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.

Political parties are an essential component of democracy. By competing in elections and mobilizing citizens behind particular visions of society as well as through their performance in the legislature, parties offer citizens meaningful choices in governance, avenues for political participation, and opportunities to shape their country’s future.

In many countries, however, political parties fail to respond to citizens’ concerns and are widely distrusted by the public. When public confidence in political parties is compromised, the entire democratic process suffers. In all sustainable democracies, the party system must be deeply and durably entrenched in the fabric of society.

For more than 25 years, NDI has worked with democratic parties in over 50 countries around the world to create more open political environments in which citizens can actively participate in the democratic process. As a political party institute, NDI approaches its work from a practical viewpoint, sharing tools and techniques that parties can use to develop stronger connections to the public, mount competitive electoral campaigns, and perform more effectively in the legislature. The Institute’s multi-partisan programs seek to foster vibrant, competitive, and sustainable multiparty systems rather than to promote particular parties or ideologies.

Why Parties?

Political parties are a central feature of any democracy. They are the vehicles by which citizens come together freely to campaign for public office, express their interests and needs, and define their aspirations for their society. While there are parties without democracy, there can be no democracy without political parties. Parties in many countries may be flawed, but they are also indispensable in democratic governance.

When functioning properly, political parties develop common ideas among a significant group in order to exert pressure upon the political system. Thus, they help place citizens’ local concerns in a national context. Citizens may be divided over interests, leaders, or policies; political parties can organize these differences, creating grounds for compromise and helping societies to unite. In addition, political parties train and nominate political leaders who will assume a role in governing society. Through their efforts to control and influence public policy, political parties play an intermediary role, linking the institutions of government to economic, ethnic, cultural, religious and other societal groups. They can rally support behind important legislation, advocate positions that improve the public welfare, and advance citizens’ interests. Further, their participation in elections allows citizens to hold them accountable for their policies and actions.

In multi-party systems, and based on the constituencies they represent, political parties often express conflicting viewpoints on public policy. These principled differences of opinion are not only an important part of the democratic process, but the exchanges they generate can also help to create a better understanding of the issues and possible solutions, potentially leading to new insights or workable comprises. Further, when parties in opposition present themselves as the alternative government voters may wish to choose, they pressure incumbents to better address the public’s interests.

Who We Work With

In a given country, NDI typically works with parties from across the ideological spectrum to foster a genuine multiparty political system. However, in most countries, resource limitations and other considerations prevent the Institute from working with all registered political parties. In such cases, the Institute typically selects its partners based on their commitment to democratic principles and non-violence rather than by their political beliefs. In addition, as appropriate, NDI considers objective criteria such as:

• Political viability and base of popular support, as evidenced by legitimate election results

• Level of grassroots organization

• The ability to absorb assistance

Although the technical assistance provided may vary from one party to another according to each partner’s needs, the Institute strives to provide support in an equitable manner in order to avoid any perception of political bias.