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.

An officer of the Guinean National Police Force and Coordination of Special Forces for Securing the Elections (FOSSEPEL) speaks with members of the press in Conakry, Guinea.

As Guinea prepares for its first legislative elections since a 2008 military coup, the role of the nation’s security forces during the election period has come to the fore.

In 2010 Guineans participated in a democratic election that brought President Alpha Condé to power. Though the armed forces played a constructive role in providing security for that poll, a massacre in 2009, in which the military opened fire on unarmed civilian protesters, still weighs heavily on the minds of Guinean citizens.

As a young girl growing up in Baitadi, one of the most isolated and impoverished districts of Far Western Nepal, Kamala Bohora constantly battled poverty, harsh prejudice, and despairing loneliness. It was this very poverty and discrimination that drove Bohora to seek solace and hope in the arms of the Communist Party Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), one of the largest political parties of Nepal. Impressed by Bohora’s passion and commitment to learning, her party selected her to participate in NDI's USAID-funded Future Leadership Academy (FLA).