Elected Official’s Self-Advocacy Earns Her Contested Post
USAID’s Community Development Activity (CDA), implemented by CHF International, seeks to increase citizen participation in local governance through training, practical implementation of community-identified projects, and the formation of Community Development Councils (CDCs) comprised of elected members who represent their community to the local government. CDCs help the communities prioritize, plan, budget and implement key projects. Costs and implementation responsibilities are shared among municipalities, citizens, and CDA. Unfortunately, the process does not always run smoothly.
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| Manzura Habilova, a newly-elected Tasmali municipal leader, expresses her satisfaction with USAID’s community project |
Manzura Habilova was first elected in 2004 by Tasmali residents to serve as part of a 10-member municipality board. In addition to those duties, she also became active as a CDC member in early 2007.
Within the past few months, the municipality chief was ousted by a vote of no-confidence from the board. Habilova was legally and democratically elected by the municipal board members to take his place. At first, the former municipality chief refused to vacate his position. But Habilova was undeterred.
The Tasmali CDC, formed with the support of USAID’s Community Development Activity, actively helped Habilova address the Gakh ExCom, which serves as the regional representative of the presidential office. Fellow CDC member Manzura Rashidova reached out to various government officials in Baku and in the Gakh region concerning her Habilova’s status as the democratically elected municipal chief. These efforts finally resulted in the departure of the former chief and the official appointment of Habilova to the contested post.
“By nature I am a spirited person and cannot stand injustice,” Habilova reflects. “Maybe I inherited my character from my mom, who was a very energetic woman in Tasmali. But I believe that people who work together with a common interest always succeed, no matter what artificial barriers are put before them.”
By using existing governmental resources to aid her with the issues in the municipality, Habilova demonstrated that community members can attract regional and national attention to address local issues and to uphold the democratic mandate of the Tasmali community.
Habilova credits USAID’s CDA for showing the way. “Programs like the USAID’s Community Development Activity are about working together and struggling together,” Habilova said. “I am excited to be a part of this development process, which totally changes the mindset of people.”
The admiration is mutual. USAID's Community Development Activity applauds Habilova for defending her rights to serve the community, and the CDC’s efforts to advocate on her behalf.
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