Ben Dunant is a Carter Center observer in Nepal.

Since 2009, The Carter Center has monitored and reported on topics related to Nepal’s peace process. The Center’s long-term observers often travel to remote communities to gain an understanding of citizen perspectives, and they are currently reporting on local governance issues.

We sat within walls of mud and thatch that warped gently into corners that flaked at the seams, cross-legged on thick carpets with woven Tibetan patterns. Our hosts in the village of Sikles presented us with local food that arrived in portion after portion, all accompanied by steamy hot glasses of raksi, the milky-colored spirit distilled from harvested millet.

A representative of one of Nepal’s major political parties sat with us. The best educated and most energetic of all the village’s sons, in the absence of any elected local leaders he had become the acknowledged leader of the community. The man was the first port of call for any grievances or disputes among the people of Sikles. His verdict was considered final and he was someone – in contrast to a reduced, overburdened local administration – who could get things done for people.

Nepal last held comprehensive local elections in 1997, and the terms of the last elected local bodies expired in 2002. The ensuing decade-long vacuum has had troubling implications for responsive, inclusive governance at the local level. It has resulted in local administrators assuming unreasonable workloads and inappropriate duties, and the creation of informal governing mechanisms that are prone to instability.

We are focusing our current observation efforts toward a Carter Center report on local governance, studying how popular participation and representation has been ensured in the absence of electoral safeguards.

The phenomenon in Sikles — of an influential local stakeholder assuming the duties conventionally taken by elected bodies, and on the basis of social, rather than official, authority — was a telling example of how one close-knit community responded to an ongoing situation of wider national uncertainty.

Since October, I have had the privilege of traveling the beautiful Western region with my international and Nepali teammates, talking to people like those we met in Sikles. Days of arduous travel in rough weather and over rougher terrain are compensated every time by the affectionate welcome of the Nepali people. Whatever their political persuasion or personal circumstance, stakeholders and citizens alike appreciate our long-term commitment to aiding durable peace and inclusive democracy.

While The Carter Center meets and notes the concerns of stakeholders at all levels, its pioneering work in Nepal is rooted in these intimate encounters. Few international organizations can claim to see the country like we do.

In the face of ongoing divisions in post-conflict Nepal, we draw our optimism for its future from this warm affirmation of our shared relationship — a relationship that we intend to sustain and build upon.

Read about the Carter Center’s work in Nepal at www.cartercenter.org/nepal.

Based in Nepal’s Western region, the team of Rokey Suleman (third from left), Ben Dunant (white shirt),
and Shekhar Parajuli (far right) talk with Nepalis as part of their long-term observation efforts. (All photos:
The Carter Center)

Carter Center observer Lena Michaels talks with Nepalis in the Eastern Region. The Center’s long-term observers often travel to remote communities to gain an understanding of citizens’ perspectives.

In Midwestern Region, a Carter Center observer shares a copy of the Center’s latest report. The Center has monitored and reported on topics related to Nepal’s peace process since 2009.

Jordan’s Jan. 23 parliamentary elections are taking place in a climate of uncertainty, due to dissatisfaction with the pace of electoral reform and frustration with the state of the economy. In late-November there were demonstrations against the monarch, sparked by a sharp increase in gas prices. The upcoming parliamentary elections are the first after a series of limited electoral reforms were implemented. A small Carter Center study team is in Jordan to assess several key political and electoral reform issues.

Campaign banners surround a traffic circle in Jerash, Jordan. (Photo: The Carter Center)

In the oversized Gallery Hall in downtown Amman, Jordan, hot debate warmed chilly winter air as candidates from five political party lists faced questions from a panel of experts. This was the second of two debates sponsored by Leaders of Tomorrow, a leading youth group in the country, and in many ways, the first time campaign debate has focused so closely on important issues of the day.

Candidates from the Islamic Centrist, Progressive Democratic, Nation, National Current, and Unified Front fielded a range of questions ranging from the minimum wage law, privatization, and corruption, to the elections law, political reform, and finally foreign policy. The field is truncated, with opposition parties boycotting elections and only a small sample of the 61 national lists represented. But, the thoughtful debate and range of answers was impressive, and the hundred plus audience fully engaged.

Of course, it is only a start. Jordanians will tell you that many lists continue to represent families and personalities, not platforms and policies, just as the relatively young, educated, middle class Ammanis who chose to spend their Tuesday night listening to such debates hardly represent the average Jordanian.

But, the demands they raised are heard a hundred-fold on the streets. The only difference may be their confidence that participation matters. When I told my driver how refreshing it was to hear real political debate during the campaigns, he told me what many had said before: we don’t want talk, we want action. Therein lies the rub.

A Carter Center team will study several key issues during parliamentary elections in the context of recent political reforms, including the legal framework for elections, boundary delimitation, election administration, the role of gender, over and underrepresented groups, and the electoral dispute resolution process.

The Center will issue a report on its findings after the election.

Sierra Leone’s last election was a historic one: the first time the country’s opposition took power more or less peacefully. This also will be a landmark of another sort: the first election conducted solely by the country’s National Election Commission, without any international assistance.

Young supporters rally in Koidu in support of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), a small opposition party. Koidu is a major commercial and diamond trade center in the Eastern Province about 275 miles from the capital, Freetown.

My partner and I — long-term observers work in pairs — are stationed in the east of the country, long considered the stronghold of the Sierra Leone People’s Party. This time, the ruling All People’s Congress is campaigning hard to reach voters in the region, and Sierra Leoneans are getting a taste of a genuinely competitive election.

Some days find us trailing rallies through the streets of Kenema, or digging our car out of the mud, or  admiring the “traditional” devils accompanying political party supporters to nominate their candidates, or sitting down with an influential businessman or party official to discuss campaign finance, or watching the president address the crowd in the sputtering rain in Kailahun, or driving several hours up a cratered dirt road to attend a community meeting where an official extols the virtues of multiparty democracy by comparing it to polygamy. “After all, life is better when you have more than one wife,” he says. Some of the women in the audience nod their heads in agreement.

In early October, The Carter Center deployed eight long-term observers to travel throughout Sierra Leone to  assess voter registration, campaigning, voter education, and other critical parts of the electoral process leading to election day Nov. 17. Observers log thousands of miles on sometimes challenging roads.

Then there are days like one recently when we observed poll workers being trained. Most of the training materials and the funds for the day’s meal were stuck in the mud somewhere along the road, but everyone persevered. When they finally stopped for lunch at 3 p.m., we asked their supervisor how late the training would run. “We will be here as long as we are able to read,” he said, gesturing at the ceiling, “until there is no light.”

The challenges are daunting, but the people are determined to meet them. As observers, we hope to illuminate the process.

Read the Center’s Nov. 1 Statement on the Pre-election Process >

All People’s Congress (APC) supporters in Kenema, the largest city in the Eastern Province, urge re-election of Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma.

One supporter dresses up as a devil, an iconic figure of Sierra Leonean culture, during the APC parade in Kenema.

The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), a social democratic party, is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the APC. Here, SLPP supporters rally in Tonga Field, a football field in Kenema.

The Carter Center also will send a small group of experts for an informal presence on election day to interview political actors and voters around the country, but not enter voting centers. Following the election, the Center will publish a report for the international community about Venezuelan perceptions of the electoral process and the results.

In August, The Carter Center declined an invitation from the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) to field a technical expert delegation to assess the automated voting system and accompany the elections because the invitation was received too late to organize the necessary experts and financing. The CNE has not invited international observation missions since 2006.

“The most important role in monitoring any electoral process belongs to the national citizens, including the political parties, national observer organizations, and the voters themselves,” said Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program. “Voters can participate in the verification of the electronic vote counts on election night when the paper receipts are counted, national observer groups are organizing to monitor election day, and the political campaigns are expected to field party witnesses in each voting site. Local universities and NGOs are monitoring campaign conditions and media access during the campaign. The Carter Center will use all of this information, in addition to interviews, in its report.”

Since 1998, The Carter Center has observed four elections and referendums in Venezuela.

A voter tests the fingerprint identification system during an Aug. 5 election simulation in Venezuela.
(Photo: J. McCoy/Carter Center)

Campaign posters for opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski mark the beginning
of the presidential election campaign in Caracas, Venezuela, in June 2012.  Capriles has promised to continue popular social programs and to make government more efficient. (Photo: N. Friedman-Rudovsky/Carter Center)

The barrios of Caracas, Venezuela are some of the most dangerous in Latin America and a bastion of support for President Hugo Chavez. Chavez has vowed to tackle Caracas’ persistent housing problem, pledging to provide all citizens with dignified housing before the end of his potential next presidential term. (Photo: N. Friedman-Rudovsky/Carter Center)

A man reads the newspaper in Caracas. Venezuelan society and the media are extremely polarized, and
The Carter Center is encouraging less partisan and more professional media reporting on Venezuela’s electoral process through a series of workshops ahead of the country’s Oct. 7 presidential election. These workshops offer one of the few spaces where journalists from diverse media participate together in the polarized society. Read more about the Carter Center’s efforts. (Photo: N. Friedman-Rudovsky/Carter Center)

The Center released its preliminary statement on the second round of Egypt’s presidential election on June 19.  Read the full statement in English or عربي >>

Photos below are from the first day of voting in Egypt’s runoff election, June 16, 2012.

Poll workers at Shakshouk Preparatory School in Shakshouk Village, approximately 50 miles south of Cairo. (All photos by Maurice Chammah/The Carter Center.)

A man casts his ballot on June 16 at the Shakshouk Preparatory School in Shakshouk Village.

Carter Center Delegation Co-Leader and State Senator Jason Carter, Field Office Director Sanne van den Bergh, and logistics coordinator Sameh Ibrahim meet with a judge overseeing a polling station at Aisha Hasaneen Primary School in Fayoum.

A man checks in to vote at the Shakshouk Preparatory School.

A judge checks the I.D. card of a voter at Aisha Hasaneen Primary School in Fayoum.

Former Jordanian Ambassador Marwan Muasher, Georgia State Senator Jason Carter, and former Prime Minister of Yemen Abdel Karim Al-Eryani meet with representatives of the Freedom and Justice Party on June 16.

Voting began Wednesday in Egypt, where more than 50 million registered voters may choose the first genuinely democratically elected president in the country’s history.

In the Al-Sayeda Zeinab and Al-Sayeda Aisha neighborhoods of Cairo, hundreds of people lined up outside polling stations ahead of poll opening at 8 a.m. They warmly welcomed President and Mrs. Carter as they arrived to witness voting as part of the 100-member Carter Center delegation.

Those in line expressed enthusiasm, many preparing to vote for the first time in their lives. “These are two days of feast for us,” an elderly voter told Mrs. Carter. “The sun has risen in Egypt,” said another.

Some of those who participated in the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak had lost enthusiasm, but 24-year-old Gehad Abada still thought it was important to vote.

“I am not hopeful about who we will elect as the next president per se, but I am hopeful that he will leave after four years and that we will hold him accountable for what he does, and for anything that goes wrong,” she said.

In a country holding its first real election after decades of dictatorship under one person, that hope means a lot.

President Carter and Carter Center witnesses are welcomed into a polling station by the presiding judge on Wednesday, May 23. (All Photos: D. Hakes/The Carter Center)

A poll worker waits for the next voter to approach his table so he can check his voter identification card.

Shortly after voting began on May 23, a man casts his ballot in Cairo.

Mrs. Carter talks with a female political party observer in Cairo.

President Carter watches as poll workers check a voter’s ID.

Perhaps tired from a long wait in line, a child rests on his mother as she signs in to vote.

President Carter poses for a photo with a voter in Cairo. The Carters were warmly welcomed at every polling station that they visited on May 23.

Women prepare to vote in Cairo.

A woman casts her ballot in Cairo on May 23.

Read more: Jimmy Carter to Lead Carter Center Delegation to Egypt (عربي) >

Dispatches from Egypt – Carter Center Witnesses Reflect on Election Voices, Symbols >

Below, Deborah Hakes, assistant director of the Carter Center’s Office of Public Information, blogs from Cairo about Jan. 10 election day activities.

Photos:  D. Hakes/The Carter Center
A delegation of 40 witnesses representing 21 countries has been deployed by The Carter Center since mid-November to witness all three phases of voting in Egypt’s lower house parliamentary elections.

A polling station in northern Cairo.  Voting took place Jan. 10-11 for a runoff of the third round of parliamentary elections.

Carter Center witness Nicholas Alexander talks with poll workers on Jan. 10.

A young daughter accompanies her mother to vote in the runoff for the third round of lower house parliamentary elections in Cairo.

A woman voting in Cairo.

A judge answers a voter’s question in a polling center for men in Cairo.

A poll worker checks the ID of a man preparing to vote.

A man casts his ballot toward the end of voting on Jan. 10.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visits a polling station during runoff voting in Cairo’s Shoubra neighborhood.

A polling official shows President Carter the voters’ registry for that polling station, which lists a voter named “Jimmy Carter.”

Voters dipped their fingers in indelible ink after casting their ballots.

Read more:

Jimmy Carter to Lead Carter Center Delegation to Egypt (عربي) >

Dispatches from Egypt – Carter Center Witnesses Reflect on Election Voices, Symbols >

Filed under: Democracy, Egypt, Elections, Videos

Photo:  G. Dubourthoumieu/The Carter Center
A Congolese woman casts her vote in a polling station in Kinshasa on Nov. 28, 2011. The Democratic Republic of the Congo held national elections Monday.

The challenges are many. The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) must deploy all materials on time to 63,000 polling stations across the country, many in remote, inaccessible places. Security is also a big issue. The national police force must keep the peace and guarantee safety in a very contentious environment.

“The stability of DRC is the stability of the subregion,” said Baya Kara, director of the Carter Center’s election observation mission. “This election is a test of the strength of democratic institutions and the impartiality of CENI; it is important for us to be witness.”

Photo:  G. Dubourthoumieu/The Carter Center
A Congolese man talks with Carter Center delegation leader and former president of Zambia Rupiah Banda (L) in front of a polling station in Kinshasa on Nov. 28, 2011. The Democratic Republic of the Congo held national elections Monday under a cloud of violence after clashes on the final day of campaigning left at least two people dead.

Twenty Carter Center long-term observers have been deployed since August, and they are now joined by others to form a 70-person delegation to observe the polling and counting processes. The group is co-led by former Zambia President Rupiah Banda and Carter Center Vice President for Peace Programs John Stremlau.

To cover the most ground in a country the size of Western Europe, the Center is also supporting the deployment of more than 6,000 domestic observers. This partnership will allow observers to deploy to the furthest corners of the DRC and reach even the most inaccessible areas, and will also enhance the Center’s knowledge and understanding of political context in a very complex country.

Photo:  L. Curtis/The Carter Center
Carter Center long-term observers face challenging road conditions in Kasai Occidental in October 2011.

“One of the most challenging aspects of our work is the logistics,” said Serge Tambwe Badibanga of the domestic observation group Réseau National pour l’Observation et la Surveillance des Elections au Congo (National Network for the Observation and Monitoring of Elections in Congo).  “Some of our observers will travel for two days—by motorcycle, dugout canoes, and bicycle—to reach their polling stations.

Photo:  F. Afsharnia/The Carter Center
Lubakat men with grass skirts and painted faces dance in the streets in Katanga Province to support a presidential candidate in October 2011.

The Carter Center is committed to the long-term stability of the DRC. After observing the country’s 2006 elections, the Center remained engaged through the Human Rights House in Kinshasa to provide direct support to 154 Congolese NGO partners who work against child trafficking, shepherd victims of sexual and gender-based violence through the legal system, demand the transparent and equitable use of natural resources through mining policy reform, and promote electoral reform.

Photo:  G. Dubourthoumieu/The Carter Center
Congolese citizens look for their names on a list outside a polling station in Kinshasa on Nov. 28, 2011.

Quick facts:

DRC President Joseph Kabila’s biggest challenger in this election is opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. Eleven candidates are running for  president.

DRC’s constitution no longer requires a candidate to gain more than 50 percent of the vote to win, so whoever receives the most votes on Nov. 28 is elected.

Ballots are each a bulging 56 pages; there are more than 18,000 candidates running for seats in the parliamentary elections.

There are 63,000 polling stations and polls will be open on election day from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Read more:  Former Zambia President Rupiah Banda to Lead Carter Center Delegation to DRC’s Election (En anglais et en français)

Carter Center long-term observer Max Lockie is based in Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Center established an office in Kinshasa in August and deployed 10 long-term observers to seven  provinces: Kinshasa, Bas-Congo, Oriental Province, North Kivu, South Kivu, Katanga, and Kasai Oriental. In September, the Center deployed another 10 long-term observers to the remaining provinces.  They will be joined by an additional 40 observers to monitor events in the days before the Nov. 28 presidential and legislative elections and the entire vote tabulation process.

Despite having studied French for six years in school, spending another year living in France, and taking six previous trips to Francophone Africa, my French vocabulary still can come up short.  In this instance, it was the word sourd-muet that left me smiling and nodding.  I overheard it in a meeting with officials in charge of voter education and civic engagement at the provincial office of the electoral commission.  Later in the car, I had to ask my perfectly trilingual colleague what our most recent interlocutors were talking about.  When she told me that we would be visiting a voter education seminar for the deaf, I didn’t know quite what to expect.

ALL PHOTOS:  M. Lockie/The Carter Center
Matadi, a hilly riverside town 350km west of Kinshasa, that serves as a provincial capital.  This billboard contains an image of the Pont Maréchal, which–with a length of 722 meters–is the longest suspension bridge on the African Continent.

There are a great many muggy Saturday afternoons in Matadi, the hilly riverside town 350km west of Kinshasa that serves as a provincial capital, but few that I will remember as clearly. We arrived in the general area that the elections official told us about and with the aid of our driver, made our way through a hilltop neighborhood away from the central downtown.  A dusty path led us to a basement classroom where the training was being held.  Upon entering the dark and narrow room, we could feel the eyes of the room fix on us–this is normal.  Matadi, and much of the Bas-Congo region, has an alarmingly low level of international partners working on the ground, and our presence almost always turns heads. What was different this time was that we didn’t hear the usual cries of “Mundele!” the Kikongo word for a white person, which follows us wherever we go.  Instead we simply waved, and 30 pairs of hands instantly popped up to greet us.

A deaf voter–one of 30 who participated–raises his hand to ask a question during a voter education seminar in October 2011. Trainers used flipbooks of illustrative animations to explain electoral elements such as voter eligibility, legal contentions after the vote, and how to mark a ballot.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), voter education is at once a crucial and enormous task.  The country occupies a landmass approximately the size of Western Europe, with much of the
population not easily accessible due to a lack of good roads.  This means most projects require cooperation at all levels, and today was no exception. The voter education session itself was organized by the electoral commission but conducted by Antenne de Formation a Distance (AFAD), a local group funded by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an international body that funds electoral activities worldwide.

IFES had furnished AFAD with a flipbook of illustrative animations that covered the whole range of electoral elements  from voter eligibility to profiles of good candidates to legal contentions after the vote. A good while was also spent on the more technical aspects such as how one moves through the different desks in the polling station and the mechanics of marking a ballot.  There have been only three previous democratic exercises in recent years after 40 years of authoritarian rule in DRC, so no aspects of the democratic process can be omitted or taken for granted.

The voters were engaged every step of the way; asking questions, clarifying points, and often speaking amongst themselves to ensure mutual understanding of the material…all without saying a word.

An AFAD trainer presents IFES-developed voter education material with the aid of a sign language interpreter to his left.

As an international elections observer I meet with individuals, officials, and organizations focused on voter education every day.  Without fail they tell me about the low level of education of the general public, that many are illiterate, and voters are susceptible to charismatic politicians with big promises and trucks full of sugar, beer, and bread.  But on this day, my partner and I couldn’t help but feel that something was going right in the DRC as we watched those who literally have no voice gain the capacity to express themselves on election day.

All Photos: D. Hakes/The Carter Center
Liberians lined up to vote on a rainy morning in Monrovia on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Credible elections in 2011 are a key test of whether the country’s institutions are strong enough and its leaders are sufficiently committed to creating the conditions for an open and competitive process. This is the first election to be administered primarily by the National Elections Commission and the first to be held under Liberia’s 1986 constitution.

At the William Tubman High School in Monrovia, Liberians waited in line for several hours ahead of voting, which started at 8 a.m. There were 16 candidates for president, including Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change, Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party, and current President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party. If a single candidate does not receive a majority vote (50 percent plus one vote) on Oct. 11, a presidential runoff election will be held.

Voters were enthusiastic despite the rain, which varied from a drizzle to a  heavy downpour all morning in Monrovia.

Tape marks where voters will soon line up on Oct. 11 before polls opened.

Carter Center delegation leader General Dr. Yakubu Gowon and Field Office Director Alexander Bick inspect a stack of ballots before voting begins on Oct. 11.

A polling official looks up a voter’s ID card to be sure they are registered to vote in that location. Liberia’s National Elections Commission hired and trained  more than 27,000 poll workers for  4,457 polling places on election day.

Part of poll opening procedures by polling station staff includes sealing the empty ballot boxes.

Voting gets under way at the William Tubman High School.

Polling staff answer questions from Liberians in line to vote.

National, political party, and independent party observers in their designated seating area watch as a polling official checks the ID of a voter.

General Gowon watches a woman cast her ballot on Tuesday morning in Monrovia.

A polling staffer in Monrovia holds a woman’s infant as she casts her ballot, then inks the woman’s finger with indelible ink.

A woman votes in Paynesville.

Voters wait in line at Liberia University.

General Gowon addresses the media on election day morning, as others take shelter from the rain.

Carter Center intern Aliya Naim observes polling in Paynesville.

Polls closed at 6 p.m. on Oct. 11. At this Waterside polling station, the presiding officer cuts the seals off a ballot box to start the counting process, as a polling official holds a lantern so he can see.

Carter Center observers watch the counting process in Monrovia.

Read more about Liberia’s historic elections >