Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

About the Charter

In January 2007, African Heads of State and Government took an unprecedented and historic step towards the entrenchment of democracy on the continent by adopting the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. While the Charter has yet to come into force, efforts by NIMD, its partners and others to popularise and promote its principles are gaining momentum.

The Charter is the most authoritative expression of the collective commitment of the African Union (AU) to governance and democracy, and moves Africa closer to the establishment of a Union of shared values. At the same time, it provides a clear expression of and framework for the African Agenda in Governance and Democracy.

As a home grown initiative, the Charter also gives legitimacy to the efforts being undertaken by international actors such as NIMD, who seek to complement and facilitate the aspirations of their African partners in pursuit of democracy.

Article 3(11) of the Charter, for instance, clearly underscores the importance of NIMD’s work on the continent, committing state parties to “strengthen political pluralism” and recognising “the role, rights, and responsibilities of legally constituted political parties, including opposition political parties, which should be given a status under the national law”.

Furthermore, the work being done by NIMD in facilitating inter-party dialogue platforms is supported by Article 13 of the Charter, under which State Parties are obliged to “take measures to ensure and maintain political and social dialogue, as well as public trust and transparency between political leaders and the people, in order to consolidate democracy and peace”.

However, while the Charter was adopted by the African Union in January, 2007, only 34 of the AU’s 53 member states have so far signed the document. In fact, just four countries – namely, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso – have ratified it. The Charter only enters into force thirty days after at least 15 member states have ratified it.

Recent Events

It is against this background that NIMD recently joined forces with its partners and other like-minded organisations to ensure that the Charter remains on top of the governance and democratic discourse on the continent. Much progress has now been made in this respect.

Firstly, at the NIMD African Regional Conference held in Naivasha, Kenya in June 2009, 60 delegates representing more than 20 political parties from 10 African states met under the banner “Deepening Voice and Accountability in African Democracy” to discuss how political parties can engage with their States to facilitate the popularisation and ratification of the Charter. At the end of the conference, participants agreed to:

"Recognize the importance of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance as an instrument for advancing voice and accountability. The parties therefore undertook to encourage the popularization of this charter, its signing and ratification by their respective countries."

Secondly, at a colloquium organised by NIMD and other international partners (held in November, 2009, in Accra, Ghana), delegates from 25 sub-Saharan countries gathered to assess recent elections across the continent. The colloquium made a commitment to the Charter in a communiqué which called upon their States and Governments to “take concrete actions to fulfill their responsibilities” as espoused by the Charter.

Most recently, in February 2010, NIMD’s Africa Regional Programme Coordinator, Augustine Magolowondo, participated in a two day workshop on the popularisation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in Pretoria, South Africa. The workshop was organised by NIMD’s partner, the Institute of Democracy in Africa (IDASA).

Other NIMD partners from participated in this workshop thanks to the a partial sponsorship from NIMD-Africa Regional Programme. The presence of NIMD and its partners – including CMD-Kenya, Ghana’s Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and CMD-Malawi – at the IDASA function was both timely and critical, as it offered opportunities to network and share experiences.

Probably the most important contribution made by NIMD’s presence was its bringing into the debate of the importance and role of political parties. In the communiqué that was issued at the end of the workshop, political parties were clearly identified as critical players that should be targeted in this initiative (see the conference communiqué).

Popularising the Charter in Southern Africa

In an effort to coordinate and harmonise the various activities that civil society organisations may be undertaking on the popularisation of the Charter, the workshop participants in Pretoria also decided to come up with a small steering committee comprising three NGOs, the Council for the Community of Democracies (CCD), the Africa Democracy Forum (ADF) and IDASA.

For the Southern Africa (or SADC) region, participants proposed CMD-Malawi to be a member of that committee. This is a good decision on the part of those fighting for the popularisation and ratification of the Charter. Firstly, as Malawi is currently chairing the AU, having a Malawian organisation as focal point is a strategic and convenient choice.

Secondly, the Malawi Council for Non-Governmental Organisations (CONGOMA) is the current Chair of the SADC Council for Non Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO). Thus, opportunities exist for CMD-M to strategically collaborate with CONGOMA on this particular initiative.

Thirdly, by having an organisation like CMD-M on the steering committee of this initiative, NIMD can help ensure that such efforts involve political parties. In other words, CMD-M and other NIMD partners can act as a linchpin to strengthen cooperation between political parties and civil society in this undertaking.

Finally, the involvement of CMD-M in this particular initiative offers it a regional profile and greater visibility, thereby further consolidating its niche not only in Malawi but also in the region.

Indirectly, the inter-party dialogue model, upon which CMD-M is founded, will be showcased beyond its national borders. This, too, will be a focus of attention at the 2010 ARP conference in Uganda.