| Section of framework | Achievements | Challenges |
| 1. Citizenship, law and rights |
| 1.1. Nationhood and citizenship | - Democratic constitution established
| - Broadly based inclusion of all sectors of society.
- Elimination of authoritarian legacies
|
| 1.2. Rule of law and access to justice | - De facto separation of judiciary from executive
| - Access to justice for all Inefficient processing of cases.
- Criminal elements and corruption
|
| 1.3. Civil and political rights Bill of rights | - Office of ombudsman, public defender, or equivalent
| - National emergency rights derogations
- Low public regard for police
- Poor conditions of detention
- Violence against women
|
| 1.4. Economic and social rights | - Government focused on economic development
- Shift in international community to poverty reduction and debt relief
| - Limited fiscal capacity of states to guarantee basic rights
- Increasing gap between rich and poor
- Liberalization without regulation
|
| 2. Representative and accountable government |
| 2.1. Free and fair elections Competitive elections | - Establishment of independent electoral commissions
- Improved and inclusive voter registration
- Voters exercise their electoral rights
| - Official and unofficial electoral harassment and intimidation
- Unequal access for parties to the media
- Possible vulnerability of constituency-based electoral systems
- Socially unrepresentative electoral candidates
|
| 2.2. The democratic role of political parties | - Freedom for parties to form, recruit and campaign
| - Fragmentation of party representation
- Personal party politics
- Limited internal party democracy
- Party finance problems
|
| 2.3. Effective and responsive government | - Realistic threat of removal for most governments
- Some legislative oversight of executive
- Citizen redress possible Some independent media
| - Executive dominance
- Pork-barrel politics
- Reporting delays
- Limited role for opposition parties
- Weak freedom of information legislation
|
| 2.4. The democratic effectiveness of parliament a |
| |
| 2.5. Civilian control of the military and police | - Clear procedures for civilian control of military
- Public service reforms
| - Removing military from previous zones of conflict
- Strengthening the accountability of the security services to parliament
- Ensuring the police serve the whole community
- Making services more socially representative
|
| 2.6. Integrity in public life b | - Establishment of an anticorruption commission
- Increased reporting of corruption from civil society and the general public
| - Addressing rent-seeking behaviour and culture
- Strengthening anti-corruption bodies
|
| 3. Civil society and popular participation |
| 3.1. The media in a democratic society | - Free independent print media
- Relaxing state media monopoly
| - Continued government control of the media
- Private media monopoly
- Official and unofficial harassment of journalists
- Trivialization of media content
|
| 3.2. Political participation | - Active civil society organizations (CSOs)
- Effective role for CSOs
- Encouragement for self-help
| - Donor dependency of CSOs
- Lack of CSO accountability
- Low participation of women
|
| Government responsiveness c | - Adoption of consultative mechanisms
| - Preferential access for the wealthy
- Sense of powerlessness among general public
|
| 3.3. Decentralization | - Revival of elected local government
- Greater responsiveness to local citizens
- Cooperation with local partners for delivery of services
| - Inadequate and unequal resource base at local level
- Lack of trained personnel
- Limited fiscal decentralization
|
| 4. Democracy beyond the state d |
| 4.1. External influences on the country's democracy | - Incorporation of international treaties into domestic legislation
| - Subordination to international financial institutions
- Unequal representation of countries from the global South in international organizations
- Chronic border disputes
|
| 4.2. The country's democratic impact abroad | - Support for UN peacekeeping missions
- Generosity towards refugees
| |
