Seminar Report The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions

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Conducting capacity building of political parties on party organisation, party funding and political party campaigning in a cross-party setting and on an equal basis. Carrying out civic education/democracy education for political leaders and their cadre and the general population Promoting rule of law - especially in rural areas people are not able to exercise their rights. Establishing a informal multiparty dialogue platform outside of parliament is critical especially to change the constitution in an inclusive way. Promoting the role of women in Parliament through affirmative action. Engaging the private sector and local artists in the political discourse. Seek to counteract brain drain from Myanmar and promote “brain gain”. 2.3. Workshop 3: Responding to voter expectations: Representation and Delivery - Challenges and ways forward in Myanmar By Mr C.K. Lal and a local co-facilitator Ms Khin Su Myat Tun, Myanmar Egress In this workshop, the challenges, dilemmas and opportunities for responding to voter expectations were discussed. The shift to representative politics presents a steep learning curve for political parties. The leaders of the transition must be capable of inspiring and exciting people, but at the same time, they must convince the populace that sometimes they will have to wait, and adjust their demands to the reality of the political situation. Political parties need to be responsive to public opinion, but ultimately, they also have a responsibility for leading and shaping public opinion according to what is realistic. The shift to representative politics presents a steep learning curve for political parties. The leaders of the transition must be capable of inspiring and exciting people, but at the same time, they must convince the populace that sometimes they will have to wait, and adjust their demands to the reality of the political situation. Political parties need to be responsive to public opinion, but ultimately, they also have a responsibility for leading and shaping public opinion according to what is realistic. This workshop facilitates a dialogue around: What are the key expectations of the citizens in Myanmar in the democratisation processes with regard the conduct and policies of the political parties? How can political parties accommodate the different views of various social groups and ethnic groups and help promote reconciliation, understanding and peace? How can political parties facilitate democratic knowledge and practice among citizens; and improvements in citizens’ general livelihoods and wellbeing? How do parties collect the needs and interests of their electorate? What are the challenges in engaging with/involving citizens? How can it be improved? Mr C.K. Lal asked what features do voters expect from a political party and from a political leader? Ultimately, however, the long-term success of political parties depends on what they do in between election campaigns rather than during them. As an icebreaker, Mr C.K. Lal asked the workshop participants to decide their preferred way of decision making in this workshop: by voting, consensus or by decision of their leader. The participants were also invited to identify their favourite Myanmar political party other than their own party - and choose a preferred party leader of their choice (international or local). Discussion In a participatory setting, in which workshop participants were divided into four working groups, the following set of questions were addressed: 1. What are the key expectations of citizen in Myanmar in terms of policies and conduct of political affairs? 2. How can political parties accommodate the differences between various local groups? 3. How can political parties disseminate political knowledge and practise amongst the citizens? 4. How do political parties collect the needs and interest of the electorate and how can these methods be improved in Myanmar? 14
5. What do voters in Myanmar expect from their political parties? 6. How do political parties in Myanmar select their candidates? 7. What is the organisational strength of political parties in Myanmar? Leadership, cadre, something else? 8. On what basis do voters cast their votes? The four groups made the following general suggestions to political parties. Collecting views from voters: Opinion polls, door-to-door visits by your cadre, radio and TV programmes, internal debates. Presenting needs and concerns of the citizens: Through representation in the Union Parliament and regional/state parliaments, contributions in radio and TV programmes and newspapers. Responding to needs: Stay in constant contact with members and voters and brief them on your activities, progress, and successes. Feedback and improvement: Keep an on-going information loop with the electorate and members. 2.4. Workshop 4: Democracy Schools in Indonesia: building democracy from below - Challenges and ways forward in Myanmar By Dr Ignas Kleden and local co-facilitator Mr Han Soe Tun, Yangon School of Political Science In recognition of the need for a long-term investment in the building of a democratic culture in Indonesia, Kommunitas Indonesia untuk Demokrasi (KID) was established in 2004. KID’s mission is to strengthen democracy through political education and political dialogue through so-called Democracy Schools. The aim of the Democracy Schools is to train young politicians, social activists and professionals in democratic values, skills and practices and contribute to a new generation of well-trained democratic political practitioners and future leaders across political party lines and in doing so, contribute to Indonesia’s democratic culture and the opening up of political space. Dr. Ignas Kleden touched upon the following four dimensions in his presentation. Reasons for establishing schools 1) No such education was available in the country and also not in the political parties (only few parties had education and training within the party) 2) Give necessary and practical knowledge for the political activists of democracy 3) Schools at the district level especially in order to reach the citizens that previously had suffered from a ban on political party activity at the local level thus rendering them particular isolated from political developments and participation. What type of democracy do we teach? What kind of democracy should we teach? Dr. Ignas Kleden argued that democracy is a universal concept and cannot be curtailed by excuse of history or emergency situations. It is possible to compare our democracies across continents. But the universal values, principles and ideas must be translated into the actual context and concrete, local and cultural meaning of democracy must be fostered. Citizens will need to realize the importance and guard the democratic principles within their own society. What are our target groups for the training? It has been decided to focus on four groups of participants for the training: Political parties, government, business Community and civil society (NGOs, media, etc.). This is a good mix and will help each community appreciate the role of the other in promoting and safeguarding democratic development. It is moreover mandatory to have 30% women as participants. The aim is not to train political party leaders, but to inform citizens to engage actively in society. Components of our training and training approach The training covers three main areas. 15
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Seminar Report The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions

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