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NAMFREL council members participate in world assembly of democracy experts and advocates

from NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.27

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Three members of NAMFREL's National Council participated in the recently concluded Seventh Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Lima, Peru from October 14-17. The World Movement for Democracy is a non-government effort initiated by the Washington-based National Endownment for Democracy (NED), and is a global network of democrats, including activists, practitioners, academics, policy makers, and funders, who have come together to cooperate in the promotion of democracy. The assembly in Peru was convened "to develop new forms of cooperation to promote the development of democracy...to strengthen democracy where it is weak, to reform and invigorate democracy even where it is longstanding, and to bolster pro-democracy groups in countries that have not yet entered into a process of democratic transition." The invitation-only Seventh Assembly was participated in by 450 experts from around the globe. The three NAMFREL members invited to participate were Mr. Damaso Magbual, Ms. Amina Rasul-Bernardo, and Ms. Maxine Tanya Hamada.

Mr. Damaso Magbual, NAMFREL membership committee chair, and Chairperson of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), gave a presentation on "How Networks Promote Shared Principles and Best Practices in Domestic Election Monitoring." During his presentation, he shared NAMFREL's experiences through the years; how to observe the entire electoral process; the efforts made to introduce reforms in the electoral process; and promoting good governance through NAMFREL's monitoring of government procurement and budget . In another workshop, Mr. Magbual shared his thoughts on how civil society in Myanmar (Burma) can prepare for the 2015 elections; the opportunities and challenges; lessons learned from the previous elections and recommendations for the 2015 election in Myanmar. On December 4-7, Mr. Magbual will be heading a group of Burmese civil society leaders to observe the Indian Parliament to familiarize themselves on how to observe their members of parliament and hold them accountable. ..

Ms. Amina Rasul-Bernardo, representing the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), gave two presentations: "From Leading Civil Society to Serving in Government: What are the Challenges and Opportunities," and "Using Citizen-Led Assessments of Local Democracy to Advance Reforms." NAMFREL council member Ms. Maxine Tanya Hamada, representing INCITEGov (International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance) presented on the Impact of Democracy Research. During the assembly, Ms. Hamada was also elected to the International Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy. The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) salutes its members and volunteers recognized and respected in the global community of democracy promoters. For almost thirty years, NAMFREL volunteers and personnel from different sectors of Philippine society have served as trainers, observer team members, administrators and resource persons in more than 30 countries around the world, in the promotion of democracy and citizens participation in nation building.

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