The lively city of Luanda, Angola, hosted the launch of the DWF led Regional Programme: Political Parties and Elections Support on 5 June 2024. This five-year regional initiative aims to promote resilient democracies in Southern Africa, collaborating with political parties, electoral institutions, and key stakeholders.
Exploring the Regional Programme
"Democracy faces significant challenges globally, particularly in our region. Public trust in democratic institutions, including political parties, has declined. It is evident that our democracies require revitalisation. This programme is anticipated to make a substantial contribution in this regard," emphasised Olmo von Meijenfeldt, DWF Executive Director.
The Political Parties and Elections Support regional initiative led by DWF presently encompasses Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa. The program underscores the importance of inclusive, issue-focused democratic political parties as essential for a successful democratic system. As political parties play a crucial role in voicing public concerns and linking the public with their government, the programme stresses the critical role of elections in democratic governance.
"This morning, I speak from South Africa, where we've recently undergone a significant democratic event. This past election once again highlighted the importance of supporting political parties. In the upcoming Parliament, South Africa will face coalition dynamics, which is uncommon in the region. Therefore, our political parties require substantial support in this aspect," remarked Olmo von Meijenfeldt.
Through this programme, DWF aims to promote democratic and responsive political parties and uphold electoral integrity.
Implementation Approach
"DWF works to strengthen the capacities of citizens and leaders so that they can drive the much-needed transformative change. Democracy needs democrats! For this reason, we've been investing in initiatives that seek to cultivate ethical and democratic leadership. The programme we are launching today is central to DWF's mission and vision of building resilient democracies," said Dr Augustine Magolowondo, DWF Regional Director.
Drawing on the experiences of the precursor Southern Africa Political Parties and Dialogue Programme, the new initiative will adopt a three-pronged strategy: a cross-party regional approach, a cross-party country-specific approach, and a bilateral, party-by-party approach. The cross-party approach encourages inter-party dialogue, consensus-building on developmental and governance issues, peer learning, mutual understanding, and a competitive political environment that nurtures societal trust in political parties.
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At the core of this three-pronged strategy is DWF's commitment to inclusivity, which includes collaborating with both governing and opposition parties, nurturing trust, maintaining strict non-partisanship, and ensuring transparency in the programs being implemented.
Expressions of Support
Various political parties, development partners, and the USA Embassy in Angola participated in the launch event, endorsing the programme's key objectives and implementation approach. They emphasised a collective commitment to championing democratic values and practices within political parties.
MPLA (Angola's Ruling Party) and UNITA (Angola's primary opposition party) voiced their support in person, while RFP (Lesotho's Ruling Party) and UDF (Malawi's Opposition Party) and political parties from participating countries joined virtually.
The commitment from ruling and opposition political parties in the participating countries to cooperate and engage in inclusive, transparent, and credible electoral processes underscores the program's significance.
You can see more from our launch on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
