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Democracy Program - In the News

We invite you to browse our media coverage archives below from 2009-2023.

Aug. 30, 2023
BBC News | Zimbabwe Election President Rejects Election Criticism (Interview with Democracy Program Director David Carroll)
Published by BBC News.
Carter Center expert David Carroll, who leads the Center’s initiative on standards and best practices in international election observation, discusses Zimbabwe’s election and key findings from Carter Center observers.

Sept. 22, 2022
Paige Alexander and Gleaves Whitney Op-ed: Americans are fed up, candidates. Clean up your act
Published by CNN.com
Many politicians these days seem to think they have to play dirty to win, that truth is optional and that they don't have to accept the results if they lose. We have news for them: American voters are fed up with scorched-earth campaigning and want their leaders to act like adults. They want candidates to follow the rules of decency and civility. They want national healing and reconciliation.

June 14, 2021
Ensuring Election Integrity Should Not Come at the Cost of Compromising Voter Access
Published by The Fulcrum.
Proposed election law changes in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere have again brought to the forefront debates about how best to balance election integrity and voter access. While governments are obliged to guarantee both, the current trend limiting access signals that state legislatures are prioritizing the former at the expense of the latter.

April 21, 2021
Arizona GOP Prepares Another Audit of 2020 Election in State's Largest County
Published by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Arizona was a state President Joe Biden wasn’t sure he’d win in the 2020 election. But in the end, Arizona voters chose him over former President Donald Trump by over 10,000 votes, a result determined by two independent audits in Maricopa County – the largest county in the state.

March 9, 2021
Jimmy Carter is ‘Disheartened, Saddened and Angry’ By The G.O.P. Push to Curb Voting Rights in Georgia
Published by The New York Times.
Former President Jimmy Carter — a one-term Georgia governor who first ran for office in the 1960s — said efforts by Republicans in the state to restrict ballot access represented an attempt to “turn back the clock” on hard-won progress in empowering disenfranchised voters.

March 9, 2021
Jimmy Carter Says He’s Sad, Angry Over Georgia Voting Bills
Published by Assoicated Press.
Former President Jimmy Carter declared his opposition Tuesday to a slate of restrictive voting proposals moving through his native Georgia’s General Assembly, saying he is “disheartened, saddened and angry” over moves to “turn back the clock” on ballot access after Democratic successes in 2020.

March 5, 2021
Carter Center, Atlanta Help Women Get Access to COVID-19 Information
Published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In Atlanta, Black people are suffering disproportionately from the effects of COVID-19, and Black women are the group bearing the brunt of the inequity. Black women make up 27% of Atlanta’s population, the U.S. Census says, but the most recent Fulton County Board of Health numbers say they account for 53% of all COVID-19 cases and 59% of virus-related deaths.

Feb. 26, 2021
Carter Center Battles Online Misinformation Ahead of Ethiopia Elections
Published by VOANews.
As Ethiopia prepares for parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in June, the contest to win the hearts and minds of voters is already under way on social media, which democracy activist Befeqadu Hailu is closely watching.

Jan. 24, 2021
Election: Next Time
Published by Full Measure.
After the chaotic 2020 elections, there are bipartisan calls for election reform. But little agreement between the political parties as to what the reforms should be.

Nov. 18, 2020
Behind the Ballots in Georgia’s Recount – the Largest in U.S. History
Published by PBS NewsHour.
As President Trump presses forward with legal challenges to the election and reiterates false claims that he won, Georgia has been in the spotlight due to its massive statewide recount. The Atlanta-based Carter Center deployed a veteran team of observers who earned their spurs watching sketchy elections run by despots all over the world to observe the recount.

Oct. 29, 2020
An International Election Observer’s Advice for America: Trust the Process
Published by Foreign Policy.
For the first time in its history, The Carter Center, whose Democracy Program has monitored 111 elections in 39 countries, is engaging in the U.S. elections. Foreign Policy spoke with David Carroll, the head of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program, to learn why the center has turned its focus on the United States and what lessons learned in weakened democracies abroad can now be applied at home.

Nov. 10, 2020
Observers Find No Fraud in 2020 Elections
Published by Court TV.
The Carter Center sends and long-term observers to analyze election campaigns.

Nov. 3, 2020
International Election Watchdog: Polarization, Loss of Public Trust Threaten U.S. Election
Published by PRI's The World.
The Carter Center sends teams of election observers all over the world to ensure they're free and fair. This year, the nonprofit is working to encourage transparency and voters' trust in the US electoral process.

Nov. 2, 2020
Why a Top Democracy Watchdog Has Its Eyes On the U.S. Election
Published by Vox.
America’s deep polarization has undermined faith that the 2020 election will be free and fair. Republicans are outright accusing Democrats of stealing an election on baseless claims of voter fraud. Democrats, meanwhile, are anxiously gaming out scenarios where the conservative majority on the Supreme Court intercedes to hand the election to Trump.

Nov. 1, 2020
The World Needs a Peaceful U.S. Election
Published by RealClear Politics.
The Carter Center and Freedom House together have more than a century of experience in working to promote and protect democratic electoral processes in countries around the world. This year, the risk of a significant breakdown in American democracy — and particularly a potential uptick in political violence — has compelled our organizations to focus more on conditions here at home.

Oct. 31, 2020
Carter Center Works to Educate US Voters
Published by VOA News.
When former president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, launched the Carter Center in 1986, one objective was promoting peace and democracy around the globe. As part of that mission, the Carter Center became a leading election monitoring organization, observing more than 110 contests in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. 

Oct. 29, 2020
‘Guns, Protests And Elections Do Not Mix’: Conflict Experts See Rising Warning Signs
Published by Ideastream.
Members of a Quaker congregation in Maryland are so concerned that President Trump will prematurely declare victory when states are still counting ballots — a process that could take days — that they are ready to take to the streets in nonviolent resistance. They say such a scenario would amount to a "coup" — even if it involves lawyers fighting in court, and not the military.

Oct. 28, 2020
Jason Carter and Cindy McCain on trust in America’s election system
Published by The Economist.
Every election has problems, but America’s process is free, transparent, non-partisan—and must be respected.

Oct. 28, 2020
Global Conflict Experts See Signs Of Potential Violence Around U.S. Election
Published by NPR.
For years, human rights groups based in the U.S. have watched elections abroad, especially in places with histories of violence. This year, some are turning their attention to the U.S. election.

Oct. 28, 2020
Three New Ways Civil Society Is Protecting the U.S. Election
Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In the final frenzied days before the U.S. election, many voters are nervous about the risk of violence and whether the results will be considered legitimate. A diverse group of civil society organizations is restoring trust in the process.

Oct. 27, 2020
What the Carter Center is up to in the U.S.
Published The Fulcrum.
The Carter Center's work on the U.S. election this year has drawn a lot of attention. It's a first for the organization, which is known for sending official election observers to emergent democracies in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Oct. 15, 2020
Carter Center Moves Voter Protection Efforts to the United States
Published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Subscription required to read the full article.
David Carroll has been working with the Carter Center observing and monitoring elections in Third World countries for 30 years. In each of the 111 observations in 39 countries, a few things consistently stick out.

Oct. 14, 2020
Will the U.S. Election Be Free and Fair?
Published by Al Jazeera.
The 2020 vote will have the fewest international observers of any United States election, despite having some of the biggest-ever concerns about the integrity of the vote: court disputes over mail-in ballots, loosened restrictions on voter intimidation, and an administration that has left the public guessing on whether it will commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Oct. 11, 2020
International election observers are worried about the US vote
Published by CNN.
2020 is the year where the unlikely, even the unthinkable, can happen. And election observers, organizers and commentators in Africa, Europe, and the U.S. fear that there are significant warning signs for the upcoming US elections.

Oct. 8, 2020
With Election Day Approaching, Carter Center Launches Voting Information Initiative
Published by WABE.
How much trust can voters in Georgia and across the country have in the November elections? That will be the topic of discussion during a virtual event Thursday night hosted by The Carter Center.

Oct. 7, 2020
It's Time For Congress To Regulate Political Advertising On Social Media
Published by The Hill Washington.
Facebook recently announced that because of concerns about its inability to counter misinformation, it was placing a moratorium on new political advertisements in the week before Election Day. This move was reminiscent of one from Twitter last year that banned all political advertising for similar reasons.

Oct. 6, 2020
"That’s A Dictator": Foreign Election Experts Say Trump Is Engaging In Voter Suppression And Intimidation
Published by Buzzfeed.
In recent years, international election observers have monitored tumultuous votes in countries like Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Russia. This year, they're turning their attention back again to the US, a place not normally considered a democracy in danger but looking increasingly chaotic.

Oct. 3, 2020
The Challenge of Observing American Democracy
Published by The Atlantic.
A majority of American voters believe that the upcoming presidential election stands to be the most important of their lifetime, yet it is also one that many believe will not be easy, free, or fair. This contest, after all, is taking place amid a global public-health crisis that is changing the way voters cast their ballots, and within a political environment where the incumbent has refused to commit to accepting defeat.

Aug. 28, 2020
Carter Center, Pushing for Fair Elections, Turns Focus to U.S.
Published by the Associated Press.
The Carter Center, an organization founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, has worked for decades to ensure fair elections in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Aug. 28, 2020
America's Elections Are At Risk. Here's What The Carter Center Is Doing About It
Op-ed by Jason Carter and David Carroll, published by CNN.com.
From Ecuador to Egypt, Ghana to Guyana, The Carter Center has been supporting democratic elections around the world since 1989 to ensure they are free, fair and transparent. This year, for the first time in our history, we will be turning our attention to the US, where we plan to launch a campaign to strengthen transparency and trust in the election process.

May 7, 2020
Reversing a View the GOP Cites Often, Jimmy Carter Embraces Vote-by-mail
Published by The Fulcrum.
Jimmy Carter supports making mail-in voting a nationwide option this year, an endorsement that is important not only because he's among the few American elder statesmen with significant respect from voters of both parties, but because he has also spent much of the past three decades monitoring elections in other countries for signs of corruption.

March 20, 2020
Coronavirus, Absence of Election Process, Force Carter Center Observers Out of Guyana
Published by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
After several weeks of observing the electoral process in Guyana, The Carter Center is pulling out of the South American country after weighing a combination of factors, "including the absence of an ongoing electoral process, increasing restrictions on international travel because of COVID-19, and the decline in the security environment in Guyana."

May 21, 2019
Uphill Struggle for Ethnic Women in Peace Talks Participation
Published by The Myanmar Times.
Women who are part of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities face an uphill battle to scale up their participation in ethnic political parties as well as in the peace process, a recent study by The Carter Center and the Women’s League for Burma finds.

March 8, 2018
Carter Center Say Kenya's Polls Were a Setback for Democracy
Published by Associated Press.
Kenya’s 2017 elections were a setback to this East African country’s democratic development, the Carter Center has said.

Nov. 16, 2017
DRC State Mining Company Under Fire
Published by Mining Weekly.
Certain revenues of the Democratic Republic of Congo State mining company have not been directed to the public treasury and are largely beyond the realm of public oversight, claims a report by the Carter Centre.

Nov. 3, 2017
Congo State Miner Failed to Log $740 Million in Revenues, Report Says
Published by Reuters.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company failed to internally register $740 million in income between 2011-2014, much of which is now untraceable, the Carter Center said in a report on Friday.

Nov. 3, 2017
Congo's Gecamines Accounts Missing $750 Million, Group Says
Published by Bloomberg.
Almost $750 million paid by international mining companies to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned miner over a three-year period are missing from the company’s accounts, the Carter Center said.

Sept. 14, 2017
One Cheer for Democracy in Kenya
Published by The New York Times.
On Sept. 1 Kenya’s Supreme Court made the unprecedented decision to nullify the results of the country’s Aug. 8 presidential election, voiding the victory by incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and calling for fresh elections in 60 days. A decade after the 2007 presidential election was followed by violence that killed more than 1,000 people, it is a historic moment not just for Kenya but also for the continent, and guarantees greater global attention on the country this fall.

Sept. 12, 2017
Jimmy Carter: Voters Need a Digital Defense
Published by The New York Times.
Technology threatens to fundamentally change the nature of elections and democratic governance.

Aug. 10, 2017
Kenya: John Kerry Confident in Counting Process
Published by CNN.
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Kenya has a process that will allow, "each and every votes integrity to be proven and to be protected."

Aug. 10, 2017
Kenyan Election Tensions Rise as Opposition Claims Fraud
Published by The New York Times.
Tensions over Kenya’s presidential election built on Thursday after the opposition leader accused election officials of falsifying the results and handing victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the incumbent.

July 20, 2017
New Methods and Technology Can Make Elections Fairer
Published by The Economist.
To be a democracy takes more than free elections. But no democracy can thrive without them. In some places votes are travesties, with incumbents sweeping the board; in others, free elections are entrenched. It is places in between—where multiparty elections are relatively new, the result is uncertain and the incumbents’ willingness to accept defeat cannot be presumed—where there is most to play for.

June 21, 2017
What do Election Observers Do?
Published by The Economist.
Ever since the late 1990s, international observation of elections has become so widespread that refusing to admit monitors is almost an outright admission of fraud. Even autocrats such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko invite foreign monitors. After Turkey’s referendum in April, observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), an intergovernmental body, said the vote fell “well short” of international standards. “We don’t care about the opinions of ‘Hans’ or ‘George’,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, replied, in reference to no particular men. But what exactly do electoral observers do?

Nov. 4, 2016
Echoes Abroad of U.S. Election Challenges at Home
Published by Public Radio International (PRI).
Host Mary Kay Magistad takes a step back from this particular election season, to ask David Carroll, head of the Carter Center's Democracy Program, about how U.S. elections compare with those of other democracies around the world.

Nov. 3, 2016
Our Election System Isn’t Perfect, But Accusations Of ‘Rigging’ Are Baseless
Published by The Huffington Post.
The first election The Carter Center ever observed was rigged.

Aug. 14, 2016
Zambia’s Lungu Leading as Opposition Demands Partial Recount
Published by Bloomberg News.
Zambian president Edgar Lungu led his main election challenger Hakainde Hichilema as the vote count drew to a close Monday amid complaints of irregularities by the main opposition and demands for a recount in the province with the most registered voters.

Aug. 8, 2016
The World is Watching Zambia’s Election
Published by The Post (Zambia).
I AM coming to Zambia to show that the world is watching the polls, says Burundi’s former Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi.

Feb. 2, 2016
Jimmy Carter: Full Interview with John Humphrys
Published by BBC Radio's Today Programme.
Jimmy Carter is the peanut farmer from Georgia who became the president of the United States. After leaving the White House, he set up the Carter Centre, which works to advance human rights and help eradicate diseases that have plagued some of the world's poorest people for centuries. He spoke to John Humphrys about his campaign to eradicate guinea worm disease and his take on the state of modern US politics.

Nov. 10, 2015
Amid Slow Vote Count, Myanmar Opposition 'Cautiously' Eyes Victory
Published by NPR – All Things Considered.
In Myanmar, also known as Burma, initial vote counts show the pro-democracy opposition is headed for a decisive victory, two days after the freest elections in a generation. For two nights in a row, supporters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have partied in the streets to celebrate their apparent victory.

Nov. 9, 2015
Jason Carter Participates in Myanmar Election Observation
Published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jason Carter says he won't try to fill his ailing grandfather's shoes next week when he becomes chairman of the Atlanta-based human rights organization former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter founded more than three decades ago.

Nov. 8, 2015
Carter Center Monitors Myanmar Election
Published by NBC News.
Jason Carter, grandson of Former President Jimmy Carter visits Myanmar with the Carter Center.

Nov. 7, 2015
Center Monitors Myanmar Vote, Group's 101st Poll Mission
Published by the Associated Press.
Afflicted by cancer, former President Jimmy Carter won't be present for Myanmar's watershed election Sunday. But the center he founded will be there - monitoring a vote in a crisis-ridden corner of the world for the 101st time to ensure polling is free and credible.

Sept. 30, 2015
Who Has Gained Ground in Syria Since Russia Began Its Airstrikes
Published by The New York Times.
After Russia began a bombing campaign in Syria in September, The New York Times used information from the Carter Center's Syria Mapping Project to help determine which forces Russia was targeting, and more generally, what groups control which areas of Syria, and how frontlines have changed over the course of the conflict.

June 29, 2015
Call to Lift Veil on Terms of Shady DRC Deal
Published by Bloomberg News.
The Democratic Republic of Congo should live up to its pledge to improve transparency in the mining industry by publishing the terms of the recent sale of a copper permit to a Glencore venture, the Carter Center said. Congolese state-owned mining company Gecamines and a business partner sold the Kawama copper and cobalt concession to Glencore's Mutanda Mining in February without announcing the deal.

May 13, 2015
A Reporter's Notebook, Interview with President Carter
Published by CBS 46.
In May 2015, WGCL TV-reporter Scott Light traveled to Guyana for The Carter Center's 100th election observation mission. President Carter was part of that mission, though illness forced him to cut his trip short. Light produced a number of stories from the trip, all collected here.

May 10, 2015
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Guyana Elections
Published by China Central TV.
Guyana holds a General election Monday. Politics in the small South American nation has long been contentious, with the two leading political parties drawing their support from two distinct racial groups. International observers will monitor the vote - including a group from The Carter Center, led by the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Guyana is a former British colony on the Caribbean coast of South America.

May 8, 2015
Guyana Goes to the Polls in Hotly Contested National Elections
Published by the Miami Herald.
Four years after Guyana's ruling government won a tight race, it is asking voters to extend its mandate. But an opposition coalition is seeking to end its 23-year rein.

April 26, 2015
Former President Carter Reflects Before Milestone Mission
Published by The Associated Press.
Dozens of trips to monitor elections abroad have left former President Jimmy Carter hopeful about the future of many countries adopting democracy but concerned about the election process in the U.S.

Dec. 8, 2014
Keep Your Promises
Published by The Katmandu Post.
The political parties that signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006 and later declared Nepal a secular, federal, democratic republic as laid out in the Interim Constitution cannot denounce their commitment at this point. If they do so, then it will not only be a betrayal to the nation and its people, but will also raise questions about their political integrity, which will inevitably invite political instability.

Nov. 24, 2014
Video: Tunisia's Presidential Election Coverage (in Arabic)
Aired on Wataniya 1 Television.
On Nov. 23, Tunisian citizens voted in a genuine and competitive election, the country's first presidential elections under the new constitution. The Carter Center's Tunisian election observation mission was co-led by the Center's CEO Ambassador (Ret.) Mary Ann Peters and international lawyers and human rights defenders Hina Jilani of Pakistan and Ambassador Audrey Glover of the United Kingdom.

Nov. 22, 2014
Carter Center Urges Political Leaders to Reach Consensus
Published by My Republica (Kathmandu).
The Carter Center has urged all the political parties to recommit to the spirit of consensus upon which the peace process and Constituent Assembly (CA) were founded and to find broadly acceptable compromises to bring constitution-making to a successful close.

Nov. 12, 2014
Egypt Elections Unlikely to Deliver Parliament That Can Check President's Powers
Published by The Associated Press.
Egypt is gearing up for parliamentary elections, the second since the 2011 uprising. But with the once-triumphant Muslim Brotherhood now banned from public life and a new military-backed government suppressing public expression, analysts and activists say the next legislature is likely to be a rubber-stamp body that further solidifies the power of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Oct. 31, 2014
US Organization Criticizes Mozambique Vote Tabulation (link no longer available) 
Published by Agence de Presse Africaine.
The United States-based Carter Centre has criticized the tabulation of votes during Mozambique's October 15 general elections as "a process that lacked clear and consistent procedures, was disorderly and in some cases lacked the transparency needed to ensure confidence." According to state-run AIM news agency, observers from the US group received reports of manipulation of results in the cities of Beira and Lichinga.

Oct. 21, 2014
Carter Centre Announces International Delegation for Legislative Elections
Published by Agence Tunis Afrique Presse.
The Carter Centre announced, Monday, that fifty observers will join as of Tuesday the core-team of experts already deployed, since July, for next October 26 legislative elections. In total, the centre's election observation mission "has accredited approximately 75 observers representing 20 countries to observe the Oct. 26 parliamentary election, including polling and tabulation," reads a press release.

Oct. 18, 2014
From Jimmy Carter, a Rebuke to Egypt
Published by The New York Times.
Over three decades, the Carter Center in Atlanta, led by former President Jimmy Carter, has established itself as a respected advocate for human rights and democracy. It has sent observers to 97 elections in 38 countries, worked to persuade governments to respect freedoms and human rights, and supported citizens who defend those principles. But it has thrown in the towel on Egypt.

May 17, 2014
Former US President Carter 'Concerned' Over Egypt
Published by the Associated Press.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has warned Egypt that its transition to democracy after years of political turmoil is faltering ahead of presidential elections later this month.

Jan. 16, 2014
Early Tallies Show Revised Charter Passing in Egypt
Published by The New York Times.

A revised Constitution validating the military takeover in Egypt last summer appeared headed for lopsided approval by as many as 98 percent of the votes cast, according to early tabulations in the official and private news media on Thursday, as international monitors raised alarms about the fairness of the plebiscite.

Jan. 14, 2014
On Third Anniversary, Tunisians May Get A Constitution
Published by NPR.
Carter Center Tunisia Field Office Director Marion Volkmann talks with NPR about Tunisia's constitution drafting process on the third anniversary of the country's revolution.

Jan. 13, 2014
Tunisia: Improve Guarantees for Judicial Independence
Published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
As Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is discussing the chapter on the judicial powers in a new constitution, Al Bawsala, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and The Carter Center urge members to strengthen guarantees for judicial independence.

Jan. 8, 2014
Carter Center Releases Statement Urging Political Reform, Inclusiveness
Published by Daily News Egypt.
The American-based Carter Center released a statement Tuesday urging Egypt's interim government to create an inclusive and meaningful environment in which the proposed constitution can be discussed. The statement stressed the need to ease restrictions and crackdowns on the Muslim Brotherhood and opposition activists in order to create a stable environment for Egypt's transition to democracy.

Jan. 8, 2014
Carter Center Calls for 'Credibility' Measures Ahead of Constitution Referendum
Published by Ahram Online.
The US-based Carter Center issued a press release on 6 January on Egypt's upcoming constitutional referendum, supporting the "strong desire of Egyptians to move forward with a transition to an elected civilian government."

Jan. 3, 2014
Madagascar's New President Brings Hope of Economic Change
Published by Voice of America.
Madagascar's electoral commission has declared Hery Rajaonarimampianina the winner of the December 20 presidential poll, although the final tally has been challenged by his opponent.

March 4, 2013
Kenyans 'Determined' to Move Beyond 2007 Election Violence
Published by PBS Newshour.
Millions of Kenyans voted in general elections Monday, and though there were some incidents of violence, the worst many experienced were lengthy lines and long wait times, international election monitors reported.

March 4, 2013
Kenyan Election Marked But Record Turnout, Limited Violence
Published by NPR "All Things Considered"
In the east African nation of Kenya, voters cast ballots for their next president from a field featuring the sons of the nation's first leaders. One of them has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged human rights abuses related to elections five years ago when more than 1,200 people died in ethnic violence.

March 4, 2013
Rupiah Banda: Kenya Elections 'Went Well'
Published by BBC.
Millions of Kenyans have been voting in crucial elections.

Jan. 8, 2013
Nepal's Peace Process Needs Elections
Jimmy Carter op-ed published in the Kathmandu Post and Kantipur newspaper.
I have a great interest in the future of this beautiful country, and was honored to visit Nepal three times in the year leading up to the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008. Since that time we have monitored the peace process continually, in Kathmandu and throughout all other regions. Observers from The Carter Center have been deployed in Nepal since 2007. Our observers find that Nepali citizens remain passionate supporters of democracy but are increasingly frustrated with their leadership for breaking its promises time after time. It is disappointing to realize that the continuing political deadlock in Nepal is an obstacle to making further progress in the country's peace process.

June 27, 2012
Carter Center to Send Election Monitors to Libya
Published by the Huffington Post.
The Carter Center is sending observer teams to Libya to monitor and report on that country's July 7 parliamentary elections.

June 20, 2012
International Witnesses and the Legal Framework of Egypt's Elections
Published by law.com.
As the Egyptian people await the official results of their first democratic presidential election, international election-monitoring organizations continue to work behind the scenes to help delineate the legal framework around the voting and ensure democratic processes are upheld.

May 17, 2012
U.S. Group to Send 22 Observers to Egypt's Election: U.S. (link no longer available) 
Published by AFP.
The Atlanta-based Carter Center has the green light to send 22 observers to monitor Egypt's presidential election next week, the US State Department said Thursday.

May 16, 2012
Egypt Vote Monitors Say State Hindering Their Work
Published by Reuters.
Foreign observers of Egypt's first real leadership contest will be unable to say whether the process is free and fair because their movements are being restricted by election authorities, one of the groups supposed to be monitoring the vote said.

Feb. 27 2012
Carter Center, EU, Advance Several Proposals for Peaceful Elections
Published by Daily Observer (Liberia).
Carter Center's Elections Observation Mission in Liberia along with European Union has advanced several recommendations for future elections in Liberia.

Feb. 24, 2012
Carter Center: Congo Assembly Elections 'Compromised'
Published Feb. 24, 2012, by Voice of America.
U.S.-based election monitor says the integrity of Congo's legislative polls has been "compromised," and that the true results may never be known.

Feb. 24, 2012
DR Congo Legislative Results Lack Credibility: Carter Center (link no longer available)
Distributed by Agence France Presse.
The results of DR Congo's November legislative polls that gave the ruling party and its allies an absolute majority lack credibility, the Carter Center's election observers said Friday.

Dec. 11, 2011
Observers: Congo Election Lacks Credibility
Distributed by Associated Press (Posted in the Seattle Times and other media websites).
The results from Congo's election which handed victory to the country's president of 10 years lack credibility, said one of the major observation missions.

Dec. 11, 2011
Video: DRC Vote Lacks Integrity - Interview with the Carter Center's David Pottie
Published Dec. 11, 2011, by CNN.com.
David Pottie, of the Carter Center, discusses the disputed results of elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dec. 11, 2011
Observers Question Integrity of DRC Vote
Published Dec. 11, 2011, by Voice of America.
Electoral observers from the U.S.-based Carter Center say presidential results in the Democratic Republic of Congo were "mismanaged," compromising the integrity of a vote that gave President Joseph Kabila another five years in power. The leading opposition candidate is rejecting the poll.

Dec. 5, 2011
Tensions Rise in Congo's Capital as Ballots Pile Up
Published Dec. 5, 2011, by the New York Times.
Sacks of newly arrived ballots lay piled in the mud at decrepit fairgrounds at the edge of town on Monday, a day before officials here were supposed to declare a winner in this country's presidential election - and nearly a week after the vote.

Nov. 18, 2011
John Stremlau: Partners Crucial to Nurturing Liberian Democracy
Published Nov. 18, 2011, by Business Day (Johannesburg).
Liberia's fragile democracy suffered several setbacks surrounding last week's presidential run-off that are typical of many post-conflict African countries.

Nov. 17, 2011
Review presidential term limits, Carter Center tells S. Sudan MPs
Published Nov. 17, 2011, by the Sudan Tribune.
South Sudan lawmakers should consider reviewing term limits for the presidency, which was excluded from the country's Transitional Constitution as well as the recently endorsed draft Elections Act 2011, the Carter Center has said.

Oct. 19, 2011
Black Cherokees Exercise Hard-Won Right to Vote
This op-ed by Dr. John Stremlau,Vice President, Peace Programs, was published Oct. 19, 2011, by CNN.
The Cherokee Nation had difficulty electing its principal chief, so much so that members called in the Carter Center to observe the most recent vote and judge whether it was free and fair. We normally observe elections only in politically troubled countries abroad but believe that the contentiousness and fundamental voting rights issues at stake – and not just for the Cherokees – justified this exceptional mission.

Oct. 25, 2011
Radio Interview on Tunisia Elections
Interview conducted by WUSB - Stony Brook University Radio.
Sarah Johnson, assistant director, Democracy Program, discusses the Tunisia elections.

Oct. 8, 2011
Voting Ends in Controversial Cherokee Election of Chief
Published Oct. 8, 2011, by Reuters.
Voting ended on Saturday to pick a principal chief of the Cherokee Indians, the nation's second largest tribe, following vote tampering charges and a fight with some African-Americans over tribal membership.

Sept. 14, 2011
The Real Work of Election Monitors
This article by Carter Center Peace Program Vice President John Stremlau and Democracy Program Director David Carroll was published Sept. 14, 2011, by foreignaffairs.com.
Professors Susan Hyde and Judith G. Kelley ("Limits of Election Monitoring") are correct in saying election monitoring has become "almost universally accepted in media and policy circles," but are wrong to imply that monitors are unaware "of the power and limits of observation." Rather, it is Hyde and Kelley who may be guilty of exaggerating them both.

May 2, 2011
S. Kordofan: Carter Center Warns Over Poll Violence, Insecurity
Published May 2, 2011 by the Sudan Tribune.
As polls officially opened on Monday in South Kordofan, the Carter Center expressed concerns over security deterioration in the region, urging concerned authorities to ensure "genuine and credible" process within the state.

Jan. 18, 2011
Carter Center: S. Sudan Vote Peaceful and Credible
Published in the Jan. 18, 2011, by Associated Press.
A group of election observers led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Monday that they found Southern Sudan's recent referendum on independence from the north to have been credible.

Jan. 10-14, 2011
Answering Your Sudan Questions, <>Round 1, Round 2, Round 3
Readers were invited to pose questions about Sudan and the referendum on self-determination to President Carter and have them answered on Nicholas D. Kristof's blog. Responses were between Jan. 10-14, 2011, on www.nytimes.com.
The world's eyes are focusing on Sudan, which will hold a referendum on independence in the southern part of the country. The south, which holds more than 75 percent of the country's oil, is expected to vote almost unanimously for secession, and that will start a process that could lead to the birth of Africa's newest country.

Jan. 7, 2011
Southern Sudan Votes
Published in the Jan. 7, 2011, by Public Radio International's The World.
The map of Africa is very likely to change soon. The continent's largest country looks set to be split in two as people in southern Sudan start voting in a referendum on independence this Sunday. This is not expected to be a close outcome: it would be a surprise if fewer than 90% of the votes were in favor of breaking away from the north. Matthew Brunwasser reports from Juba, South Sudan.

Oct. 31, 2010
Former Ghanaian President Kufuor Hails Peaceful Ivory Coast Vote
Published in the Oct. 31, 2010, by Voice of America.
Ghana's former President, John Kufuor, told VOA he was impressed with officials of Ivory Coast's Independent Electoral Commission for conducting what he described as a peaceful vote Sunday.

June 28, 2010
Guinea's First Election Praised for Transparency
Published in the June 28, 2010, by CNN.com.
International observers Monday applauded the first free presidential election in Guinea in more than 50 years, saying it was democratic, inclusive and transparent.

June 27, 2010
Guinea Holds First Free Election
Published in the June 27, 2010, by Al Jazeera.
Guinea's presidential election, described as the West Africa nation's first free vote after decades of military rule, has passed off peacefully.

June 24, 2010
Observers Say Logistical Challenges Remain for Guinea Vote
Published in the June 24, 2010, by Voice of America.
Excitement is mounting in Guinea for Sunday's vote, but election observers worry that delays in preparation pose potential risks to the electoral process.

May 10, 2010
Chaotic Sudan Vote Count Open to Manipulation-Observers
Published May 10, 2010, by Reuters.
Vote-counting after Sudan's April elections was chaotic and open to manipulation, raising concerns over the accuracy of the results, an international observer mission said on Monday.

April 15, 2010
Sudan's Future Depends on Acceptance of Vote Results, Says President Carter
Published April 15, 2010, by Voice of America.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says the future of Sudan will depend on how Sudanese accept the results of the just ended general elections.

April 13, 2010
Ex-President Carter Welcomes Sudan Vote Extension
Published April 13, 2010, by the Associated Press.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose organization is monitoring Sudanese elections, welcomed on Tuesday a two-day extension in the voting as complaints about the process mounted.

April 13, 2010
Carter Says Sudan Vote Is Key to Southern Referendum 
Published April 13, 2010, by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said that while Sudan's first multiparty elections in 24 years have "serious faults," they are vital to ensuring Southern Sudan is able to hold a referendum on independence next year.

Dec. 10, 2009
Refugee Returns to Sudan to Sign Up Voters
Published on Dec. 10, 2009, on CNN.com.
Daniel Deng, like thousands of other children, walked hundreds of miles to escape Sudan's war zone, moving for months farther and farther from his home country.

Nov. 3, 2009
Carter Center Cites Obstacles Ahead of Sudan Vote
Published by the Associated Press, Nov. 3, 2009.
Permit delays, lack of funds and security intimidation are obstructing international and local observers from monitoring registration for Sudan's first ever nationwide elections, former President Jimmy Carter's foundation said on Tuesday.

July 26, 2009
Intelligence Report: Fair Elections
Published in the July 26, 2009, issue of Parade Magazine.
A Q&A with Carter Center Democracy Director David Carroll.

June 19, 2009
'Elections Don't Make Democracy'
Published June 19, 2009, by Newsweek.
A global voting monitor suggests that the outside world not jump to conclusions about Iran's vote.

June 9, 2009
Carter Satisfied Process Was Fair (link no longer available) 
Published June 9, 2009, by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Former President Jimmy Carter and his team of observers in Lebanon are hopeful after parliamentary elections Sunday.

June 7, 2009
Independents Push for Changes in System (link no longer available) 
Published in the July 7, 2009, edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Pierre Daher Haddad doesn't stand a chance of winning a seat in Lebanon's parliamentary elections today. A Christian running as an independent for a seat designated to a Muslim, his campaign technically may not even be legal. But that's not the point.

Jan. 12, 2009
Commentary: A Victory for Democracy in Africa
Commentary by John Stremlau published Jan. 12, 2009, on CNN.com.
Supporters of democracy around the world can celebrate the January 7 inauguration of Ghana's new president, professor John Evans Atta Mills, who defeated the leader of the incumbent party in a December 28 runoff election by a mere 41,566 votes out of 9,001,478.

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