Fostering Democracy Sudan: Since 2005, North and South Sudan have worked to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended their 22 year war. The CPA set several benchmarks for consolidating peace in Sudan, including national elections and a referendum on selfdetermination for the South. With significant support from the UN, both of these benchmarks have been successfully completed. The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) supported, assisted, and provided security for the Sudanese National Election Commission as they conducted national elections in April 2010 and the referendum for the South’s independence in January 2011. Despite irregularities in polling and allegations of fraud, the UN and the international community believe that many of the priorities for the elections were met: the elections were mostly peaceful, there was a commitment to polling results by all parties, and it was another step in fulfilling the requirements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The referendum was also completed successfully with 98 percent of the voters electing for the secession of South Sudan. The government of Sudan has accepted the results of the referendum and South Sudan will become Africa’s newest nation in mid 2011. Iraq: The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) advises the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and Iraq’s political leaders ahead of elections. UNAMI and the IHEC developed a comprehensive capacity building program. Funded through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility, this program helps the IHEC incorporate good international practices in administering elections. Since 2007, the IHEC has conducted two national voter registration updates. Approximately 2.9 million Iraqis turned out for the voter registration update in 2008 and over 500,000 in 2009. The IHEC successfully implemented the July 2009 Kurdistan parliamentary elections and the March 2010 Council of Representatives elections, in which over 12 million voters participated. In addition to assisting the IHEC, UNAMI has built consensus within Iraq’s Council of Representatives on the governorate council election law as well as on election law and its amendments. For example with assistance from UNAMI, Iraq now has laws that address minority representation through required reserved seats in three key governorates. In addition with UNAMI’s assistance, for the first time, Iraq’s new election law provides for an open list electoral system. Afghanistan: Between 2001 and 2005, the UN assisted in brokering provisional arrangements in Afghanistan and in laying the framework for a transition to a representative national government. In December 2005, these efforts culminated in the first meeting of a democratically elected parliament in Afghanistan in over 20 years. The UN supported the presidential elections in 2009 as well as the parliamentary elections in 2010.
The Future of Democracy at the United Nations Upcoming Elections: The UN will work to ensure free and fair elections in several key nations over the next two years, including in the Central African Republic during the March 2011 second round of presidential elections, in Liberia during the October 2011 general presidential elections, and in Democratic Republic of the Congo during the November 2011 10