NDI today condemned the decision by Burma’s military junta to imprison Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and called for her immediate release.

“This action must not go unanswered by the international community,” said Madeleine K. Albright, chairman of NDI. “The leadership of Burma had an opportunity to show the world that it was ready to move in a different direction. Instead, Burma’s leaders have taken a tragic step backward.

Making contact with busy lawmakers and staff to advocate public policy changes can be a daunting task for civic groups. Protocols and procedures are sometimes complicated and the right point of entry may not be clear. In Nigeria, the National Assembly Civil Society Organization Liaison Office (CSOLO) has been working to help smooth that process. 

The Iran Election Bulletin is a biweekly publication covering domestic political and election issues in Iran in the lead-up to the June 12 presidential election.

By Kaveh-Cyrus Sanandaji
Middle East Center, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford

• “We have decided that in order to attain some of our demands and those of women in Iran, we need to form a new coalition. The purpose of the coalition is strictly the presentation of women’s demands and not the specific support or not support of any presidential candidate.”
  – statement from the Seminar on the Election Demands of the Women’s Movement

By Geneive Abdo
Iran Analyst, The Century Foundation

In one month, the Lebanese people will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. They will do so under a new electoral law and administration agreed upon by all political contestants. This represents a significant step toward greater transparency and confidence in the process and the development of Lebanon and its institutions as a sovereign state.

Highlights from the Institute’s Arabic library.