The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Election Law Reform

NDI supports constitutional and law reform efforts to enhance the basis for genuine, democratic elections. The Institute has assisted such efforts to improve the legal framework for elections in more than 30 countries around the world.

Through these programs, NDI has provided over 100 legal commentaries to political parties, legislatures, governmental ministries, election commissions and civic organizations in order to enhance their capacities to take part in open dialogue about law reforms. The commentaries have been used in parliamentary debates, in roundtable discussions that include political and civic leaders and legal experts, and frequently have been the subject of news coverage that informed the public about the nature of the debates. The commentaries are based on internationally recognized principles of human rights, as well as on international standards and best practices in conducting democratic elections.

The commentaries usually are presented by NDI representatives resident in a country. NDI experts, either from staff or outside sources, sometimes travel to the countries to participate in consultations, roundtable discussions and other forums focused on reforming the legal framework for elections. Depending on the circumstances, the Institute may conduct a comprehensive review of the framework or may concentrate on specific issues that are central to reform efforts. In addition, NDI's pre-election, election and post-election delegations offer recommendations for improving election and political processes, which may address the need for law reforms. In each instance, the Institute seeks to help improve the democratic nature of the process leading to reforms, while contributing to the substance of the dialogue about them.

NDI also supports law reform efforts by providing political parties, parliamentary groups, and civic organizations with relevant materials on comparative law and constitutional models. The Institute consults with these sectors about methods used in various countries for citizen advocacy concerning law reform and methodologies for conducting civic education and enhancing citizen participation in law reform processes. The Institute has provided such information to civic organizations in more than 20 countries, while consulting with them on their law and constitutional reform initiatives.

NDI published a guidebook entitled Promoting Legal Frameworks for Democratic Elections: An NDI Guide for Developing Election Laws and Law Commentaries,which presents guiding principles and over 300 questions to consider when evaluating election laws. It includes a compendium of relevant provisions from international human rights instruments and an annotated compilation of relevant decisions of international human rights tribunals, as well as a bibliography and selected NDI commentaries on legal frameworks.

The Institute also has organized regional and country-specific working sessions on electoral-related rule of law activities. These sessions have included consultations and political dialogue to establish broad agreement about the rules for electoral competition, development of political party codes of conduct for election campaigns, and preparation of parties to better safeguard their electoral rights through monitoring of electoral processes and use of electoral complaint mechanisms to seek legal remedies. Such activities, as well as election monitoring by domestic civic organizations, often contribute to election law reform efforts.

Contact Information

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

Washington, D.C.
Phillip Brondyke, Senior Program Assistant
(202) 728-5513
 

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