Seminar Report The role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions

- Partnership: Partnership means a spirit of mutual respect, co-operation and joint determination of
plans and priority issues. For DIPD and NIMD the parliamentary political parties are their main
partners in Myanmar, but they will also engage with parties outside of parliament and build
cooperation with civil society organization etc.
- Local ownership: Local ownership of these processes and programmes means that the local
partners have control over this process through prioritizing the issues and activities that they wish to
tackle – they set the agenda.
- Long-term: DIPD and NIMD seek to commit their respective organisations to working in Myanmar
on a long term basis knowing that democratization is a long term process
Overall, DIPD and NIMD believe that partnership is about ideas changing minds and not money changing
hands. They can offer inspiration and acknowledge that democracy grows from within.
Pillars of the programme: To develop the Myanmar Multiparty Democracy Programme, DIPD and
NIMD have had very positive consultations in the form of roundtable discussions with political
networks, civil society organisations and individual meetings confirmed broad-based support for and
appreciation of the proposed three-pronged approach for the Myanmar Multiparty Democracy
Programme, focusing on:
- Facilitating an inclusive and impartial multiparty dialogue platform that addresses issues of national
concern.
- Strengthening the capacities of political parties in a cross-party setting for example through training.
- Enhancing the cooperation between political parties and civil society, the media and the private
sector around issues of mutual concern.
Specific work areas: The umbrella of the Myanmar Multiparty Programme will be multiparty dialogue
and the continued development and implementation of the programme will take place in cooperation
with the political parties. Some thematic areas have already been identified such as: Youth political
education and strengthening youth wings of the political parties; political party financing; role of media
and political parties; women in politics; the relationships between parties, MP and parliament.
Finally, Mrs Hanne Lund Madsen concluded by emphasizing that the seminar forms part of and is the first
activity of the Myanmar Multiparty Democracy Programme. She stressed that many political parties and
organisations in other countries are discussing the seminar theme ‘Political Parties in Democratic
Transitions’. She concluded by emphasizing that the organisations and speakers were looking forward to
being inspired by the participants in how to possibly work together, what issues to tackle and how best to
do it.
1.3. Summary Presentation on “The key roles of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions –
the common challenges and opportunities”
By Mr Thomas Cormier, Senior Adviser, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(IDEA).
Mr Thomas Cormier opened by congratulating the parties for being at the seminar to discuss a very crucial
agenda regarding the political parties. He provided an overview of the main challenges and opportunities
for political parties in a democratic transition process. He drew up some of the key findings of the DIPD
reader ‘The Role of Political Parties in Democratic Transitions’ which has been translated to Myanmar
language and which serves as the background document to the seminar and the workshops. He in
particular stressed the need for:
Organizing Your Party to Participate Successfully in the Political Process
All parties will need to change - either by building a party from scratch or transforming existing
structures. Such change entails how to mobilise your members, how to develop your policies on
agriculture, health and other issues, how to manage your funds in a transparent manner, and how to
involve all groups including women and minorities in politics.
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