International Affairs
Center for Democracy and Election Management (CDEM) Develops New Field of Comparative Election Administration and First Summer Institute
THE WORLD HAS CHEERED as democracy has expanded in recent decades, but in many nations, it remains fragile. Nevertheless, no U.S. university is training leaders how to sustain democracy and how to prevent electoral fraud. Determined to fill that gap, AU assembled 30 election officials and leaders from 12 countries to learn how to conduct free elections, how to ensure that they are free and fair, and what to do if they are not.
“There has not been a systematic effort to educate citizens about democracy or to train officials how to conduct impartial elections,” noted Dr. Robert Pastor, the director of CDEM. “At the recent summer institute for international election officials, participants tackled tough issues in their countries just as the Carter-Baker Commission did for the United States.”
Organized by CDEM and held at AU in June, the inaugural two-week institute was a tremendous success. The participants were guided by 42 experts, of whom 16 were senior professors from AU. Together, they developed material on the gamut of election topics that will be used for several future courses.
A large delegation from Nigeria, representing the Independent National Electoral Commission and the principal monitoring group, prepared an extensive report to guide the country toward pivotal elections to take place in April 2007. A group from the Middle East also examined the flaws in their countries’ elections and proposed specific recommendations. “Much was learned from all the presentations by both the participants and the lecturers,” said Dr. Daniel Calingaert, associate director of CDEM. “Though initially reticent, the participants soon offered the boldest analyses and proposals.” Grants from the U.S. State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, the United Nations Development Programme, and U.S. Agency for International Development helped CDEM assemble such a diverse and high caliber group.
“There were no boundaries on what participants shared during the course,” said Dr. Khalid Bin Jabor Al-Thani, vice chairman of Qatar’s Permanent Elections Committee. “The program was a very good exposure to the problems encountered in other countries’ electoral processes.” Edward Nyaley, a member of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission, added, “Everything covered was extremely beneficial, especially the participants’ final presentations made on the last day.”
“The course was a big step forward for executive education in election management,” noted Dr. Calingaert. “AU will follow up in the coming academic year and in subsequent years with more courses on democracy and elections.”
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