What we do?
We help strengthen the electoral process and ensure open and transparent election, we:
- Carry out election observations and assessments.
- Ensure political parties are prepared to participate and have the tools needed to observe Election Day voting and the vote counting processes.
- Support voter education initiatives to ensure that the citizens understand their rights and responsibilities in the electoral process and make informed decisions at the ballot box.
- Increase the participation of marginalized groups in the election process.
- Support electoral reform efforts to improve the quality of electoral democracy.
Observation and Assessment
Holding elections does not mean a country is democratic; however, no country can be a democracy without them. In a democracy, credible elections are transparent, open & competitive and the ballots are kept secret.
To ensure elections meet these standards; we conduct pre-election assessment, monitor elections and publish reports on election outcomes. Our election monitoring includes long-term observation that examines pre-election campaign, media coverage, electoral administration and the post-election period to gain a holistic perspective of the entire electoral process.
Ensure Political Parties can participate in the Process
To ensure election transparency, political parties, candidates and civil society must be able to observe the voting and ballot counting process through their representatives. These efforts build confidence in the process and provide peaceful mechanisms through which complaints can be registered and adjudicated.
We offer workshops all over the country to political party, candidate poll watchers and nonpartisan observers giving them the tools needed to carry out their role in the process. Our workshops educates the participants about electoral laws, and the rules & regulations governing the voting and counting process; ensuring poll watchers and observers know their rights and responsibilities.
Voter Education Initiatives Empower Citizens to Make Informed Decisions
An informed electorate is critical to holding democratic elections. Working with local civil society partners, we support voter education campaigns that raise voter awareness regarding the importance of elections, responsibilities of citizenship and mechanics of voting. Through newspaper advertising, billboards, collateral materials, radio, television and events, we ensure voters have the information they need to make informed decisions at the ballot box.
Increase The Participation Of Marginalized Groups
All parts of a society must have the opportunity to participate as voters and candidates regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, educational discrimination. We encourage civil society and political parties to reach out to marginalized groups and engage them in the election process.
Our programs promote the participation of groups who traditionally have been excluded from elections, including women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBT communities and people with disabilities. Our efforts ensure all citizens have a voice at the ballot box.
Electoral Reform
Through our programs, we bring stakeholders from political parties, civil society and election administration bodies together to build consensus around electoral reforms that improve elections, thereby improving the quality of electoral democracy.
Civic Advocacy and Citizen Participation
At the core of our work to strengthen democratic governance, are our efforts to ensure that citizens’ voices are heard and considered by the government. We work with coalitions of citizens and civil society groups to amplify citizens’ voices. We connect people where political space is restrictive, and where political space is more open, we support inclusive networks and coalitions that represent citizens and communicate their views to government officials.
Our work encourages direct citizen input in government decision-making and also support civic advocacy in national processes.
Ensuring Responsive Government Institutions and Accessible Services
Responsive institutions that deliver services in a timely & equitable manner are keys to the social contract that is the foundation of democratic systems. Frequently, municipal governments are the only government bodies accessible to citizens, so meeting citizen expectations is critical for these institutions. We work with all electedlocal, provincial and national members of assembly to help them provide services to constituents and work with citizens’ groups that want a role in the decision-making process to ensure efficient allocation of community resources.
Our work helps municipal governments to set up one-stop shops, which simplifies how citizens access a wide range of services, thereby reducing the need to visit multiple offices to complete routine transactions and eliminating avenues for corruption.
Legislative Strengthening and Constituent Outreach
Legislatures that understand and address the issues facing their constituents significantly improve the democratic culture and process in the country. Through our work, we are strengthening legislative research and drafting capabilities, and increasing constituent outreach.
We work to engage citizens through interactive television shows that cover many issues being debated by the parliamentarians. We help lawmakers strengthen oversight capability, connecting them with experts from across the region to share the best practices in representation, oversight and constituent communication. We help legislators develop issue-based meetings and committees that work with constituents and civil society to find solutions to common challenges.
Rising Stars Initiative
Our Rising Stars initiative would help emerging democratic leaders gain knowledge and skills to prepare them to address the country’s challenges with sound and proven policies and govern in an open, transparent and democratic manner. Through this initiative, we would work with hundreds of emerging leaders all over Pakistan, helping to prepare them for the difficult challenges of leading a democratic transition.
The Youth Participation Program
Any system, policy or project is bound to fail if the youth chooses not to support or actively participate in its working. The same goes for democracy as well. Unfortunately, this single most important success factor has been continuously ignored for the past 6 decades. While some people choose to blame democracy for not being able to produce the desired results for Pakistan, they conveniently forget about the lack of participation in this all-important process by the youth.
Having realised the gravity of this situation, NDF is relentlessly working to attract and educate the youth of Pakistan about their democratic rights, their role, and their impact on the overall electoral system of Pakistan. NDF encourages youth from all walks of life to actively take part in politics, since this is the only way that new ideas and new ideals can be introduced to a system that dates back to the British rule over the sub-continent. It high time that the electoral system in Pakistan gets a dose of youth, and NDF has the right platform, the guidance, and the principles to help the youth be the change that they want to see.
Strengthen Women Participation program
Pakistan is now effectively a fifty-fifty country, approx. 51% of the population is made up by women. Democracy in Pakistan will never taste the ultimate success without the involvement of women at all levels; in the parliament, in the polling station, as a voter. Realising this highly overlooked matter of extreme importance, NDF is aggressively working to ensure that women from all walks of life take charge of their rights and play an equally important role in establishing a free and fair electoral process, and government in Pakistan.
NDF has identified and is working on solving these major problems faced by half of the population of Pakistan:
- Insecurity
- Shortage of female staff in female polling centres
- Women being unaware of their political rights
- The location of polling centres
- Complaints by women not receiving their due share of attention
- Proxy voting (usage of females’ voting cards by males or forcefully influencing their decisions)
Being a proactive organization, NDF has not only identified the problems, but has also proposed solutions for them.