Democracy
MCC partners with select poor countries committed to good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights. One of MCC’s core principles is that aid is most effective in countries with a sound commitment to accountable and democratic governance. This is evident in:
- MCC’s approach to selecting countries,
- the compact development and implementation process, and
- the ongoing success of MCC partner countries.
Selecting Partner Countries Committed to Democratic Rights
MCC uses a transparent selection process to choose partner countries that assesses policy performance in a number of areas, as summarized on MCC’s scorecards of twenty policy performance indicators. In the “Ruling Justly” category, MCC has three indicators that explicitly measure a country’s commitment to democratic principles—Political Rights, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Information—all developed by independent, third-party institutions. In addition, MCC’s “Ruling Justly” category also measures Rule of Law, Government Effectiveness and Control of Corruption. Good performance in these areas is critical to passing MCC’s scorecard and receiving MCC assistance.
On top of its requirement that countries must pass the Control of Corruption indicator and half of the 20 indicators in order to pass the scorecard overall, in 2012, MCC adopted a “democratic rights” hurdle. Countries must now also pass either the Political Rights or the Civil Liberties indicator in addition to the other requirements in order to pass MCC’s scorecard. This change reflects the weight MCC places on political rights and civil liberties and sends a clear message to potential partner countries on the importance of democracy to good governance.
Principles into Practice
Deepening Democracy through Compact Development and Implementation
MCC’s approach to reducing poverty—creating incentives for reform and respecting existing domestic actors and processes—contributes to the long-term deepening of already existing democratic institutions.
MCC’s compacts are designed to reduce poverty through economic growth, but they also strengthen democratic institutions and processes in three important ways:
- Partner countries must maintain a meaningful, public consultative process throughout the development of a compact and its implementation.
- Compact programs must adhere to domestic legal or constitutional requirements, such as ratifying the compact or notifying the legislature as appropriate, and funds received through the compact must be reflected in the national budget.
- Compact implementation must be transparent.
Ongoing Progress Toward Democracy
Throughout the life of an MCC partnership, countries are expected to maintain their commitment to democratic rights, as well as other policy areas captured on the MCC scorecard. Many MCC partner countries have undergone successful elections, transfers of power, and expansions of political or civil rights during the course of their partnership with MCC. However, if a country demonstrates a significant policy reversal, MCC may issue a warning, suspend, or terminate eligibility and/or assistance.