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Democracy Updates
"Democracy," said U.S. Rep. David Price, "cannot be imposed from without but must grow from within, organically and at its own pace."
Price was speaking at a unique week-long event in Warsaw, Poland, last month that exemplified that theme. Representatives of maturing and developing democracies gathered for two purposes. The first was to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Frost-Solomon Task Force, which in 1990-96 provided assistance from the U.S. Congress to new parliaments in Central and Eastern Europe that were emerging from communist rule. The second was a Parliamentary Staff Institute to use the lessons learned through that experience to assist representatives of 11 parliaments from different parts of the world that are making their own transitions to democratic governance.
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For young people in East Africa seeking to have a political voice, the two-year-old Regional Youth Leadership Academy (RYPLA) has helped show the way. One of its graduates, Daniel Taabu, has become executive director of the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (NARC-K), a political party with a seat in parliament. In Uganda, 14 graduates started Uganda Youth Stand Up, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to increase civic participation by registering one million young Ugandans to vote ahead of the February 2011 elections. Six of 15 Tanzanian participants from RYPLA's first year are now running for parliament.
Kenya
During the lead up to general elections on Dec. 27, 2007, it was widely believed that Kenya would carry out another highly successful poll—one that could be held up as model for African democracies and beyond. Political parties and candidates debated issues such as the economy, security, and education on television and radio. Citizens expressed their views through on-line forums such as You Tube and political blogs. The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) was fully prepared for a high turnout and had the trust and confidence of most Kenyans.
Heading into the election, NDI was cautiously optimistic that the December polls would allow Kenya to further institutionalize democratic practices. There were some encouraging results, including the loss of a number of poor performing or corrupt parliamentarians along with record numbers of women and youth who participated in the election – a goal the Institute has been helping Kenya to meet. But within 48 hours of the elections, violence erupted across the country amid charges of manipulation of the election results. A fragile power sharing deal was brokered by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, but Kenya remains at a crossroads as its leaders struggle to rebuild their country and maintain peace.
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