Democracy International

Elections work has defined us at Democracy International since the beginning. Now, with our partners the National Security Leaders for America, the Chamberlain Network, the Democracy Rising Collaborative, and the Democracy Renewal Group, we are bringing trusted community members together to create a welcoming, celebratory, nonpartisan presence around U.S. elections—so every voter feels safe, confident, and supported.

Democracy International (DI) is proud to announce that the Council of Europe has awarded the organization a framework contract to provide international consultancy services in support of social and behavior change strategies and interventions across co-operation projects under the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. The contract, lasting until 2028, reflects a shared commitment to advancing good governance and strengthening the relationship between citizens and democratic institutions. DI's selection underscores the growing recognition that durable democratic progress requires more than policy reform—it demands a deep understanding of human behavior, community trust, and the social dynamics and norms that shape civic participation.

“This framework contract represents an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the Council of Europe’s vital mission, and we take that responsibility with the utmost seriousness,” said Eric Bjornlund, President and CEO of Democracy International. “Our team brings decades of expertise in designing and implementing evidence-based programs across diverse political and social contexts. We are fully committed to delivering the highest quality services to the Council of Europe and to the communities they serve. This is not simply a professional engagement—it is a partnership grounded in shared values and a mutual belief in the power of democratic governance to improve lives.”

The award builds on DI’s long track record of integrating social and behavioral science into governance programming worldwide, including most recently in the United States, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Kosovo.

Above: Participants in Kosovo join a DI-led Behavioral Harvest Workshop. Photo by DI’s Social Contract Activity in Kosovo. ​

By Sofya Orlosky, DI Senior Advisor, Democracy and Elections

A citizen signs the voter roll to receive their ballot during the Moldova Parliamentary Elections on September 28, 2025.

At the end of September, I joined an international election observation mission to witness the consequential parliamentary elections in Moldova. I visited more than a dozen urban and rural polling stations, talked with precinct and district election officials, and collected data for a nationwide assessment. As these elections in Moldova were critical in determining the country's path, domestic and international observers were present at the vast majority of its 2,274 polling stations. Above all, I was impressed to see so many knowledgeable citizens working as domestic election monitors.

When I compare my experiences as an election worker in my home state to my work as an international observer and as a former trainer of independent election monitors in Eurasia, perhaps the most profound difference I notice is the presence of nonpartisan election monitors at polling stations and district commissions overseas. These watchers come from domestic nonprofits, political candidates, and international missions. This practice is notably less common in the United States, for various reasons.

In the countries where democracy's future is on the line—such as Eastern European nations that face the geopolitical pull from both Russia and the European Union, of which Moldova is a prime example—election observers are rigorously trained in the minutia of the election administration process. They understand the sequence of steps in standard procedures, from opening of the polls, to issuing a ballot, to voting, closing, counting, and tabulation. They know the applicable regulations. They know how technology is supposed to work—and who should have access to it. They also know their right to call foul and lodge formal complaints. Ultimately, this enables their organizations and associations to provide an objective evaluation of whether elections were credible and competitive based on hundreds, if not thousands, of methodologically consistent reports from around the country.

A voter casts their ballot during the Moldova Parliamentary Elections on September 28, 2025. 

In Europe and Eurasia, regions I have worked in for nearly two decades, it is nonprofits and professional associations that train election monitors and organize election observation missions in their home countries and abroad. Independent monitors from respected domestic organizations are sharp and quick to point out inconsistencies. In Moldova's recent elections these notable groups were PromoLEX and the Union of Lawyers.

In such “battleground” countries, the emergence of election monitors is a result of decades of painful progress (or lack thereof) toward democratic governance. In countries where elections have been rife with irregularities in the past due to malign domestic or foreign influences, independent monitoring efforts are indispensable to help build public trust in the process. Conversely, in places where elections have not been historically "stolen" or “fixed,” there is less need to watch closely every step of the way, and rigorous election monitoring missions are not as common—because people trust the process and know their vote will carry its weight. This has historically been the case with much of Western Europe—and the United States.

As Americans head next year into some of the hottest midterms we have ever faced, we are navigating the era of citizen distrust in elections and government institutions. This is the right time to learn from countries where democratic governance has been under threat for decades. To steer away from publicizing unfounded accusations and cherry-picked incidents that fuel misinformation, we need multiple concerted efforts to observe the election process where citizens think it's needed most to boost their confidence. Ironically, the generosity of the American people—through USAID programs, volunteering efforts, and contributions to intergovernmental bodies such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe—was instrumental to developing multiple evidence-based election monitoring methodologies now utilized broadly around the world. Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT/Quick Count), Process Results and Verification for Transparency (PRVT), Election Forensics Toolkit, Election Access Observation, Long-Term Observation, to name a few, all offer rigorous, data-driven frameworks for evaluating the integrity of elections.

BETHESDA, MARYLAND, September 27, 2025: Yesterday, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency stay that allowed the Trump Administration to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid that had been duly appropriated by Congress. Democracy International is a plaintiff in the case, Global Health Council v. Trump.

“The Supreme Court majority has fundamentally undermined Congress’ constitutional power of the purse and altered the balance of powers in our country,” said DI President Eric Bjornlund. “While the Court cautions that its action is temporary, the order gives the President the power to ignore duly enacted laws.” 

In late August the Administration proposed to rescind the funds, which would expire at the end of the fiscal year on September 30 even without further congressional action. By greenlighting this “pocket rescission” the Court has effectively endorsed a radical change in the U.S. system of government.

Even if this action is temporary, the Supreme Court has enabled the Administration to cause permanent damage to U.S. businesses, nonprofits, and many others working for the American people to advance security, prosperity, and fundamental rights as well as irreversible harm to vulnerable people around the world.

Washington, D.C. – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Responsive Local Governance (RLG) Activity in Bangladesh. This multi-year initiative, concluding in 2029, aims to promote sustainable governance practices, strengthen citizen trust in local government institutions, and enhance civic participation.

The RLG Activity will focus on improving accountability and service delivery in critical sectors, including education, healthcare, and economic development. By fostering transparency and effective local governance, DI aims to support Bangladesh in empowering communities and elevating citizen voices in decision-making processes.

“DI is proud to lead this transformative initiative, empowering citizens and civil society in Bangladesh to engage with their elected representatives and drive positive change,” said Eric Bjornlund, DI President and CEO.

DI looks forward to advancing sustainable development alongside the people of Bangladesh, partnering with USAID to strengthen democratic principles and foster resilient, inclusive growth at this pivotal moment in Bangladesh's political journey —a time of both challenges and opportunities.

DI Vice President of Programs Naomi Rasmussen added, "We're thrilled to partner with USAID on the RLG Activity, which builds on DI's work in Bangladesh since 2011. This is a crucial time in the country's history, particularly for governance and accountability initiatives. We are privileged to be a part of this process and look forward to supporting Bangladesh’s leaders to write the next chapter."

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“I am not here as a public official but as a citizen of a troubled world…” President Carter, on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

President Jimmy Carter leaves a profound legacy. His ethics and energy inspire generations of democracy and human rights advocates around the world. Among them, DI’s executive leaders Eric and Gina Bjornlund sat down with Liza Prendergast, a DI vice president, to reflect on their work with President Carter as well as Democracy International’s longstanding partnership with The Carter Center.

Liza: Eric and Gina, you worked with President Carter over a number of elections in Indonesia, Zambia, West Bank and Gaza, and elsewhere. What are your reflections on how President Carter approached this work? How did that influence the way that you approach your work?

Eric: President Carter viewed international election observation as an opportunity to prevent conflict. As President Carter shared with me in a 2013 interview, “I was interested in preventing … and ending conflicts, and the first thoughts I had [were] that this would be one more opportunity to accomplish those goals.”

Over the last 35 years, President Carter became an icon of election monitoring. He earned a well-deserved reputation for effectiveness and seriousness of purpose in his engagement in international election observation. His commitment to election monitoring paved the way for its widespread acceptance the world over and even helped him win the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. In my work for President Carter, I saw how he understood and navigated the profound effects that each political system has on each individual person—from registering to vote and casting a ballot on election day to witnessing ballot counting on election day and beyond. At its core, his approach to international election observation elevated human rights, advanced democratic norms and systems, and reduced conflict.

Gina: Early in my career I witnessed President Carter’s remarkable approach to implementing change on the ground. I was in my first overseas position supporting the efforts to organize non-partisan election observers for seminal elections in Zambia in 1991. During a visit to the temporary meeting space of the new and somewhat shaky coalition group, I observed President and Mrs. Carter as they sat with diverse community leaders and university students and worked through obstacles to find a common purpose; their direct personal engagement is what made it work. I saw and hoped to always integrate this personal investment, sustained commitment, and attention to detail.

Eric: Yes, I agree. In Zambia, Carter’s innovative thinking and thoughtful approach established norms for our field that continue until today, including the importance of attention to the rules and the preelection environment as well as the importance of talking to all sides, even unsavory ones.

These are perhaps some reasons that DI and The Carter Center have worked so closely together over more than 20 years.

The Bjornlund Family with President and Mrs. Carter in Indonesia in 2004.

Liza: President Carter wrote and spoke often about his personal experience with election fraud when he ran for office in the U.S. in the 1960s—propelling him to dedicate much of his work at The Carter Center to improving elections. Can you talk about how President Carter influenced the field of international election observation in particular?

Eric: In my book, Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Building Democracy, I dedicate a chapter to Carter’s popularization of international election observation. In it, I recognize his profound influence on normalizing core tenets of international election observation and negotiating with dictators and democrats to accept them. In 1989 in Panama, for example, he surprised the world by courageously standing up to an authoritarian government and establishment trying to perpetrate electoral fraud. Somewhat famously, he stood in public in front of a crowd and challenged the election authorities in Spanish, “Are you honest officials or thieves? You are stealing the election from the people of Panama.” This set a precedent for election observers to stand up to power. In Nicaragua, in 1989 and 1990, President Carter’s sustained engagement convinced then-President Daniel Ortega to accept significant reforms to the process and subsequently to accept that he had lost and concede defeat.

Liza: Can you talk about how President Carter influenced our work, particularly related to election observation, at DI?

Eric: President Carter’s legacy informs our work at DI in many ways. President Carter helped popularize the Parallel Vote Tabulation methodology that my DI co-founder, Glenn Cowan, invented. His focus on preelection assessments and parallel counts have continued to set high standards for international democracy assistance. Furthermore, President Carter’s personal commitment to tapping thoughtful and ethical people to administer programs and lead observation efforts serves as a model and remains one of the core reasons we value working together with The Carter Center to this day.

Liza: What are some of the legacies that President Carter leaves with us?

Eric: For me, personally, President Carter leaves a profound legacy that we must uphold, now more than ever. His ethics, attention to detail, and willingness to stand up to dictators are front of mind for me right now.

We also continue to advance our important institutional work at DI in partnership with The Carter Center. For nearly a decade, we have worked with The Carter Center (and The Asia Foundation) in a formal partnership, the Advancing Democratic Elections and Political Transitions (ADEPT) joint venture, to improve elections and political processes programming worldwide. This year, working together as ADEPT, DI and The Carter Center in Guinea are working with a new award from USAID/Guinea to implement the Citizens Observation for Democratic Elections (CODE) program. With The Carter Center and other core partners, we also implement one of USAID’s most important global human rights initiatives, the Justice, Rights, and Security—Rapid Response Activity (JURIS).

Gina: President Carter’s approach to advocacy was quite personal. He didn’t just lend his name to causes, he brought his entire network into the work. His family members, friends, and colleagues from his presidency all became integral parts of his humanitarian efforts. This resonated with me especially when we brought our young family to Indonesia while working with The Carter Center election support program. Sharing this experience with them reminded me of how Carter’s own grandchildren had been and remain present in so many similar moments.

Eric: There is a reason President Carter became an icon for the democracy promotion community. He used his platform—and his voice—to help the world understand why democratic elections, both their processes and their outcomes, matter. We are lesser for his passing and are com-mitted to carrying on his critical work.

Washington, D.C. – The United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/CPS/OTI) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Support Which Implements Fast Transition (SWIFT) 6 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. This 10-year, multi-award contract, with a $5 billion shared ceiling, is designed to advance U.S. foreign policy by promoting stability, peace, and democracy in countries and regions facing complex political crises. 

“DI is honored to partner with the USAID CPS Office of Transition Initiatives on this critical contract,” said DI President and CEO Eric Bjornlund. “We are committed to working closely with USAID/CPS/OTI to support communities around the world as they navigate political transitions and to foster environments where stability, peace, and democracy can thrive.” 

DI is excited to join SWIFT 6 and embody the one-team ethos, working hand in glove with USAID/CPS/OTI to address key challenges facing countries in transition worldwide.  

“Partnership is at the heart of what we do, and we are thrilled to work together with USAID/CPS/OTI to tackle some of the hardest challenges in the world today,” added DI Senior Vice President Evan Smith. “By bringing fresh perspectives and a results-driven approach, we’re focused on delivering great work—and continuously raising the bar.” 

Democracy International extends its deepest condolences to the people of Malawi following the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others. We are profoundly saddened by this terrible news, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. 

“In these moments of profound sorrow, we hope for peace and comfort for all those affected,” said Hristijan Gjorgievski, DI Chief of Party for the USAID-supported Parliamentary Support Program. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Central America Regional Support Services (CARSS) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. This seven-year, multi-award mechanism aims to provide USAID missions in Central America with integrated service solutions, addressing root causes of migration, including economic opportunity, governance, transparency, climate change, crime, and insecurity. 

Collaborating with major partners, J.E. Austin Associates and Research Triangle Institute International, Democracy International is poised to bring exceptional expertise to the CARSS initiative. Under this mechanism, USAID can leverage DI’s evidence-based, context-specific, and behaviorally informed approaches to: 1) address economic insecurity and foster opportunities for economic growth; 2) strengthen democratic governance, reduce gender-based violence, promote respect for human rights and a free press, and address migration dynamics; 3) improve resilience to climate, food security, and health threats; and 4) strengthen the capacity of local partners and provide technical and management expertise to USAID Missions.  

“Having worked in the region for more than 20 years, we look forward to strengthening existing partnerships and forging new ones with regional activists, indigenous groups, government officials, and others to address these critical issues,” said DI President and CEO Eric Bjornlund. “We are excited to do our part to advance democratic, inclusive, prosperous, and healthy societies.” 

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By: Nicholas Battaile, Program Management Associate

Trust between people and their government is one of the essential underpinnings of functioning democracies. Research and evidence from around the world underscore that low public trust undermines citizens' willingness to engage in civic participation, which in turn reduces the accountability of government institutions. The result is a feedback loop that continually weakens trust. Although efforts to encourage transparency sound like a straightforward solution to address dwindling public trust, they have a mixed record of success. As Democracy International’s Kassidy Irvan wrote in her three-part blog covering trust at the municipal level, building lasting trust between officials and their constituents requires more than simply working to increase local governments’ transparency. People hold established, multifaceted views of their governments; many things influence public trust beyond the degree to which government shares information about its operations. Social and behavioral science research suggests that people's trust in government depends on the extent to which they perceive public servants as benevolent, competent, and honest. While the root of public distrust in municipal government may vary from case to case, interventions seeking to improve public confidence should always consider these three essential components of trust.

One approach aligned with this insight, called “intergroup contact intervention,” involves facilitating interaction between members of different groups to help diminish prejudices and encourage collaboration. In doing so, groups may see each other as more willing to cooperate and capable of arriving at a common ground. In other words, intergroup contact intervention often improves the group members’ perceptions of others’ benevolence and competence. This approach becomes more complicated, however, in situations where there is an imbalance of power between conflicting groups. Without addressing such a power disparity, intergroup contact can be completely counterproductive. When facilitating intergroup contact, it is imperative to level the playing field for all participants by establishing a fair process and preventing any one side from dominating the interaction. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Social Contract Activity in Kosovo, which DI implements, offers a programmatic illustration of how practitioners can apply an intergroup contact intervention to build trust between citizens and their municipal governments.

The Social Contract Activity has been ongoing in five pilot municipalities since the beginning of 2022 and is scaling up to include an additional 10 municipalities.[1] The core objective of the Social Contract Activity is to improve the relationship between Kosovo citizens and their municipal governments, particularly by establishing sustainable public participation practices supported by officials and citizen groups. The issue of trust runs both ways in this environment. While citizens distrust existing public participation mechanisms and doubt local governments’ interest in genuine engagement, a significant number of municipal officials perceive citizens as lacking the competence or motivation to take advantage of civic engagement opportunities.

To better understand the perspectives of both citizens and municipal officials, the Social Contract Activity team conducted assessments exploring both sides’ beliefs about the underlying causes of municipal service delivery challenges. These assessments aimed to draw out the perceived barriers and enablers to public participation among citizens and officials. They also sought to delineate the roles that key stakeholders play in each community’s public participation process. Through two rounds of workshops, the first with municipal officials (referred to as Behavioral Harvest Workshops) and the next with citizens (referred to as Interactive Workshops), the team learned about factors distinct to each municipality that deterred or aided cooperation between officials and citizens.[2] Following the assessments, the Social Contract Activity team facilitated a subsequent round of workshops in each municipality, bringing municipal officials and citizens together to identify entry points for introducing effective, feasible public participation practices. The workshop participants selected at least two issues that they agreed could be addressed through active public participation. Then, the team worked with participants to formulate action-oriented plans (Social Contract Agendas) to resolve each issue and sustain emerging valuable public participation practices beyond the life of the program.

By introducing intergroup contact interventions in the form of the Social Contract Agenda workshops, positive interactions emerged between municipal officials and citizens, offering an opportunity to reshape participants’ perceptions of each other as reliable local partners, even in the face of initial mutual distrust. Through collaborative activities, citizens and officials could reevaluate whether the other group was benevolent enough to genuinely engage on community issues and competent enough to cooperatively resolve those issues. To avoid the interference of the obvious power imbalance between government officials and private citizens, workshop participants selected Social Contract Agenda issues by voting.

Each citizen had an equal say in deciding where they wanted to effect change in their community, reinforcing the perceived honesty of the process and those involved. Speaking after the completion of the Agenda workshops in the Municipality of Gjilan, one of the citizens said, “The objectives of this agenda help to openly support cooperation between municipal officials and citizens to solve their current problems, to help municipal officials and citizens to better understand their duties, and to build trust between the citizens and the municipal administration, which seems like a very small step but carries a lot of weight.”

A year after finalizing the Social Contract Agendas in the Activity’s pilot municipalities, officials and citizens are making steady progress in addressing their chosen community issues and have instituted public participation methods beyond the Agendas and the Social Contract Activity. For example, the Social Contract Activity helped the pilot municipalities introduce the practice of participatory budgeting, a process by which citizens vote on subjects that they want officials to spend a percentage of the municipal budget on. The municipalities have since replicated the process by their own initiative. The mayor of Prizren described the process as

enhancing opportunities for citizen inclusion in the budget planning process, which has led to an increase in confidence in the institutions of the Municipality of Prizren. As a result, citizens have more information on the municipal budget planning processes and an increased awareness of the way their direct participation contributes to joint decision-making.

This is an encouraging demonstration of the potential for countering the harmful feedback loop of public distrust by providing a setting for positive interaction.

[1] The pilot municipalities of the Social Contract Activity are Gjilan, Obiliq, Pristina, Prizren, and Suhareka.

[2] The Social Contract Activity team intends for the Behavioral Harvest Workshops to 1) leave municipal officials with an understanding of social and behavioral science and its potential in helping them complete their objectives, 2) identify an objective to focus on and behavior(s) that must change to achieve it, and 3) identify influences on the target behavior(s).;

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Compliance and Capacity Support for Diverse Partnerships (CCSDP) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The five-year mechanism from the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships Hub of USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation, which has a $250 million shared ceiling, represents a significant milestone in DI’s effort to advance effective and inclusive development partnerships. The CCSDP IDIQ aims to ensure that local partners and governments have the capabilities and resources to serve as prime partners for USAID programming and supports USAID Missions to improve and expand local partnerships.

“We are deeply honored to be selected as a holder of the CCSDP IDIQ mechanism,” said DI President and CEO Eric Bjornlund. “This recognition underscores DI’s dedication to working with USAID to advance localization approaches that contribute to the sustainability and effectiveness of development initiatives.” 

In partnership with Abt Associates and KPMG International, DI is ready to collaborate with USAID Missions and Operating Units globally to implement CCSDP programming. Through this IDIQ, USAID can leverage DI’s evidence-based approaches to localization.  DI and its partners offer services including monitoring, evaluation, and learning; risk mitigation; and tailored capacity strengthening for local actors. 

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Democracy International recognizes the life and mourns the loss of Former First Lady of the United States Rosalynn Carter. Mrs. Carter’s life was a testament to the power of advocacy and unwavering commitment to the betterment of society. Her tireless efforts spanned many crucial causes, and the value of her work advocating for better mental health, women’s rights, and caregivers was enormous.  

Among Mrs. Carter’s many significant accomplishments was the pivotal role she played in establishing The Carter Center, an organization committed to advancing peace, health, and human rights. Through The Carter Center, Mrs. Carter addressed global challenges and worked toward creating a more just and humane world. 

“Having seen Mrs. Carter’s work over many years on election observation programs in Indonesia, Zambia, the West Bank and Gaza, and elsewhere, I can attest to her empathy, keen political judgment, and principled commitment to democratic values,” said DI President Eric Bjornlund. “Mrs. Carter was herself a key leader of Carter Center programs and contributed immeasurably to spreading acceptance of norms of international election observation and of democratic principles more generally." 

By: Alexei Acacio, Technical Specialist - Social and Behavioral Science

In recent years, both social and behavioral science (SBS) approaches and context-driven adaptation have become increasingly important in international democracy, human rights, and governance programs. On one hand, SBS has emerged as a tool to achieve democratic outcomes by nudging people toward desirable behaviors, such as voting. SBS, prized for its ability to consider principles of human psychology—ranging from our limited ability to remember to our vulnerability to social pressures—has gained favor among practitioners due to its versatility and nearly universal applicability. On the other hand, context-driven adaptation recognizes that the incentives that lie behind observed behaviors are rarely the same from one situation to the next. This means that programs committed to both SBS and context-driven adaptation often find themselves wrangling with a thought-provoking question: How do we reconcile universal human tendencies with context-specific insights? 

Democracy International’s USAID-funded Elections & Democracy Activity (EDA) in Liberia serves as a compelling case in this regard. As part of its inclusive development strategy, Democracy International (DI) works closely with its partners in EDA to develop a communications strategy to encourage Liberian citizens, especially women and youth, to engage with the democratic process. The objective is not just to raise awareness but also to change behaviors by using SBS insights to communicate the value of civic engagement. EDA used these insights as a starting point, yet soon discovered that there were not enough data to adapt SBS interventions and know what messages would resonate in the Liberian context. 

Reflecting its commitment to Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA), DI incorporated two sets of focus groups on civic voter education and women’s political participation. In the lead up to Liberia’s voter registration period, DI worked with local partners to recruit focus group participants, arrange meeting space, and develop a comprehensive data-collection protocol. DI’s team then travelled to counties where grantees work, using interactive activities to elicit diverse viewpoints and see which messages citizens find meaningful, engaging, and memorable. The resonance of certain messages became evident even before the data-collection processes concluded. 

DI promptly shared findings with EDA partners, which allowed them to revise the posters and jingles they created for the communications strategy just as elections began to dominate everyday conversations. Evidence-based adaptations, like the ones described in Figure 1, while subtle, are crucial to ensure that messaging is responsive to the local context and is more likely to spur behavior change. The focus groups also helped avoid overgeneralizing SBS principles. Although SBS evidence points to the importance of personalizing messages, for example, the focus groups revealed that the generic “Elections are everybody’s business!” message resonates with Liberians across counties and demographics. DI shared this insight with its EDA partners, which continue to incorporate this inclusive message into their voter education campaigns.

Figure 1: While these two posters look identical from afar, the one on the right reflects both SBS best practices and evidence from the focus groups. Using separate callouts reduces “cognitive overload” by dividing the quote into smaller, more manageable pieces. Meanwhile, the message citing wide disapproval of violence harnesses the power of social norms to encourage peaceful conduct during the elections. Posters published with permission from Supporting Citizen Initiatives for Development in Africa. 

In the months following the civic voter education focus groups, DI continued to use the empirical findings to inform all aspects of its EDA work, including election outreach to more than 180,000 voters. As the program engaged partners supporting women’s political participation, however, it became apparent that advancing gender inclusion involves tackling complex norms and requires nuanced messaging. With the benefit of more time to plan, input from a network of women’s leadership experts, and experience from the previous exercise, DI engaged citizens throughout Liberia to understand what issues matter to them and how women’s political participation fits into that picture. Applying lessons from the earlier research, DI developed a data-collection protocol to include same-gender facilitators, refined the interactive activities to better accommodate people-with-disabilities, and iteratively tested messages based on what participants themselves recommended.

Figure 2: As part of an interactive activity in the focus groups on women’s political participation, the facilitator read out messages to participants, before asking them to indicate their agreement by standing between a thumbs-up and thumbs-down sign. To accommodate persons with disabilities, DI adapted the activity and asked participants to indicate agreement using their hand or by marking a piece of paper, as needed. 

In the women’s political participation focus groups, DI engaged more than100 participants in five counties in just three weeks. After conducting a comprehensive debrief and reviewing over 24 hours’ worth of transcripts, DI coupled SBS insights with original data from the focus groups to develop a set of recommendations tailored to the Liberian context. Evidence from SBS suggests, for example, that deeply ingrained gender stereotypes are resistant to change, and campaigns aimed at raising awareness may inadvertently normalize these stereotypes. In response, DI recommended to its Liberian partners that instead of challenging people’s beliefs and attitudes, messaging should emphasize how women are already leaders. As the focus groups revealed, women in Liberia are positively associated with motherhood, health, and peace. By highlighting examples of women leading during crises or facilitating peace talks, messaging can frame women’s political participation not as an entirely unfamiliar concept, but as a simple extension of the role that women already occupy in society. DI recommended that EDA partners consider using phrases that focus group participants themselves expressed—such as “Women bring peace,” “Women bring health,” and “Vote for Mama Liberia”—in their messaging. Such themes made their way into jingles, radio shows, and other civic education materials across the country. 

Figure 3: The women’s political participation focus groups revealed wide reverence for the personification of “Mama Liberia,” a finding that now informs EDA’s messaging strategy.

Another finding from the focus groups is that voters consider a leader’s ability to bring change, rather than gender, when choosing representatives. Almost counterintuitively, this runs contrary to people’s natural resistance to change, a phenomenon that is well documented in SBS literature. This points to a potential silver lining. Given Liberia’s traditional association of politics with men, women aspirants represent a break from the status quo and could therefore benefit from voters’ strong desire for change. As the focus groups suggest, messages such as “Women are agents of change” are likely to resonate and may ultimately be more likely to change behaviors to the benefit of women’s political participation. Yet again, this illustrates the importance of considering SBS research in light of context-specific evidence. Such an approach ensures the efficacy of messaging and, perhaps more important, amplifies local voices.

TAMALE, GHANA — Democracy International (DI) and Norsaac, a community-based organization focused on human rights and policy in Ghana, launched a transformative project aimed at improving accountability in local public service delivery as part of the $17.5 million Performance Accountability Activity (PAA) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DI implements the PAA in close collaboration with Government of Ghana partners and local civil society organizations (CSOs), including Norsaac, in 70 districts across Ghana’s 10 regions.

DI and Norsaac began this endeavor with more than 20 regional and district-level sensitization workshops, which are designed to inform key stakeholders about the project's objectives, scope, strategic approach, and anticipated accomplishments. To introduce the project to key state and nonstate stakeholders, identify opportunities, anticipate potential barriers, and explore strategies to overcome these challenges while ensuring the project's long-term sustainability, DI and Norsaac convened five regional workshops bringing together diverse stakeholders from the Northern, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, and Northeast regions. These stakeholders included the Regional Coordinating Councils; Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies; local CSOs such as Grameen and Community Development Alliance; and representatives from USAID/Ghana’s Democracy, Rights and Governance Office. DI and Norsaac also conducted 18 district-level workshops.

Despite efforts by the government and partners to improve the quality and accountability of local public service delivery, Ghana continues to grapple with persistent challenges in delivering public services related to education, water, sanitization and healthcare, agriculture, and fisheries. The PAA, characterized by its inclusive, sustainable, collaborative, and behavior-driven approaches, promises to deliver immediate and lasting effects.

In a statement delivered at the workshop in Tamale, DI Deputy Chief of the Party Linda Ofori-Kwafo emphasized the project's core objectives, which include increasing citizen demand for responsive service delivery, enhancing government service efficiency through robust regulatory standards, and empowering local-level public service providers to uphold quality standards by strengthening the connection between Ghanaian values and performance standards. The PAA will enhance the capacity of government partners, including ministries, agencies, and district assemblies in 70 focus districts, as well as civil society and community-based organizations to implement behavior-led capacity-building and institutional strengthening interventions.

During the event in Tamale, Alhaji Alhassan Shani, the Northern Regional Minister, stressed the importance of districts involving citizens in all their activities and underlined the necessity of accountability and transparency. He commended the PAA, recognizing its potential to enhance public service delivery at the local level, and expressed full support for its implementation. Mr. Shani called upon the Regional Coordinating Council, chiefs, queen mothers, media, and all stakeholders to contribute to the successful implementation of the program.

By: DI's Elections and Democracy Activity Team

The Democracy International (DI) team that observed the re-run in Beo Lontuo in Nimba County District 4 found that the election process complied with NEC procedures and was peaceful. Just over 600 Liberians cast ballots on October 20, 2023, after the National Elections Commission re-ran all three Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives elections at this location.

With significant security at the two polling places, elections were repeated because two ballot boxes were stolen and destroyed by members of the public, and other ballots were damaged on October 10, 2023. DI covered the day of voting, the counting, transport to the magistrate’s office, and the tallying the next day. DI noted the pres- ence of domestic observers from ECC and LEON and USAID international observers. DI saw party agents from four political parties fielding candidates in this district's polling stations.

As in its October 14, 2023, preliminary statement following Election Day, DI commended the Liberian people for their high turn-out at 78.86% of all registered voters, placing Liberians in the top bracket of voter participation in the continent. Contrary to criticisms in the media, DI notes that the rate of invalid votes of 5.88% is in line with the average set by the African Union and matches the 2017 first round of voting in Liberia. Final results are expected from the National Elections Commission at its Daily Press Briefing on October 24, 2023, and on https://re- sults.necliberia.org/. DI observers have attended all NEC press briefings in person. As part of its assistance to the National Elections Commission, with the generous support of the American people through USAID, DI provides sign-language interpretation as part of the live televised coverage. With the UNDP and its partners, DI has also provided copies of a broad array of important NEC documents at these events.

DI again congratulates the National Elections Commission and its poll workers for their professional delivery of these elections, despite the many challenges of doing so. DI observed firsthand the Commission's and its staff's work and researched Liberian opinion immediately before and after the October 10, 2023, Election Day. DI con- ducted radio listener surveys in nine counties: Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Maryland, Nimba, and Sinoe – one September 27 to 30, 2023, in all nine, and another October 12 to 14, 2023, in all but Lofa and Maryland. Preliminary findings from these surveys indicate:

Nearly every caller reported hearing civic voter education on the radio station (88–100%). These findings match another radio survey conducted independently by Geopoll during the pre-election period that determined that 54% voting public in Liberia is “very much informed” about the elections.

In DI’s radio survey, conducted by talk show hosts with the highest listenership on those community stations, of those who heard CVE, 19.1% of listeners could provide the content of that message and attribute it directly to DI or a DI grantee unprompted.

Both before and after Election Day of those calling into the radio stations to participate in the surveys, the majority assessed the NEC’s performance as either “very good” or “fairly good.”

In the post-election survey, all respondents indicated they had voted, and the majority reported their election-day experience as “good”.

Still with a majority response but the lowest from across the seven post-election stations, 57% of the Grand Cape Mount listeners reported their Election Day experience as “good,” and 71% in that same county gave the NEC ratings of “very good” or “fairly good.”

Alongside other observers and partners supporting the National Elections Commission and democracy stakeholders in Liberia, DI will contribute its full findings and participate in lessons learned following these elections. Together with UNDP and its partners, DI’s Elections and Democracy Activity, funded by USAID, supported NEC’s 12 trainings of trainers for political party and candidate agents – including providing the sign language interpretation training tool – and six tactile ballot trainings to people living with hearing and sight impairments, again providing sign language interpretation.

On October 10, 2023, DI deployed 25 observers to six counties (Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba) in 19 of the country’s 73 electoral districts. The observation continues to demonstrate international support for the Liberian people in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The mission also contributes to DI’s ongoing work in Liberia, including with the National Elections Commission and the Election Coordinating Committee, a leading Liberian election observation group. DI works closely with Liberian organizations to encourage greater participation of marginalized groups, including women and youth, and deliver voter education nationwide. DI is organizing this mission in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, declared at the United Nations in 2005.

The Elections and Democracy Activity is a five-year, USAID-funded project designed to help Liberia overcome challenges facing its developing democracy by fostering inclusive, sustainable, democratic political development. Implemented by DI, EDA is cultivating a new cadre of accountable, diverse, inclusive leaders in Liberia to govern in the interest of their constituents as well as active, knowledgeable citizens that demand accountability. EDA works with the Government of Liberia and civil society organizations to achieve this through three interrelated objectives:

Increase leadership of marginalized groups in political processes,

Improve civic knowledge and sense of civic duty,

Advance self-reliance of the National Election Commission and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.

By: DI's Elections and Democracy Activity Team

Democracy International (DI) announced today that it is re-deploying its specialized observation mission by sending three of its observers to witness the re-run in Beo Lontuo, Nimba County District 4 for the 2023 General Elections for the President, Senate, and House of Representatives in Liberia. Liberians voted on October 10, 2023. The National Elections Commission announced that elections are being re-run at two polling places in this location because two ballot boxes were stolen and destroyed by members of the public, and other boxes were damaged during the incident. This mission follows that deployed by DI on October 10, 2023, with 25 observers to six counties (Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba) in 19 of the country’s 73 electoral districts.

In its October 14, 2023, preliminary statement following Election Day, DI commended the Liberian people for their high turn-out, reported by the NEC on October 18, 2023, to be 78.8% with most, but not all, tallies complete. With 1,833,189 valid votes out of 1,947,786 cast tallied thus far, DI notes the 5.88% rate of invalid ballots (114,597) is similar to the African average and past Liberian elections. Given the challenges of running elections in Liberia and doing so independently for the first time since the civil wars, the NEC and the Liberian electorate have reason to feel proud of the process thus far.

DI again congratulates the National Elections Commission and the NEC poll workers for their professional delivery of these elections, despite the many challenges of doing so. DI trusts that the Beo Lontuo re-run elections will continue the national experience of a predominantly peaceful election.

The mission continues to demonstrate international support for the Liberian people in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The mission also contributes to DI’s ongoing work in Liberia, including with the National Elections Commission and the Election Coordinating Committee, a leading Liberian election observation group. DI works closely with Liberian organizations to encourage greater participation of marginalized groups, including women and youth, and deliver voter education nationwide. DI is organizing this mission in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, declared at the United Nations in 2005.

The Elections and Democracy Activity is a five-year, USAID-funded project designed to help Liberia overcome challenges facing its developing democracy by fostering inclusive, sustainable, democratic political development. Implemented by DI, EDA is cultivating a new cadre of accountable, diverse, inclusive leaders in Liberia to govern in the interest of their constituents as well as active, knowledgeable citizens that demand accountability. EDA works with the Government of Liberia and civil society organizations to achieve this through three interrelated objectives:

Increase leadership of marginalized groups in political processes,

Improve civic knowledge and sense of civic duty,

Advance self-reliance of the National Election Commission and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.