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.

For Afghanistan’s recent presidential and provincial council elections, NDI fielded a delegation of more than 100 international and Afghan observers stationed in every region of the country and Kabul, the capital city.  

Conditions were difficult on election day.  Violence, such as rocket attacks and bombings, as well as Taliban threats of violence posed tremendous challenges for voters.  John Manley, a member of the delegation’s leadership team and former Canadian deputy prime minister and foreign minister, applauded the courage of Afghan voters in an op-ed piece that appeared in the Globe and Mail.

“Despite threats of violence, Afghans turned out by the millions and voted, leaving polling stations with the tell-tale index finger stained with silver nitrate, proclaiming for all the world to see that they had participated,” Manley said.

Thousands of wind-up and solar-powered blue radios distributed by NDI in

Sudan are bringing a dialogue about national issues to isolated communities.  A recently-completed NDI program has put more than 265,000 radios into the hands of Sudanese citizens since the end of 2007. Michael Rifer, who works in Sudan for NDI, describes the radios’ impact in one community.