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  • News and Notes

Central and East European Election Officials Meet in Budapest

On 30 July-2 August 1991, election administrators from Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia met in Budapest with election officials and experts from 20 countries for the Central European Electoral Systems Symposium. Hosted by the National Election Office of Hungary, the meeting was organized by the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in cooperation with the UN and the Office for Free Elections of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

The symposium focused on the practical problems that Central and East European governments face in introducing new electoral procedures and implementing a democratic electoral system. Topics of research presentations and workshops included the voter registration process and the establishment of a registry; voting procedures; vote counting and verification of the count; civic education by governmental and nongovernmental organizations; election-day activities; and election-result certification and analysis.

One result of the symposium was the founding of the Association of Central and East European Electoral Administrators, which will provide a regular forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the operation of electoral systems in the region.

Soldiers of the Democratic Revolution

The experiences of 11 democratic activists and journalists are chronicled in The Democratic Revolution: Struggles for Freedom and Pluralism in the Developing World, edited by Larry Diamond. In their own words, such champions of democracy as Argentine civic leader María Rosa de Martini, Nigerian lawyer [End Page 142] Clement Nwankwo, Nicaraguan publisher Xavier Zavala, Sudanese editor Bona Malwal, and Chilean civic activist Monica Jiménez describe their work and the obstacles that they have had to overcome to achieve their goals. Earlier versions of four of the essays, by Nigerian journalist Ray Ekpu, Philippine women's leader Dette Pascual, Colombian journalist María Duzán, and Thai civic educator Chai-Anan Samudavanija previously appeared as Field Reports in the Journal of Democracy. The Democratic Revolution will be published by Freedom House (48 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010) this winter.

Also new from Freedom House is a special report from its Cuba Roundtable, Cuba in the Nineties. UCLA professor Edward Gonzalez explores "The End of Castroism?" in the feature article, with comments by longtime Cuba-watchers such as Elliott Abrams, Robert Pastor, and Carlos Montaner. Among the many other contributors to this volume are Susan Kaufman Purcell, Gillian Gunn, Luis Aguilar, and Senator Claiborne Pell.

Periodical Examines Political Corruption

Accountability, published since November 1989 by the LAC Regional Financial Management Improvement Project under the auspices of the U.S. and Canadian development-assistance agencies and several international organizations, explores the dangers of corruption and examines methods of ensuring governmental accountability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Its July issue contains essays on "Accountability: Key to Sustaining Democracy" and "Corruption and Integrity in a Changing World" (both by top officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development) and an article on "Controlling Corruption in Puerto Rico," among others. This newsletter, aimed at auditors but accessible to a more general audience, can be ordered from Accountability, P.O. Box 66205, Washington, DC 20035-6205; fax: (202) 296-8871.

Johns Hopkins Press Now Publishing Journal of Democracy

With the current issue, the Johns Hopkins University Press has begun publishing the Journal of Democracy for the National Endowment for Democracy. The Press has assumed responsibility for printing, subscription fulfillment, customer service, and marketing; all responsibility for editorial content will continue to rest with the editors and the editorial board. Subscription inquiries should now be directed to Johns Hopkins University Press, Journals Division, 701 W. 40th Street, Suite 275, Baltimore, MD 21211-2190; or telephone (301) 338-6988. [End Page 143]

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