Seminar Report The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions

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Introduction In this report we aim at presenting the key highlights from the multiparty seminar held in Yangon regarding the role of political parties in democratic transitions. The deliberations and discussions were very rich and constructive and thus it is not possible to cover it all in a report, but the main seminar proceedings follow below. The seminar brought together a total of 116 participants including Myanmar political party representatives (from 47 registered political parties), representatives from the Union Election Commission and key local civil society groups engaged in democratisation. Experts and practitioners from Indonesia, South Africa, Nepal and representatives from international democracy assistance organizations joined them to share their experience on democratic processes. The aim of the seminar was well achieved thanks to the participation and engagement of the political parties in Myanmar and many others. “This is the first time for decades that so many parties are gathered around the same table,” one of the political party leaders claimed and continued: ”Moreover, we have not before jointly discussed our common roles and challenges as political parties”. The aim was exactly to broaden the understanding of democratic transition processes in general and the roles of political parties as democratic actors in Myanmar’s emerging democracy in particular. Moreover, the aim of the seminar was to share knowledge, experiences and lessons learned from political transition processes in other countries that share similarities with Myanmar – and offer an inclusive platform for to discuss issues of national importance as well as key challenges and opportunities that Myanmar political parties face during this important time. Thus, the first day was conducted in plenary and the second day four workshops on the various themes were held. The seminar was the first activity of the Myanmar Multiparty Democracy Programme established by the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Dialogue (NIMD). The seminar was co-hosted by Nyein (Shalom) Foundation. Seminar theme: The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions The seminar confirmed that the political parties in Myanmar are right now taking important new steps and also facing a lot of challenges and opportunities. While the situation is unique there are useful lessons and experiences to draw from globally. Political parties play a particularly important role during political transition processes. During these periods, political parties have to make the system work and begin to deliver on some of the expectations that the public has invested in them. During transitional periods political parties have a very important role to play in supporting and contributing to the new emerging political system. In the process of adapting to their new roles of oversight, aggregation and representation of citizens’ interests and act as an interlocutor between citizens and the state, they face many challenges, including delivering on some of the expectations that the public has invested in them. This is the case in Myanmar and many other countries that have undergone a transitional process. The background document to the seminar was the DIPD Reader “Political Parties in Democratic Transitions” (now available in English and Myanmar language, http://dipd.dk/dipdpublications/), which shows interesting findings from the transitions in Indonesia, Turkey, Serbia and South Africa that might be relevant for the political parties in Myanmar. The publication shows that despite every country and every transition has its own distinctiveness, four themes emerge that reflect common, often very practical challenges for parties: Strengthening the political party organisation; Establishing multiparty dialogue between political parties; Negotiating space for democratic politics; Responding to voter expectations: Representation and delivery; 2
The discussions during the seminar underlined that despite the many differences between countries and their unique local contexts and local cultures, there are at the same time also many similarities between the case studies presented. Key lessons from the South Africa, Nepal and Indonesia cases included the: Importance of building personal relationships and trust between political actors as a foundation for a sustainable political settlement; Recognition that no sides gets everything that it wants: political dialogue and reform is all about compromise and accommodation; Necessity to ensure a democratic dividend for the population so that the positive words of reform and change have a real impact in peoples’ lives, and; Importance to invest in an (informal) multiparty dialogue process to enable parties to get to know each other as political competitors and not enemies; to help build trust and confidence, promote reconciliation and work out differences in a peaceful, constructive manner in the interest of national unity and development. Day 1: Tuesday 19 February 2013 1.1. Official Opening and Welcome By seminar moderator Mrs Nang Raw Zakhung, Program Manager (Dialogue and Governance), Nyein (Shalom) Foundation The seminar moderator welcomed the participants who had travelled from near and far to attend the seminar. In her speech she emphasized the following points: The historic significance of the seminar: Many people have longed for a day such as today where people and political parties from across the country come together to freely share ideas and reflect on how to work together in the interest of the people of Myanmar. The road ahead is exciting and uncertain – and filled with challenges and opportunities. How we respond to these will influence the lives of future generations. The importance of political parties: Representatives of political parties play a particularly important role in shaping this nation. They are vehicles that offer the citizens the opportunity of involvement and influence; can help the public understand, navigate and shape this process of transition; to build faith and legitimacy in an emerging political system; help establish a common political culture: and ultimately improve the lives of the people of Myanmar. In short, the performance of political parties is critical in the establishment and longevity of democracy and development in Myanmar. The nature of transitions: This country has embarked on a transition process, which makes possible a different future. However, transition processes are periods of uncertainty. We know what we are moving away from but not what we are moving towards. It is clear that we are in the midst of a transition but not what we are transitioning to. For all political parties, a transition process is likely to be characterised by periods of wins and losses, gains and failures, the end of some opportunities and the emergence of new possibilities. What makes a difference is how parties build on success and respond to perceived failure – how parties learn and move forward based on experience. And how parties work together across party lines - for common interests and shared goals. Furthermore, the seminar moderator outlined the seminar objectives and provided an overview of the seminar participants and the international resource persons. Mrs Nang Raw Zakhung welcomed the cooperation with DIPD and NIMD and introduced Nyein (Shalom) Foundation, which was founded in May 2000. Since then, the foundation has been in the forefront of peace-building processes in Myanmar and operates on a national level, with international links. Registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is actively involved in peace building, local development and humanitarian support. More recently it has also focused on state-building activities such as civic education, policy research, empowerment of political leaders, local leaders and other key stakeholders in the development of a peaceful and democratic society in Myanmar. 3
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Seminar Report The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions

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