With an unprecedented wave of voters mobilizing for a pro-democratic, western-oriented coalition of opposition parties, Poland’s parliamentary elections on October 15 unseated the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) after eight years in power, during which democratic institutions and the rule of law were seen to have weakened, the country rallied to support Ukraine and the influx of Ukrainian refugees into Poland, and Warsaw’s relations with Germany and the European Union to which it belongs were tested.
Elections
Background and Political Context
Slovakia’s highly anticipated parliamentary elections on September 30 saw the return of three-time former Prime Minister Robert Fico, as his party, SMER-SSD (Direction - Slovak Social Democracy), ran away with nearly 23 percent of the vote and 42 of the 150 available seats. SMER’s victory, while not entirely unexpected, raises questions about the posture of the country vis a vis the West, the European Union, and Ukraine.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has been closely following the post-election environment in Sierra Leone and the views and reactions to the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT, previously known as PVT) methodology used by National Elections Watch (NEW) for the 2023 elections. Specifically, some commentators alleged that NEW’s PRVT failed to “meet NDI standards” on this methodology.
The “New Realities of Citizen Election Observation in Africa Summit” was held in response to the changing nature of elections in Africa and around the world. From May 9 to 11, leaders from 24 citizen observer organizations from 20 countries from across Africa met in Accra, Ghana to strategize on how to better safeguard elections.
Abuja, Nigeria - The International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM), led by Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, presented its preliminary statement about the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.
Abuja, Nigeria – The International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) announce the deployment of a joint international election observation mission (IEOM) to Nigeria.
Twenty years after an internal violent conflict between militants from different ethnic groups—known as 'the tensions'—delivering national elections in the Solomon Islands remains challenging due to intertwined social, cultural, and political factors. The country’s cultural and geographic diversity means that many citizens live in remote areas, outside the reach of government services or public awareness campaigns. This leads to a knowledge gap when it comes to political, legal and civil rights, electoral processes, as well as the functioning of democratic systems more broadly.