Stories

September 25^th, 2017

Spotlight on Liberia 2017: Laying the Foundation for Greater Stability, Peace and Sustainable Development

Liberia is in transition, celebrating more than a decade of peace since the end of its civil war in 2003 and surviving the Ebola crisis. The country is moving past a focus on political stability and towards building a resilient democracy that delivers for its people. After electing Africa’s first woman head of state, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in 2005, Liberians face another historic election on October 10, 2017: the first peaceful transfer of power between two democratically elected governments.

September 19^th, 2017

Youth in Nicaragua Turn Organizing Skills Into Improvements for Their Communities

Nicaragua’s democratic institutions have eroded substantially over the past decade, to the degree that many Nicaraguan youth do not see viable options for making change in their communities or country through politics. Through grassroots organizing, a group of Nicaraguan youth have found ways to exercise their right to hold elected officials accountable and to secure action to bring about improvements in their communities.

September 14^th, 2017

Making Women Safer: NDI Assists Tunisian Legislators to Pass New Law on Eliminating Violence against Women

On July 26, 2017, Tunisia’s Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) unanimously passed groundbreaking legislation on the Elimination of Violence against Women. After years of debate and deliberation, the new law strengthens penalties against those who commit violence against women, both in the privacy of their home or in public.

August 28^th, 2017

Burma/Myanmar’s Leading Election Observation Group Helps Others Up Their Game

Following its groundbreaking work in 2015 as the first-ever citizen monitoring group registered in Burma/Myanmar, the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) emerged as one of the country’s leading election monitoring organizations. Since then, PACE has continued to play a prominent role in promoting electoral integrity during parliamentary by-elections and municipal polls which further consolidated the country’s democratic transition. Having now mastered its own methodology, PACE has begun to mentor other Myanmar organizations to do the same.

August 15^th, 2017

Timor-Leste Celebrates Peaceful Parliamentary Elections

Timor-Leste’s July 2017 parliamentary elections, and its earlier presidential polls in March, marked significant milestones for this island nation’s young democracy. First, these were the first-ever Timorese-administered national elections since the country achieved full independence from Indonesia in 2001. Previous elections in 2001, 2007 and 2012 were held under United Nations stewardship as Timorese citizens struggled to find peace in the bloody aftermath of a 1999 independence referendum that displaced more than half its population and destroyed over 70 percent of its infrastructure.

August 15^th, 2017

In Large Numbers, Kenyans Cast Votes on Election Day

At 5 AM on August 8, delegates participating in NDI’s international election observation mission (IEOM) to the Kenyan elections were on their way to poll openings in 13 counties across the nation. They were hardly the first to arrive. Already, long lines of voters had formed overnight in many places, patiently waiting to cast their ballot for Kenya’s future. As delegation co-leader Rep. Karen Bass (CA) put it, “The Kenyan people have a lot to be proud of. I’d give anything to have a turnout like that back home.”

July 31^st, 2017

NDI partner explores North Korean crimes against humanity; lays groundwork for eventual transitional justice

North Korea receives significant international attention for the nuclear threat it poses to international security, for its uniquely closed nature, and for the severity and scale of human rights violations perpetrated by the regime. North Korean defectors have fled their home country to escape political prison, torture and/or starvation, and their stories have painted a picture of severe, widespread human rights abuses.

July 28^th, 2017

NDI Deputy Director Katherine Fox briefs Helsinki Commission on Human Rights and Democracy in Belarus

Last week, NDI-Eurasia Deputy Director Katherine Fox, alongside IRI-Eurasia Director Stephen Nix and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Minsk, Sanaka Samarasinha, briefed the Helsinki Commission on political developments in Belarus. The panel was entitled “Engaging Belarus on Human Rights and Democracy.”

July 26^th, 2017

Kyrgyzstani Women Leaders Organize to Pass Legislation to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence

Women in Kyrgyzstan face stark barriers to full political participation. Despite holding 23 seats in parliament, women reside in few leadership positions in parties. For example, Kyrgyzstan law requires that women make up every third name on a party candidate list. However, party leaders often pressure women to give up their seats after they are elected. This exclusion means that some issues, such as domestic violence, are not given the attention that their severity warrants.

July 21^st, 2017

Venezuelans Reject Maduro’s Attempt to Write a New Constitution

On July 16, more than seven million Venezuelans participated in a generally peaceful referendum on President Maduro’s proposal to convene a Constituent Assembly with extraordinary powers to abolish existing institutions and write a new constitution.