Zambia State of Democracy assessment project launched

Zambia’s State of Democracy assessment project was launched on 20 July 2010 in Lusaka. Organized by International IDEA’s partners in Zambia - the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) and the Department of Political and Administrative Studies of the University of Zambia (UNZA) - the launch marked the culmination of extended consultations with a broad range of stakeholders and partners about the need for such an assessment.
 
The Executive Director of FODEP, Dr Charity Musumba, said that the launch was to draw public attention to the project and also to engage the public in closely monitoring its implementation. She went on to say that the launch marked the beginning of a sustained engagement with various stakeholders during the SoD assessment process. Dr Peter Loloji, Head of UNZA’s Department of Political & Administrative Studies, also ensured that his department has the necessary skills and experience to undertake such an assessment.
 
The launch was attended by some 65 participants from civil society, political parties, the Government, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) National Governing Council, members of the diplomatic corps including IDEA Member States and other members of the international community.
 
International IDEA's Dr Paulos Tesfagiorgis noted that the Institute supports citizen-led assessments in order to contribute to better quality democracy and active citizenship. Since International IDEA’s interest and mandate is in building sustainable democracy, supporting internal actors such as UNZA and FODEP in evaluating the quality of their democracies is one way of pursuing its mandate.