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Since 1999, NDI has contributed to political reform processes in Colombia by strengthening the leadership skills and abilities of young Colombian political leaders from traditional and emerging parties. Following extensive, fundamental reforms to the political party system in 2003, NDI established a field presence in 2005 to provide technical assistance to parties working internally to improve party structures, statutes and practices.
NDI has worked with Colombian political parties across the political spectrum to support organizational strengthening; internal democracy practices and accountability; and to increase the political participation and skills of women, young people, Afro-Colombians and the indigenous community. NDI has worked to increase citizen participation in Bolívar and Sucre, departments within the post-conflict region of Montes de María, and in the department of Chocó, home to Colombia’s highest percentage of the traditionally underrepresented Afro-Colombians. As of the 2005 national and local elections, NDI has worked to promote transparent electoral processes and a better informed electorate by supporting debates and forums featuring candidates and civil society groups.
Political Context
Despite a half century of uninterrupted democratic governance, Colombia’s governing institutions have faced significant challenges in recent decades because of guerrilla, paramilitary and narco-trafficking forces.
Political reforms enacted in 2003, 2005 and 2009 impacted the political party system by changing the rules and structures of congressional party caucuses, thus advancing party reform measures and strengthening the electoral system.
The political party system in Colombia is relatively strong compared to other countries in the region; however, parties face several challenges. First, parties struggle to build a presence and to engage citizens in regions where protracted violence has discouraged many from participating in the political process. Second, many parties struggle to develop an ideology or set of core policies that sets them apart from others, resulting in failure to provide voters with clear options.
Three demographic groups continue to face particular challenges to effective engagement in the political process: Afro-Colombians, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and women. Afro-Colombians, who are concentrated in coastal regions, have been disproportionally affected because of prolonged government neglect in providing basic services. People displaced by conflict or natural disasters often remain vulnerable – away from their traditional communities and support structures – and face difficulty exercising their rights, including those related to political participation. Women continue facing political participation challenges despite efforts to increase their representation.
NDI Activities
NDI's activities in Colombia are dedicated in memory of Nevio Fernando Serna Díaz, a Colombian mayor who participated in NDI's regional Political Leadership Program. Nevio Fernando Serna Díaz was brutally assassinated in 2000.
Regional Priorities
NDI activities focus on the 12 departments along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, which have the highest percentage of Afro-descendant citizens and the lowest percentage of citizen trust in the political and electoral system. The Institute places special emphasis on promoting party strengthening and citizen participation in the impoverished, mostly Afro-Colombian department of Chocó and the post-conflict region of Montes de María.
In Chocó, NDI is working to increase people’s ability to organize politically and to improve the responsiveness of national parties to the department’s unique concerns and priorities. NDI is helping to strengthen the capability of a multiparty roundtable – composed of six major parties – to engage citizens on local issues. NDI supports creating a roundtable of civil society organizations focused on improving Chocó’s education system. NDI public events in the capital of Quibdó and other municipalities encourage engagement between parties, elected officials, civic groups and citizens to address the department’s pressing needs.
In late 2009, NDI began work in four Montes de María locations to support civil society networks advocating for citizen priorities and with party caucuses in municipal councils to establish participatory accountability measures.
Political Party Reform
Since 2005, in-country political party reform programs have created partnerships with a range of political parties to advance initiatives and support parties’ efforts to adjust to legal changes designed to promote more responsive and effective parties. Currently, NDI has standing memorandums of understanding with eight parties as an outline for technical assistance to support reform initiatives. NDI’s technical assistance supports party plans that address a range of issues that parties identified as priorities, such as development of candidate selection models; use of new technologies; development of party messages and communication strategies; design of party poll-watching strategies; and strengthening internal party oversight bodies.
NDI has worked with party caucuses to strengthen internal organization, improve capacity to oversee departmental or municipal programs and promote accountability.
Promoting Greater Participation by Underrepresented Groups
The Institute promotes women’s and Afro-Colombians’ participation in politics. NDI also assists the Committee on Gender Equity in the Colombian Congress, campaigns promoting the participation and candidacies of Afro-Colombians and women, and party secretariats for underrepresented groups.
In its work helping civic groups to advocate for the interests of Afro-Colombians and women, the Institute supported the recommendations of a commission on Afro-Colombian political participation among party leaders and the public. NDI emphasizes the importance of including underrepresented groups throughout its work with parties and election monitors, helping parties strengthen their internal structures and outreach mechanisms for these groups and supporting election observation in the coastal departments.
Support for Electoral Transparency
Building on efforts to organize candidate debates and train party poll watchers during the 2007 municipal elections, NDI trained over 1,400 party poll-watching trainers for the 2010 general elections. In turn, they trained thousands of additional poll watchers. NDI also helped the Election Observation Mission (MOE), a Colombian nonpartisan election monitoring organization, with overall strategy and logistics for deploying 1,762 observers in 11 Caribbean and Pacific coast departments.
For the 2011 departmental and local elections, NDI will support MOE’s efforts to monitor voter registration in priority areas; produce general information on election integrity based on a nationwide random sample; and collaborate with others to recommend improvements to electoral law enforcement. NDI will help MOE and the New Rainbow Corporation (Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris) to produce a report on political networks and the influence of illegal armed groups on the electoral process in 50 at-risk municipalities.
Cleaner campaign financing: In 2007, NDI began assisting Transparency for Colombia (TPC), the Colombian chapter of Transparency International, with creating and updating its Clear Accounts financial reporting software for campaigns. Recognizing the quality, speed and accuracy of the software, electoral authorities required everyone participating in the 2010 legislative and presidential elections to file campaign finance reports using Clear Accounts. TPC continues adapting the software to the needs of 2011’s almost 100,000 election candidates. TPC and other civic groups will analyze the electoral authorities’ information systems, particularly candidates’ legal histories, and provide recommendations for increasing the system’s ability to help political parties screen their candidates.
Better communication between parties and citizens: NDI has been working to advance the use of campaign proposals that address citizen priorities by helping groups identify concerns in their communities and communicate them to local politicians. In preparation for the October 2011 local elections, NDI and civic groups such as the National Forum for Colombia will conduct multiparty forums on policy issues and publicize proposals addressing the needs of citizens, especially Afro-Colombians and women, using print and electronic media. NDI is partnering with permanent commissions in Chocó and Montes de María to conduct debates on issues important to citizens.
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Bogotá
Francisco Herrero, Senior Resident Director
fherrero@ndi.org
Washington, D.C.
Mario Mitre, Program Manager
mmitre@ndi.org
Patrick Elliot, Program Officer
pelliot@ndi.org
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