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.

The number of Lebanese women elected to municipal offices more than doubled this year, increasing from the 201 elected in 2004 to 530 who were successful in this year’s polls. The increase was particularly noteworthy because it came without the help of a quota law, a technique used in a number of countries in the Middle East and elsewhere to ensure a specified number of seats for women.

One factor in the women’s success was the greater number of female candidates and the help provided to some of them by the Shariky program, a project that supports women candidates through training and mentoring.

"Georgian women cannot wait another century for equal participation in the governance of our country," said Leila Aptsiauri, a member of a local city council in Georgia. She was speaking at a conference in Tbilisi, the capital, where representatives from 11 political parties discussed with civil society leaders the benefits to including more women on candidate lists and in political party leadership structures.