Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

This year, the Partnership Days focused on documenting results and work-in-progress in four programme areas: democratic reform processes, political accountability and voice, and conflict prevention and resolution.

Through session reports and video interviews, a wealth of knowledge and practical experiences has been documented and recorded to inform, encourage and empower other partners within the NIMD network. A daily newsletter, the Partnership Post, was launched during the conference. The newsletter will be used as a vehicle for continued communication among the partners and NIMD and as a means of consolidating the partnership for democracy in the countries present.
 

Democratic reforms

From the discussions on democratic reforms, it became evident that credible reform can only be achieved through the crafting of an inclusive and shared national agenda which takes the needs of all sectors of society into account. Following years of civil war, the Secretaries General of political parties in Guatemala led a process that culminated in a National Shared Agenda for Democratic Reform. In Ghana the deliberations of the NIMD-supported Political Parties Platform formed the basis for wide societal consultation which eventually led to the drafting of a national Democratic Consolidation Strategy Paper.
 

Publication on constitutional reforms

In several other countries constitution reform processes were undertaken. Often, existing tensions in society were mirrored within the constitutional reform processes. Setting up a process that enables a constructive consensus-building mechanism between the various interest groups is therefore crucial for any successful and legitimate reform. In order to facilitate lessons learned and share these experiences on constitutional reform, the NIMD Knowledge Centre launched the handbook “Writing Autobiographies of Nations: a Comparative Analysis of Constitutional Reform Processes.
 

Accountability and voice

The conference recognised the need to increase political accountability of both governments and political parties as a key objective for democratic consolidation. Issues discussed included: the relation between media and politics; political education; and internal party democracy.
 

Media and politics

There is a mutual dependency between the media and political parties. The mass media provides a platform for politicians to communicate with the public ensures an informed public and holds government to account. A programme in Latin America aimed at improving this relationship, and implemented by Radio Netherlands Training Centre in collaboration with NIMD, was discussed. Various country delegations expressed an interest in similar interventions. Another notable example was the Media and Politics Programme in Ecuador which focused on raising civic awareness about the constitution-making process.
 

Political education

Initiatives around political education were deemed important because the more informed citizens are, the more empowered they will be to intervene in their own governance. Democracy should not only be state-driven, but also citizen-driven. But this entails empowering the public with political skills and methods of engaging with decision makers. Programmes discussed included the democracy schools in Indonesia, the Train the Trainers Programme in Suriname and emergent schools for democracy in Mozambique.
 

Internal party democracy

The discussion on internal party democracy concluded that political parties play a pivotal role in aggregating the voices of citizens and advancing interests through government. But in order to effectively do so, they need to lead by example and ensure that they are democratic institutions that allow for inclusiveness and the space for open debate and discussion. It is important that they are answerable to their members and the public at large.
 

Conflict prevention and resolution

The final major theme centred on Conflict Prevention and Resolution. The Centres for Multi-Party Democracy in Bolivia, Malawi and Kenya proved to be crucial institutions in preventing and/or mediating the conflicts in their countries. Dialogue between the various political actors as facilitated by these centres helped to build trust between them. Moreover, these institutions have helped build trust between political parties and other key stakeholders such as the electoral commission, the media and civil society organisations. The Zimbabwe Institute was recognised for its role in the negotiations between the various signatories to the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the current monitoring of the agreement and the preparation of policies aimed at enhancing democratic governance and the economic recovery of the country. It is important to support the inclusive government despite the limitations of the GPA, because it has resolved the political deadlock in the country and includes a number of important guarantees that provide the basis for a workable government.