After decades of military rule and economic stagnation, Burma is beginning to institute political and economic reforms, but these are only beginning, Peter Manikas, NDI senior associate and regional director for Asia programs, said in Senate testimony April 26 before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs. The outcome is not assured, he said.  The political situation is fragile and much more needs to be done to help ensure that the democratization process continues. 

NDI Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright will be awarded the 2012 Predential Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama announced. The Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Albright is one of the 13 people selected to receive the medal this year. The awards will be presented at the White House in late spring.

A coalition of civil society organizations from across Libya has launched the Shahed Network for election observation, the first citizen election monitoring effort ever attempted in the country.

New focus group research from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) finds an overwhelming majority of participants believe the country can become a full-fledged democracy, provided it has better leadership and unity among the people. Those surveyed were also especially concerned with the corrosive power of corruption in the country, and they want political parties and elected leaders to be more responsive to citizens.

Slovakia made history in April when Peter Pollak took his seat in parliament as the country’s first Roma citizen elected to nationwide office. His victory in March’s parliamentary elections is the culmination of a decade-long journey of grassroots organizing, coalition building and setbacks at the ballot box that ultimately, through perseverance and support, paved the way to his breakthrough this year.