USAID Political Party Assistance Policy

USAID’s Political Party Assistance Policy supports Agency commitments to promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. The Policy emphasizes that the goal of USAID's political party assistance is to develop and consolidate representative democracies with multi-party systems by:

• Encouraging representative, inclusive, citizen-focused political parties; 
• Encouraging parties’ support for democratic processes, accountable governance, and rule of law; and 
• Promoting the conduct of free, fair, and inclusive elections.

The Policy sets forth the two principles that guide USAID political party assistance: USAID programs must support representative, multiparty systems, and may not seek to determine election outcomes. From these principles flow a list of activities that are allowable and those that are prohibited. 

The Policy also outlines implementation guidance to help USAID staff and decision makers in Washington and the field to:

• Determine if a program is subject to the policy;
• Define key terms used in the policy; and
• Elaborate standards that must be met if seeking a waiver to the policy.