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With funding provided by the Government of Canada, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) recently conducted qualitative public opinion research in five provinces in Iraq: Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin. Results show that the most pressing need among Iraqi citizens in provinces formerly occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is finding job opportunities and improving their economic situation.
With funding provided by the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) recently completed an independent public opinion survey throughout Iraq. Key survey findings show that the social fabric within Iraq is strengthening, as security conditions improve.
In Libya, NDI's new youth debates program, called "Voice of Change" demonstrates the important work that can be done despite the ongoing conflict in the country. Debates are often one of the first real opportunities that young people have to engage in the basic tenets of democracy. The skills that students develop in preparing arguments on policy topics, in presenting those arguments and in being judges in their effectiveness last a lifetime.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is deeply concerned by the government of Togo’s expulsion of three NDI employees from the country. The NDI employees traveled to Togo transparently and in compliance with the country’s immigration laws to provide technical assistance to a local, non-partisan civil society coalition that intended to monitor the February 22 presidential election.
The global spread of COVID-19 and widespread adoption of social distancing measures are posing new challenges for NDI’s programming.
A Strategy for Peace in Iraq: A Gender-Sensitive National Reconciliation Platform is a policy document presented by a group of 60 Iraqi women peace activists from the provinces of Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin. The purpose of this document is to provide key actors in Iraq and the international community with a blueprint for building peace and promoting gender-sensitive policy priorities.
Despite the hard work of Libyan women to advance their own interests, women remain marginalized in many segments of Libyan society today, with historical gender norms and power dynamics continuing to affect their access to political participation in particular. That said, the severe political exclusion of women under Gaddafi’s rule has improved since his ouster.
The 2019 election cycle changed the face of Tunisian politics, ushering in many non-affiliated candidates and political outsiders into parliament, including the election of political outsider President Kaïs Saïed. By electing a new class of political leaders, Tunisian voters expressed their discontent with the status quo and their desire to empower new voices who could change the economic, political and social situation in Tunisia.
In the early months of COVID-19, Jordan’s nationwide lockdown left many citizens unemployed and unable to access medicine, food, water, electricity and gas, leaving local officials overwhelmed by the number of citizen demands. To help alleviate the burden of local officials, NDI’s parliamentary fellows have risen to the occasion to play a key role in facilitating rapid responses to citizens’ needs.
NDI supports a collaborative group of Tunisian civil society organizations - including the Tunisian Mediterranean Center (TuMed), the Ofiya Coalition for Democracy and Integrity of the Elections, IWatch, Youth Without Borders (JSF), Mourakiboun, and the Chahed Observatory - to monitor the electoral process in Tunisia. In 2019, with technical support from NDI, these organizations monitored the snap presidential and legislative organizations.