Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Free and fair elections

In 2009, successful elections were held in quite a few NIMD programme countries, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. In Ghana, the fourth general elections since the return to multiparty democracy resulted in the peaceful handover of power from the governing NPP party to the opposition NDC. It was the second peaceful alternation of power in that young democracy. The consolidation of democracy in Indonesia also took a step ahead with the third successful general elections since the fall of the Suharto regime.

Political parties carry a special responsibility for the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections. In NIMD-supported programmes, political parties increasingly cooperate with the national electoral commission to ensure the appropriate conditions for elections. The political parties programme in Ghana has provided a framework for the transition process, a framework that will be enacted into a new presidential transition bill.

Democratic reforms

The time to consider the reforms required to make democracy perform better is when the dust of the elections has settled, and the next elections are not yet on the horizon. In all NIMD programme countries, democratic reforms are pursued in one way or another – be it through constitutional reforms, electoral reforms, political party legislation, public funding for parties or otherwise.

In a number of NIMD programmes reforms are pursued through often-contested constitutional review processes. In these processes, a new covenant between the state and its citizens is pursued, along with new checks and balances in the political system. In 2009, constitutional reform processes were on-going in Bolivia, Ecuador, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The NIMD Knowledge Centre has produced the handbook Writing Autobiographies of Nations on constitutional reforms, based on lessons learned in five NIMD programme countries. One of the lessons is that the process is as important as the content of constitutional reforms. Ideally, constitutional reform processes should be as inclusive and participatory as possible, contributing to the consolidation of democracy.

Dialogue

The NIMD programme has resulted in the establishment of Centres for Multiparty Democracy (CMDs) in eleven countries. These CMDs act as conduits for inter-party dialogue and drivers of change for democratic reforms in their respective countries. Increasingly, they foster linkages between political and civil society, and some are expanding their reach from the national level to the provincial levels.

The challenge of facilitating political dialogue and applying the inclusive approach that NIMD promotes in post-conflict countries has yielded results in Burundi and Uganda. With help from political party leaders in Ghana, the political parties of Uganda have reached an agreement to establish their own inter-party dialogue platform, which was inaugurated at a ceremony in Kampala on 5 February 2010. Meanwhile in Burundi, a step in the consolidation of democracy was taken on 4 February 2010, when political parties signed an agreement for the establishment of a permanent dialogue forum.

Ten years of partnership

This year NIMD celebrates its tenth anniversary. On 18 April 2000, seven political parties across the political spectrum decided to work together and found the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. NIMD currently works with more than 150 political parties from 17 partner countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

In June 2009, for the third time in NIMD’s ten-year existence, all partners met in Nairobi, Kenya, for the NIMD Partnership Days. At the event, partners from four continents actively shared their experience in democracy building and political party development. Valuable stories were shared. Many of them have been recorded and made available in print and on DVD, as well as here on the NIMD website.

Some of these stories are also highlighted in the NIMD Magazine 2010. As these stories provide an account of the results that partners have achieved, they form a strong incentive for NIMD to continue building on the established partnerships and further invest in programmes that help political parties bring about the political reforms necessary to make democracies perform better.

Return to the NIMD Magazine 2010 Table of Contents.