non- government organization that supports democratic institutions.

Link to story »

NDI E-news: The Middle East, African Elections, Belarus | Jan./Feb. 2011

fgalleto — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:10:35 +0000

February 2011

Now the Hard Work Begins...

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Egyptians celebrate in Tahrir Square. Photo by RamyRaoof.

Following weeks of protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, thousands in Libya are now advocating for political freedoms long denied by the country's regime. The government has responded with beatings, shootings and arrests. NDI condemned this government-backed violence and joined calls for the immediate cessation of attacks against Libyans who are exercising their right to peaceful assembly, and for a democratic transition.

As democracy advocates raise their voices throughout the Middle East, analysts and commentators have turned to NDI seeking insights into the implications of the ongoing changes for the future of democracy in the region. In The New York Times,
The Washington Post, on CNN and elsewhere, NDI leaders and staff have offered commentary and interpretation as the historic changes have unfolded.

The Institute has a long history in the region. Its first office, for the West Bank and Gaza, opened in 1994. Since then, NDI staff have also been based in Egypt,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
Mauritania, Morocco and Yemen. Institute programming also encompasses Algeria, Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and Tunisia.

In all of these countries, NDI has established partnerships with political parties, civic groups, parliamentarians and others seeking to promote peaceful reform and have a voice in how they are governed. The Institute works to share organizational skills, comparative experiences and tools to connect democratic activists within and between countries.

In response to the developments in Egypt, for example, NDI is putting Egyptian activists in touch with political leaders from Chile, Poland and elsewhere so they can take advantage of lessons learned during other democratic transitions. It's similar to work the Institute has done in many other places and times, such as when it brought opposing Northern Ireland factions together in South Africa in 1997 to learn from Nelson Mandela and others how to negotiate peace and reconciliation.

African Election Roundup: Nigeria, Sudan, Niger

In Nigeria, NDI is conducting an international observation mission to analyze the electoral process before, during and after presidential, legislative and local elections scheduled for April. Regular updates can be found in Nigeria Election Watch, which is based on reports from NDI's long-term observers, who began assessing election activities throughout the country from January and will continue through May. Subscribe»

In Sudan, NDI's civil society partners, the southern-based Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) and the northern-based Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE), observed
all stages of the recent referendum
in which Southern Sudan voted to secede from the north. The groups concluded
that "the Southern Sudan referendum allowed the free expression of the will of the people for self-determination."
Read more»

Before presidential and legislative elections in Niger, 36 political parties and two independent candidates signed a code of conduct that encouraged parties and their supporters to campaign honestly and respect the outcome of the Jan. 31 vote and the runoff election set for March 12. Read more»

Women in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Ukraine Overcoming Obstacles to Elected Office

Among the 249 members of Afghanistan's lower house of parliament are Farida Hamidi and Frishta Amini, two women who make up the entire delegation from Nimroz province. Despite the risks faced by female candidates, both women ran strong campaigns and garnered more votes than their male opponents. Read more»

In Guatemala, where indigenous women are 20 percent of the population and hold only one of the nation's 333 mayoralties, Isabel Francisco discusses her campaign for mayor of Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango. "This is my third time as a candidate," she said. "The first time I finished in fifth place. The second time I finished in third place. This time I'm hopeful I'll win!" Read more»

Zinayida Galchynska promised herself that if she survived breast cancer she would run for local office and make a real difference in her community. She kept that promise and is now a councilor in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine — thanks in part to the skills she learned at an NDI campaign school and a campaign based on going door-to-door to meet voters. Read more»

NDI President Urges International Support for Belarusian People

NDI President Kenneth Wollack outlined ways the international community can provide moral support and practical assistance to political and civic leaders, media and ordinary citizens in Belarus, where government forces engaged in a brutal crackdown following failed elections Dec. 19. Wollack was speaking at a Jan. 27 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs. Read more»

Colombian Municipal Councilors Hone Good Governance Skills

In Colombia, newly-elected municipal councilors generally are expected to learn on the job. To help them gather the skills they need, an NDI program focused on how to identify the needs of their constituents, develop policies to address those needs, and engage with citizens and the media. Read more»

NDI Adds 2010 Afghanistan Elections Data to Mapping Website

Complete data from Afghanistan's 2010 parliamentary elections have been added to
afghanistanelectiondata.org, the Institute's innovative mapping website
. The site now includes data from Afghan elections beginning in 2004, as well as demographic, ethnographic, topographic, security and other information. Visitors can create visual analyses of voting patterns and other assessments, or segment and envisage data and maps in a variety of ways.
Read more»

New NDI Publications

NDI, one of the world's largest publishers of Arabic-language resources and references on democracy support, has just released its latest catalogue. It includes a listing of publications and information on how to order them. Read it in Arabic | English»

Drawing on its 25 years of experience in the women's political participation field, NDI has published a new guide for democracy practitioners to help them develop and carry out effective programs to bring more women into government and politics. Democracy and the Challenge of Change: A Guide to Increasing Women’s Political Participation, helps the user develop, carry out, monitor and evaluate women’s political participation programs. The guide provides a rationale for focusing on increasing women’s participation and includes examples of best practices, case studies and practical strategies.

The new guide, Political-Process Monitoring: Activist Tools and Techniques, explores the work that the Institute and its partner groups have done for legislative, budget-related and campaign-related monitoring, shadow reporting and monitoring government follow-through.

Party-building in the Middle East

fgalleto — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:45:19 +0000

Author:

Leslie Campbell

Publisher:

International Journal

Published Date:

12/22/2010

Resource Type:

Article

Language:

English

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National Democratic Institute: SMS as a Tool in Election Observation

jbowen — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:18:46 +0000

Author:

Ian Schuler

Publisher:

MIT Press

Published Date:

06/24/2008

Resource Type:

Article

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
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Jordan: Conference Fosters Information Sharing in Middle East on Technology and Elections

ggreene — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:01:56 +0000

A two-day regional conference in Jordan, hosted by NDI, brought together civic leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen to discuss innovative uses of information technology in election monitoring.

The conference, held at the Dead Sea in early December, gave participants the chance to examine technologies used by NDI and its partners in recent elections in Albania, Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. Among the tools demonstrated: custom mobile-phone text messaging to help field observers collect and submit election data, optical scanners to speed the processing of observer forms, and mapping and graphing systems for analysis of observation data.

The participants also presented some of their own pioneering work in using technology, such as text-message election reporting, a web portal developed in Bahrain, a web-based election simulator from Lebanon that incorporates geographic information systems (GIS) to map political data across the country, and a comprehensive plan for text-message reporting of election monitoring forms in Jordan.

The conference also featured roundtable discussions about ways to use technology in election reporting and the challenges organizations face in their monitoring missions.

On the conference’s second day, a representative of MobileActive, a U.S.-based organization focused on the use of mobile phones in politics and civil society, made a presentation on the use of text messages for advocacy as well as dissemination of information among citizens. At a later session, a member of NDI’s technology team talked about observation tools, forms and checklists – and underscored the importance of making technology easy for election observers to use.

NDI staff also provided one-on-one consultations with organizations in attendance to discuss how they could use knowledge gained at the conference in future plans. In addition, conference participants discussed Aswat, an online forum and resource center. The site, established by NDI, fosters conversation about politics and reform in the Arabic-speaking world.

The conference provided “a great opportunity to learn more about new technology tools that have been proven effective in election monitoring,” said Abbas Busafwan of Bahrain. “We also learned about other resources that can contribute to political reform in the region such as the web portal Aswat. I believe this initiative has great potential, due to the fact that it opens a space for activists to join efforts and voice their opinions and share their experiences.”

Another attendee, Nabil Hassan of Lebanon, said his group hopes, through Aswat, “to be able to remain in contact with other NGOs in the region and exchange experiences to improve the application of modern technology and networking.” He added, “I was excited to be introduced to various techniques such as data entry, web forms, form scanning and other reporting tools, and SMS text messaging. We are hoping that we can adopt this technology to monitor elections in Lebanon.”

–

Published on January 24, 2008

Francesca Binda

ggreene — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:39:13 +0000

Francesca Binda is NDI's resident senior director in West Bank/Gaza, having held similar posts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt and Iraq.

Ms. Binda rejoined NDI in October 2005 from the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) where, as senior advisor for political parties, she edited a book on gender quotas in Europe and designed a global research project to map internal political party practices. From 2000 to 2002, she directed the Elections Department for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission to Bosnia where she oversaw the fulfillment of the 2000 election results and the successful transfer of election administration from international control to Bosnian authorities.

A Canadian political professional, Ms. Binda’s international experience includes consulting with political parties and parliamentarians in more than 30 countries — mostly in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Before beginning her international work with NDI in Bosnia in 1996, Ms. Binda spent 11 years in Ottawa, Canada, working for the New Democratic Party in the Canadian House of Commons. Ms. Binda also served two years as campaign director for the Canadian Endangered Species Coalition, where she successfully campaigned for the introduction of historic legislation in the Canadian Parliament.

Ms. Binda holds a degree in political science from Carleton University and is a recipient of the Canada Peacekeeping Medal.

West Bank and Gaza

ggreene — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:36:25 +0000

In the West Bank and Gaza, NDI assists democratic forces to facilitate a more competitive multiparty system with representative institutions that are responsive to the Palestinian public. NDI has implemented programs in the West Bank and Gaza since 1994, with the launch of a grassroots civic education program which later became an independent Palestinian-run organization called Civic Forum Institute. The Institute has worked directly with Palestinian political parties on internal party reform since 2006. NDI’s current program in West Bank/Gaza focuses on election readiness and campaign planning. In the pre-election period, this includes membership database development, applications of electronic technologies for outreach to supporters, and outreach to women and youth. In the long term, the initiative aims to:

raise awareness of the role and function of political parties;
facilitate parties’ participation in the political process;
enhance the participation of women and youth within the parties; and
enable parties to better represent the needs and interests of their constituents.

Over the years, NDI has worked with nonviolent political parties and civil society organizations to address such issues as the political participation of women, the promotion of political pluralism, and the strengthening of local government. NDI has also conducted domestic and international election observation missions, assessments of voter registration, survey research, trainings on political party development and election campaign management and hosted legal workshops for Palestinian Legislative Council members. NDI has developed a strong network of political party and civil society partners, and continues to reach out to a wide range of democracy activists.

Subscribe to updates about the West Bank and Gaza

raise awareness of the role and function of political parties;
facilitate parties’ participation in the political process;
enhance the participation of women and youth within the parties; and
enable parties to better represent the needs and interests of their constituents.

Featured Stories

Legislative Council Elections Final Report, January 2006
Local Elections Final Report, 2005
Local Election Preliminary Statement, May 2005
Presidential Election Final Report, April 2005
Preliminary Statement, January 2005

External Links

Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) (Arabic & English)
Fateh (Arabic)
Democratic Union (FIDA) (Arabic & English)
Palestinian National Initiative (Arabic & English)

Contact Information

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

Washington, D.C.
Lindsay Workman, Senior Program Officer
(202) 728-5404

Subscribe to updates about the West Bank and Gaza

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

Attachment	Size
Read the report	6.23 MB

Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, January 25, 2006

vrao — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/25/2006

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	1.38 MB

Final Report on the Palestinian Local Elections, 2005

vrao — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/2006

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
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Final Report: The Palestinian Presidential Election

vrao — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/09/2005

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

Arabic

Attachment	Size
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Final Report: Palestinian Elections for Local Councils

vrao — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/27/2005

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

Arabic

Attachment	Size
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Participation is High But Some Issues Continue to be a Problem, Reports NDI Delegation in 3rd Round of Local Government Election

vrao — Wed, 31 May 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/30/2005

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

Arabic, English

Arabic

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Read the release (Arabic)	63.74 KB

Satellite Technology Puts Democracy on the Map

vrao — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:12:26 +0000

Satellite technology is the latest tool for election observation teams, political party leaders and ordinary citizens.

When Palestinians went to the polls in January, nearly every one of the 1,008 polling stations in the West Bank and Gaza had been mapped using Global Positioning System satellite technology. Thanks to a pilot Geographic Information Systems (GIS) project conducted over the past year, NDI created a "smart map" of the West Bank and Gaza that allows users to search, edit and analyze observation information and election results at polling stations throughout the Palestinian territories.

NDI used this information to document voting irregularities such as police officers or campaigners who violated election regulations by operating inside polling stations. The Palestinian Central Election Commission applied the data to produce maps of official polling stations.

NDI is also employing this technology in Serbia and Bangladesh, where digital mapping is helping observer organizations identify constituencies with unusually high turnout rates for particular candidates.

In addition to its usefulness for elections, GIS mapping holds great potential for political organizers. In Serbia, for example, NDI’s digital maps allow political parties to plot their levels of support in precise geographical regions, helping determine where resources should be allocated.

In Bangladesh, political parties plan to use GIS maps to more effectively plan their political outreach ahead of the 2007 parliamentary elections. "This technology is particularly exciting as a tool for parties to connect with citizens," says Ian Schuler, who led the technical implementation of the NDI project in the West Bank and Gaza. "By showing party leaders where they’re strong and where they need to work harder, GIS technology encourages political parties to reach out to people and inspire participation."

–

Published on Mar. 8, 2006

Election Can be an Important Step on the Road to Greater Democracy, Say NDI and Carter Center Observers

vrao — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute The Carter Center

Publisher:

The Carter Center

Published Date:

01/26/2006

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
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NDI - West Bank and Gaza

U.S. Officials Rely on UN Showdown to Push Return to Peace Talks | Sept. 27, 2011

NDI E-news: The Middle East, African Elections, Belarus | Jan./Feb. 2011

STAY CONNECTED

CONTRIBUTE

READ MORE

Party-building in the Middle East

National Democratic Institute: SMS as a Tool in Election Observation

Jordan: Conference Fosters Information Sharing in Middle East on Technology and Elections

Francesca Binda

West Bank and Gaza

Read More

Featured Stories

External Links

Contact Information

NDI 2005 Annual Report

Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, January 25, 2006

Final Report on the Palestinian Local Elections, 2005

Final Report: The Palestinian Presidential Election

Final Report: Palestinian Elections for Local Councils

Participation is High But Some Issues Continue to be a Problem, Reports NDI Delegation in 3rd Round of Local Government Election

Satellite Technology Puts Democracy on the Map

Election Can be an Important Step on the Road to Greater Democracy, Say NDI and Carter Center Observers