Commonwealth goal to advance democracy by building strong foundations, values and practices

The Commonwealth seeks to actively promote democracy through shared traditions and conventions that bind member countries together, said Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba.

She stated that the Commonwealth assists in building and strengthening democratic institutions such as parliaments, election commissions, human rights commissions, as well as strengthening the capacity of ombudsmen and greater accountability of public service institutions.

“We promote mutual understanding and respect between the Government and the Opposition, so that each can play its due role. We support a flourishing civil society and a healthy, robust media. Our mission is to make our democracies deep-rooted, robust and resilient, and to draw our pool of collective experience towards that end,” said Ms Masire-Mwamba.

The Deputy Secretary-General made this point at the International Symposium on Good Electoral Practices in New Delhi, India, on 27 January 2010. She added that the Commonwealth has experience to share on the codes of conduct for political parties, the advantages of incumbency, controls on campaign funding and the unbiased use of the media.

Ms Masire-Mwamba informed the senior electoral officials at the conference of the Commonwealth's plan to establish a network of national election management bodies with the holding of pan-Commonwealth conference in the first half of the year. The aim, she explained, is to bring together a forum to facilitate dialogue on capacity-building to enhance standards in the organisation of credible elections. In the first meeting among chief electoral officers from ten Commonwealth countries held in London in September 2009, the group recommended the establishment of a web portal to promote networking and information dissemination on good electoral practice, as well as identify mechanisms for peer support. The Deputy Secretary-General said this initiative was endorsed by Commonwealth leaders at their biennial summit in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in November last year. She encouraged Commonwealth election commissions to support this endeavour and expressed hope that other institutions such as the United Nations, African Union, Caribbean Community, Pacific Islands Forum and those involved in democracy-building will work together with the Commonwealth to advance this initiative.

The New Delhi conference was organised as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission of India, which took place from 25 to 27 January. It involved the participation of senior electoral officials from 30 countries, including 11 from the Commonwealth.

Key Links:

• Democracy and Consensus Building
• Deputy Secretary-General Masire-Mwamba