The conduct of Jordan's Nov. 9 parliamentary elections showed a clear improvement over the nation's 2007 polls, although a number of structural shortcomings and other problems should be addressed for future elections, according to the findings of an NDI election observation mission.
Dozens of Burma border-based organizations with feeds from human rights organizations and exile media launched a website to share citizen reports of widespread abuse and fraud around the first elections in Burma in 20 years. Burma Election Tracker (www.burmaelectiontracker.org) shows detailed reports, eye witness accounts, pictures and video gathered through established networks of civic organizations operating throughout Burma.
Many Nigerians hope that general elections scheduled for next year will mark a turning point for their country. Since the end of military rule in 1999, elections have been held every four years, but they have been progressively marred by egregious and pervasive fraud, making each poll less credible than the previous one. Dissatisfaction with the last elections, held in 2007, resulted in extensive violence that led to more than 200 deaths and diminishing citizen confidence in democratic institutions and processes.
Grassroots Haitian organizations known as Initiative Committees (ICs) are working to educate citizens about the importance of hygiene and safe drinking water in the face of a cholera outbreak that is taxing the resources of this island nation still reeling from last January’s devastating earthquake.
As Southern Sudan prepares for a referendum that will determine whether it will become a separate country, public opinion research by NDI shows significant support for independence and a strong desire for the referendum to be held on time.
The linkages between democracy assistance and development aid are explored in depth in an article by Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a commentary by Kenneth Wollack and K. Scott Hubli that appear in the new issue of the Journal of Democracy.
In "The Elusive Synthesis," Carothers, vice-president for studies at Carnegie, takes a historical view and looks at some of the reasons the two camps have eyed each other with suspicion.
Kyrgyzstan's Oct. 10 parliamentary elections were conducted in a democratic, transparent and peaceful manner, according to the findings of the country's leading domestic election monitoring organization, the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, as well as the international monitoring group the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO). ENEMO is a network of nonpartisan election monitoring groups from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Noting heightened interest and determination among Nigerians to overcome the nation's history of flawed elections, a pre-election assessment mission conducted by NDI also identified a number of hurdles that could undermine a successful process surrounding next year's state and national polls.
The Young Women Leaders Academy (YWLA), a year-long program that aims to inspire and empower young Middle Eastern women to pursue political careers in their home countries, culminated in a two-week retreat in Madison, Wisconsin, last month, where participants met with elected women leaders from across the state and honed their leadership skills and political aspirations.
The participants are now back in their home countries, where they are pursuing a range of options, from starting their own advocacy organizations to running for elective office.
