ANNUAL REPORT 2016 / Part 2

BUILDING-UP OBSERVER GROUPS

DRI partnered with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa to support 11 domestic observer groups in deploying 42 observers to monitor nation-wide indirect elections on 26 March 2016 for governors and vice-governors of the country's 21 newly established provinces. This was an ideal opportunity for citizen groups to practice their new skills and assess what further training was needed for the 'real event’ – the presidential elections. Throughout 2016, DRI staff contributed to the training of long-term observers employed by partners in Goma and Kinshasa, and helped build up a media monitoring group. The EU funded project looks set to continue to support domestic observers up to 2021, despite an unclear electoral schedule.

SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY

DRI, the National Democratic Institute, and the company SOFRECO run the EU facility 'Supporting Democracy,' which advises the EU on support to civil society in democracy priority countries worldwide. In 2016, we organised the largest ever meeting of election observers from around the world. 150 observation groups met to network and discuss how to strengthen domestic election observation in a context of growing hostility to civic activism. Domestic observers agreed that election observation must be understood as only one aspect of democratic activism; it should be connected to wider engagements, such as anti-corruption campaigns, advocacy for legal reforms and open government initiatives. They also agreed that technological innovation provided opportunities for more effective observation, but presented challenges, such as monitoring debates on social media. The Supporting Democracy team provided quick on-demand support to EU Delegations throughout 2016. For example, it assessed constitutional reform in Peru, trained citizen groups in Malaysia to protect data and communications, assessed the needs of civil society in Tunisia, Tanzania, and Morocco, and mapped the landscape of political parties in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood.

ASSESSING ALGERIA'S POLITICAL REFORMS 

DRI assessed Algeria’s constitutional and electoral reforms. The constitutional overhaul adopted in early 2016 was prepared behind closed doors and did not result from a transparent, consultative process. Nevertheless, the changes made the constitution more inclusive and democratic; the role of the Berber language was upgraded, more rights were granted to parliament and the opposition, and the Constitutional Council received a stronger mandate. It remains to be seen how the text will impact political reality, which so far has been marked by a dominant role of the executive and the armed and security forces.

SYRIA

To hear Syrian constitutional experts views on possible routes towards peace, we carried out a qualitative survey with 12 Syrian lawyers, some of them based in Syria. They were sceptical of the Geneva peace talks and felt they were disconnected from Syrian realities. However, they all agreed that a serious chance at making peace would have to include a constitutional re-build to provide a foundation for a new, inclusive Syrian state.

LISTENING TO CONSERVATIVE VIEWS ON DEMOCRACY 

To explore current voices of discontent with the state of democracy in Europe, DRI and the Mercator Foundation held a roundtable in Berlin with conservative parties and opinion makers from Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The participants' biggest point of contention was their perception that public debate was too narrow, with non-mainstream opinions being labelled "undemocratic" or “populist”. While most participants felt that the EU’s legal framework was open enough for member states to pursue different social policies, including conservative ones, some argued that many EU policies had a decidedly liberal-progressive agenda, giving little space for other views. While participants insisted that public discourse was too narrow, they also believed parties and opinion-makers should respect people’s dignity in public speech, many feeling that empathy was lacking in the public sphere.

DEMOCRACY CRISIS IN POLAND

Weeks after winning the 2015 elections, the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) created a massive crisis around the country's Constitutional Court effectively paralysing it. Without a constitutional guardian, PiS’ parliamentary majority and President were able to push through substantial changes to state media, education and other parts of the judiciary. In January 2016, we held a debate in Berlin to discuss Poland’s democracy crisis with Polish and German experts, such as Professor Gesine Schwan, who has worked for decades to build good relations between Germany and Poland. The panellists agreed that this was a serious crisis that would last for a long time and needed the full attention of the EU and its member states. Following the event, we published an in-depth assessment of the amendments to Poland’s constitutional court law, concluding that it effectively paralysed the court and thereby violated Poland’s international obligations.

MEDIA MONITORING IN HUNGARY

Hungary made significant changes to its constitution and legal structure after the Fidesz party swept to power in 2010, including controversial changes that weaken the country's democratic checks and balances. The Council of Europe, the body responsible for defending human rights in Europe, repeatedly raised concerns about the rule of law in the country. To assess the real world impact of these changes, we conducted a data analysis of the justice system, the media, referendum campaign finance, and public procurement in partnership with Hungarian organisations. In the wake of Hungary’s 2016 'refugee referendum’ our media monitoring data (conducted by Mertek Media Monitor) revealed a strong pro-government bias by state-owned media, despite a duty for neutrality. The snap analysis garnered strong media interest and was followed with a full data report in 2017.

DRI PARTNER

DRI Berlin

Mercator Stiftung
Robert Bosch Stiftung
Carnegie Europe
European Council on Foreign Relations
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Heinrich Böll Stiftung
Humboldt University
International IDEA
The Carter Center
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA)
SOFRECO
National Democratic Institute (NDI)
Office for Economic Policy and Regional Development (EPRD)
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

Ukraine & Georgia

Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko
National University of Kyiv
Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR)
USAID Project "RADA"
OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine
Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre (UCMC), Ukraine
European Endowment for Democracy (EED)
Association for Development of Judicial Self-Governance in Ukraine
Georgian Young Lawyer's Association (GYLA)
All-Ukrainian Platform of Civil Initiatives
Carnegie Europe

Libya

Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL)

The Libyan Coalition for the Constitution (LCC)

Lebanon

NAHNOO
Partnership Centre for Development and Democracy (PCDD)
Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE)
Beyond Reform and Development (BRD)
Urban Planning and Local Authorities Development (UPLoAD)

Tunisia

The Carter Center (TCC)
National Democratic Institute (NDI)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
International IDEA
AlBawsala, Tunisia
Association Tunisienne de Droit Constitutionnel (ATDC)
Association Tunisienne pour l'Intégrité et la Démocratie des
Elections (ATIDE), Tunisia
IWatch, Tunisia
Jeunesse Sans Frontières Tunisie (JSF)
Mourakiboun, Tunisia
Ofiya, Tunisia
IFES
Association Tunisienne des Sciences Administratives (ATSA)
Touensa
Action Associative
Jasmin Foundation
Kolona Tounes
Observatoire Chahed
Association Tunisienne des Jeunes Magistrats (ATJM)
Syndicat des magistrats tunisienes (SMT)
Association des magistrats tunisiens (AMT)
Union des magistrats de la cour des comptes (UMCC)
Union des magistrats administratifs (UMA)
L'association Tunisienne des femmes juges
Faculté de droit et des sciences politiques de Tunis
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights from Warsaw
Farhat Hached Institut for Research
CentreTuMed
Ligue des Electrices Tunisiennes (LET)
Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Politiques et Sociales de Tunis

Sri Lanka

Centre for Policy Alternative
Rights Now – Collective for Democracy
Verite Research
European Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka
National Collaboration Development Foundation

Myanmar

Charity Oriented Myanmar (COM)
Hornbill Organisation (HBO)
Humanity Institute (HI)
Myanmar Institute for Democracy
Pandita Development Institute
Peace and Justice Myanmar
Yangon School of Political Science
Electoral Reforms Coordinating Body (ERCB)

DRI expresses its sincere gratitude to colleagues who left DRI recently:

Supervisory Board:

Chairman: Ambassador Gérard Stoudmann

From our Ukraine office:

Senior Legal Analyst: Andriy Kozlov

From our Tunisia office:

Legal, Political and Parliamentary Officer: Selima Djait
Civil Society Expert: Ahlem Bousserwel
Legal and Political Officer: Insaf Guerchi

From our Libya office:

Legal & Research Officer: Fadoua Ouni
CSO Liaison & Communications Officer: Ayoub Alnmour
State Building Expert: Ayman Ayoub
Procurement & Logistics Officer: Sofiene Cherif

From our Pakistan office:

Program Officer: Kapil Dev
Election Analyst: Madiha Farhan
Project Coordinator: Adnan Akhter Anjum Saeed
Programme Officer: Nusrat Zehra
Parliamentary Expert: Abreen Ajaib

From our Lebanon office:

Finance and Administration Manager: Hassana El-Ozeir

From our Myanmar office:

Finance Officer: Nang Mo Kham

From our Sri Lanka office:

Country Representative: Paul Knipe
Programme Coordinator: Nilshan Fonseka
Project Assistant: Piyumi Premarathne

From our Berlin headquarters:

Regional Manager MENA: Henrik Ahrens
Programme Officer MENA: Dalia Barsoum
Programme Officer Eastern Europe/South Caucasus: Tatsiana Snegova
Programme Assistant Asia: Tamara Nierstenhöfer
Interns: Mireia Nadal, Lisa Weinberger, Ibrahim Daghman, Anni Mustonen, Ehsen Amri, Zeyad Abouselima

Imprint: © Democracy Reporting International gGmbH (DRI), June 2017.
 All rights reserved. Distribution for all noncommercial purposes is encouraged, provided DRI is acknowledged as the source and sent copies of any translation.

Photo credits: Coverphoto by Beata Zawrzel