Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

The project has brought together members of political parties and civil society organizations in nine departments and 27 municipalities to make a joint analysis of the socio-economic condition of their municipality and subsequently, to establish an agenda for development in areas such as health care, education, environment and security.

In addition, the project encouraged women to make use of their right to vote during the 2007 elections. The presentation of data on women participation in the elections showed that in the participating municipalities, the women’s vote went up with an average of 10%!

Speaking at the event to welcome the participants, the NIMD Representative in Guatemala, Ms. Doris Cruz put emphasis on the shared responsibility of political parties and civil society to work together on development issues at the municipal, departmental and national level.

¨Democracy is more than just elections¨ Also present at the event, the Dutch ambassador in Guatemala, Mr. Teunis Kamper, stressed that democracy is more than just elections. ¨With these municipal agendas”, he said, “you have managed to promote accountability and strengthen democracy.

Several representatives of the political parties and civil society organisations mentioned the importance of the contacts that they established with one another and municipal authorities. ¨Before the project, we did not dare to speak to each other; now we have a shared vision on local development¨ said one of the participants.

NIMD will continue to support the implementation of the agendas. One of the priorities is to enhance the knowledge and skills of the participants on decentralization and associated legislation, so that they know where and how to present their proposals for development.