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.

Though few Mauritanians are able to have a say in their country’s political life, one group of dedicated women is determined to be heard. The Advocacy Initiatives Group for Women’s Political Participation (Groupes des Initiatives de Plaidoyer pour la Participation Politique des Femmes, GI3PF), a nonpartisan organization comprising women from all walks of life, is committed to encouraging women’s participation in Mauritanian politics at the local and national levels. “We want women to find their place in political life and in elections,” said Lalla Aicha Sy, one of the group’s coordinators. “The responsible woman is she who makes her voice heard.”

NDI is working with the Liberian legislative press bureaus and lawmakers to use an audio clip distribution software called Freedom Fone.  It makes it faster, easier and cheaper for local radio stations to gather and transmit news to rural communities, which helps constituents keep track of what their representatives and senators are doing.    

An international observation delegation fielded by NDI said the Jan. 23 Jordanian parliamentary elections saw a marked improvement in procedures and administration from past polls.  But it also found election day shortcomings and irregularities, as well as a number of systemic distortions.

Silvia Gutiérrez has been an active member of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (Movimiento de Renovación Sandinista, MRS) since she joined the party as a pollwatcher for Nicaragua’s 2006 presidential elections. After her bid for city council in her hometown of Managua in 2008 was cut short when her party was denied participation, she decided to improve her leadership and communication skills by attending a training program aimed at getting more young people involved in politics and civic life. Shortly after completing the program in 2011, the party chose her to run for the National Assembly, and in November of that year she was elected.

Gutiérrez is one of nearly 1,000 young leaders aged 16-35 who have taken part in the Certificate on Leadership and Political Management (CLPM), an annual five-part training program launched by NDI and its partners in 2010 aimed at equipping Nicaraguan youth with skills and knowledge to govern effectively.

Mexican women made historic strides last year in securing seats in the country’s national legislature, where they account for more than 36 percent of the membership. But political parties are still struggling to realize similar gains at the state level where just 6.1 percent of the nation’s 2,400 municipal presidents are women.

One development that helped move women ahead at the national level was a successful campaign to promote enforcement of a provision in the federal election code that designates 2 percent of federal political party funding for women’s leadership training. Many parties had been ignoring the requirement and instead using the earmarked funds for expenses like cleaning services and party supplies.