Press Release:
Burkina Faso: Centre for Democratic Governance

Press Release | en français

An independent and impartial Centre for Democratic Governance is planned to be launched in Burkina Faso next year. In preparation for this Centre a workshop entitled "Dialogue on the Strategic Plan of the Centre for Democratic Governance" is being organized jointly by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 8-9 December in the capital Ouagadougou.

Attending the workshop will be representatives of political parties, civil society, government, parliamentarians, the judiciary and International IDEA's Contact Group in Burkina Faso. Among the participants are Général Tiémoko Marc Garango, former Ombudsman for Burkina Faso, Maître Grâce D'Almeida, former Minister of Justice in Benin, Mohammed Bazoum, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger, and Prof Augustin Loada, Co-ordinator of International IDEA's Contact Group.

Promoting Democratic Development in Burkina Faso
Initiated in 1996, International IDEA's programme for democratic development in Burkina Faso has the overall objective of advancing democracy by facilitating political dialogue and articulating a democratic reform agenda. The Contact Group of International IDEA, consisting of 20 persons representing a broad cross-section of Burkina Faso society, has recommended that the ownership and sustainability of the International IDEA programme be maintained by establishing institutions such as a Centre for Democratic Governance in Burkina Faso. The Contact Group has also proposed formulating a strategy for the Centre based on the recommendations put forward in International IDEA's democracy assessment report Democracy in Burkina Faso (published 1998) and the report The Reform of the Electoral System in Burkina Faso (1999). The Contact Group plans to launch the Centre next year with the support of International IDEA and UNDP.

According to Prof Augustin Loada, Co-ordinator of International IDEA's Contact Group, "the main objective of the workshop is to involve a wide range of Burkinabese political forces in the elaboration of a strategic plan for the proposed Centre for Democratic Governance".

Centre for Democratic Governance
According to the Contact Group, the objectives of the new Centre would be; ·

• To combine research and advocacy activities in the field of democracy and good governance
• To function as a policy think-tank, regularly analyzing the democratization process and conducting specific investigations on contentious issues
• To serve as a national resource centre and knowledge base on electoral issues
• Promotion of broader participation in political processes, in particular women
• To undertake civic education and advocacy activities in analysing and evaluating politics via e.g. media, civic awareness programmes, theatre and other public promotion activities.

The aim of the workshop is to develop a dialogue with a view to reaching a consensus between the CGD partners in terms of the Centre's mandate, role, missions, and objectives prior to its establishment, as well as identifying potential and future work programmes for the Centre.

Press Conference

The workshop starts at 8.00 a.m. Friday 8 December and is open to the media. A press briefing will be held Monday 11 December 2000 at 10.00 at Hotel Silmandé.

For further information, contact:

Anna Fogelmarck or Anna Nordenmark
Address: Hotel Sofitel Silmandé, BP 4733 01, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Tel: (226) 36 60 05
Fax: (226) 35 6054
E-mail: anna.nordenmark@altavista.net or info@idea.int

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) exists to nurture, sustain and promote democracy around the world. Global in membership and scope, independent of specific national interests, and quick in its response, International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization with a unique mandate - to support the growth of genuine, sustainable democracy.

For more information about International IDEA, contact:
Mark Salter, Press Officer
International IDEA, Strömsborg, 103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone +46-8-698 37 00, Fax: +46-8-20 24 22
E-mail: info@idea.int Website: http://www.idea.int