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.

Jamaica

Candidate Debates

NDI and the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) provided technical assistance to the Jamaican Debates Commission in the organization of the country’s first live televised prime ministerial and cabinet-level political debates in 2002.  NDI provided the JDC with technical assistance in debate strategic planning, grassroots organizing, as well as the training of moderators. NDI and the CPD again provided technical assistance in strategic planning to the JDC for the 2007 debates, which for the first time were streamed online and televised internationally to reach the Jamaican diaspora community. A newspaper-commissioned poll showed that the prime ministerial debate was viewed by 64 percent of eligible voters. 

Domestic Election Observation

With USAID support, NDI provided technical and financial assistance to the domestic observation organization Citizen Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) in the areas of: volunteer recruitment, training and organizational development to monitor the December 1997 general elections, the September 1998 local elections and the 2002 general elections.  In the weeks leading up to the 1997 elections, NDI helped CAFFE recruit more than 2,000 volunteers and deploy 965 observers on election day. For the September 1998 local elections, NDI helped CAFFE consolidate its volunteer and funding base. NDI’s technical assistance in 2002 focused on strategic planning, recruitment and training of volunteers, and election day operations. It is widely accepted that CAFFE’s efforts strengthen voter confidence and help reduce political tension and violence.      

Paraguay

From 1988 - 2001, NDI contributed to Paraguay’s democratic transition by implementing programs in the areas of civic participation, local governance, political party strengthening, transparency and ethics, civil-military relations and election observations.    

Electoral Assistance

When NDI began working in Paraguay in 1988, it helped establish the Center for Democratic Studies (CED) which went on to train pollwatchers; develop mass media campaigns to encourage voter registration and participation; conduct public opinion surveys; design and implement independent vote tabulations; and local governance and civic education programs.  NDI provided financial and technical assistance for many of these CED programs.  

In 1989, NDI also sent an international observer delegation to Paraguay's first open elections.  For the May 1993 national elections, NDI supported SAKA, a consortium of five NGOs, to conduct a nationwide parallel vote tabulation. 

Promoting Accountability

From 1998- 2001, NDI contributed to anti-corruption initiatives in Paraguay.  In March 1998, NDI and the Association of Christian Business Leaders (ADEC) co-sponsored an anti-corruption conference that included experts from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the United States and Venezuela and reached 350 political party leaders, civic activists, government officials, journalists and academics.  In 1999, NDI conducted an anti-corruption survey mission in conjunction with the World Bank that evaluated the anti-corruption challenges and responses by the national legislature and the municipal government of Asunción.  

Political Party Strengthening

In November 1996, NDI began to assist Paraguayan political leaders in developing stronger, more responsive and more democratic political parties.  In preparation for the 1998 national elections, NDI worked with the parties on such issues as strategic planning, election laws, campaign finance reform and increasing the political participation of women.   NDI also helped the political parties establish internal training centers.

In 1999-2000, six young Paraguayan political leaders from the Liberal, Colorado, and National Encounter parties participated in the regional Political Leadership Program.  This program sought to strengthen the leadership skills and ability of emerging political leaders to promote the modernization and renewal of political parties.  The one-year program began with an intensive leadership development seminar and continued in-country with the emerging leaders implementing party-strengthening projects.  The Paraguayan projects targeted the areas of strategic planning, crisis management, communication skills building, ethics and increasing the political participation of women within party structures.

Supporting Coalition Governance

In 1999, NDI organized a series of consultations with Chilean political practitioners experienced in coalition governments to help the political parties that formed the National Unity Government develop consensus on key reform issues.  

Regional:

Political Leadership Program

In response to requests from senior political party leaders from more than a dozen countries in the region, in 1999 NDI launched the Political Leadership Program (Leadership Program, LP) to strengthen the leadership skills and ability of emerging political leaders to promote the modernization and renewal of political parties.        

From 1999 to 2010, this program was implemented annually with up to 40 youth representing political parties from three to four countries that changed every year. The program was implemented in three phases:  1) national academies for young political party leaders in participating countries; 2) six participants from each of these countries were selected to participate in a regional seminar; and 3) the participants of the regional seminar returned to their countries to implement concrete party-strengthening projects that received NDI technical assistance.  Training topics addressed project planning, communication, political negotiation and leadership skills as well as party reform strategies and experiences pertaining to internal democracy, transparency and outreach to new sectors.

Through its twelve years of existence and participant projects supported by NDI, the Leadership Program fostered ongoing regional reform efforts with 60 major political parties and movements across the ideological spectrum, representing both governing and opposition parties in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Project goals included: increasing indigenous political participation in Guatemala; reforming party statutes and internal democracy structures in Colombia; promoting women and youth participation in political parties in Mexico; and implementing party ethics codes in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Using a competitive application process, NDI selected young political leaders, who ranged in age from 25 to 35, on the basis of five years of political experience and a track record of leadership and political activism. The selection process emphasized a balance in governing and opposition parties, gender, ideologies and key geographical regions.  Graduates of the program include mayors, municipal councilors, legislators, legislative advisors, indigenous political activists and leaders of youth movements, among others.  The Leadership Program provided a neutral setting for party leaders, even those from polarized societies, to meet and exchange views with counterparts from other countries.

Program for Regional Party Renewal

From 2004 to 2006, NDI implemented the Program for Regional Party Renewal (PREPA) to promote reform and renewal within Argentine, Bolivian, Mexican and Peruvian parties, specifically through the institutes responsible for training the party base and leadership and designing the strategies for platforms and reform. The program strengthened party training institutes by introducing reform-oriented and interactive training curricula, methodologies and materials on the topics of internal democracy, transparency and outreach to new sectors.  Participating trainers applied what they learned in regional workshops to specific reform efforts within their parties, incorporating new training techniques.  Over a period of a year, these reform projects received NDI advice, materials and technical assistance, and contributed to the implementation of new party training schools and curricula in participating countries.   

 

Contact Information

For more information on NDI past programs, please contact Richard Gaines at rgaines@ndi.org