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Youth Academy Empowers Tomorrow’s Political Leaders in Rwanda

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While young people under 25 comprise approximately two-thirds of Rwanda’s population, historically they have lacked meaningful opportunities to engage in politics. To provide Rwandan youth with practical political skills, NDI has expanded the successful Youth Party Leadership Academy to two cities, in order to serve 80 under-35 activists from all 10 of Rwanda's registered political parties.

Nigerian Citizen Observation Groups Boosts Confidence in Registration Exercise

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Project 2011 Swift Count (PSC), a coalition of four Nigerian civil society groups from across the country, has released two preliminary reports on voter registration based on reports from approximately 1,000 observers who were deployed across all of Nigeria's 774 local government areas. PSC will monitor all aspects of the election process, and has started observing the voter registration process, which began on Jan. 15 and is scheduled to run through Feb. 5.

Colombian Municipal Councilors Hone Good Governance Skills

Local Councilor Training in Colombia

In Colombia, as in many countries in Latin America, municipal councilors generally receive little training in the skills they need to represent their constituents effectively. This is especially true for small and poor municipalities in post-conflict regions or those with large Afro-Colombian or indigenous populations.

At a recent seminar in Santa Marta in the Magdalena department, council members focused on how to identify citizens’ needs, develop policies to address those needs, negotiate and engage citizens and the media.

Freedom of Assembly Rights Limited in Kazakhstan, Study Finds

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A year-long examination of freedom of assembly in Kazakhstan found the government cracking down on nearly all forms of political expression, according to a report released in December by the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, a partner organization of NDI.

The report, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly in Kazakhstan: Authorization Denied, was released Dec. 13, at an international conference in Astana, the capital, that attracted an unprecedented level of Kazakhstani government involvement, but also highlighted the country's lack of progress on freedom of information.

Kosovo Elections Peaceful, Challenges Remain

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Kosovo's Dec. 12 parliamentary elections were generally calm and peaceful, but some irregularities were observed and will need to be investigated more fully, according to the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which organized an international mission to observe the vote.

The elections were the second to be held in the country since it declared independence in 2008. The first were municipal elections in 2009, which were to be followed by parliamentary elections in February 2011. However, the date was moved up after a Nov. 2 parliamentary vote of no-confidence in the current government, resulting in just a 10-day campaign period.

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