IHEC and IFES conduct Observation Workshops in Iraq

For the first time the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq funded two BRIDGE workshops on electoral observation for participants from civil society organisation, NGO’s, and the Electoral Management Body. The workshops were conducted in Baghdad from February 2-6 and 9-13, 2014.

This workshop aimed to: 

• Strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations and NGOs to successfully implement electoral observation during an upcoming election of the Council of Representatives.
• Reinforce the monitoring and evaluation of electoral processes.
• Strengthen the understanding of electoral cycle, roles and responsibilities of different actors and responsible reporting of the process

The independent high electoral commission (IHEC) of Iraq and IFES delivered the BRIDGE workshops in Baghdad.

Workshop #1

Five day workshop that was facilitated by:

• Mazin Swadi : lead workshop facilitator (IHEC) .
• Nibras Ahmed :workshop facilitator (IHEC) .
• Maximo Zaldivar ( IFES)

Twenty participants (14 male, 6 female) attended the workshop. Two of the participants were from the IHEC and eighteen from NGOs.

Workshop #2

Five day workshop that was facilitated by:

• Nidham Swadi: lead workshop facilitator (IHEC) .
• Mustafa Mahood: workshop facilitator (IFES)
• Ali Al-bayati (IFES)

Twenty four participants (16 male, 8 female) attended the workshop. Three were from the IHEC and twenty-one were from NGOs.

The workshops agenda focused on:

• The importance of Electoral Observation and types of Observers
• International Standards for Electoral Observation
• Electoral Cycle
• IHEC´s Code of Conduct for Electoral Observers participating in the 2014 COR Elections
• Procedure and Regulations for Electoral Observers participating in the 2014 COR Elections
• Difference among domestic Electoral Observation and International Electoral Observation
• Role of Observers and how they can assess the Electoral Process
• Effective Elections Observation Reporting
• Polling Procedures for the 2014 COR Elections
• Common observation dilemmas and problems during Elections Day
• The contribution of CSO´s to the Electoral Process
• The organization of the electoral spending

Participants praised the methodology used at the BRIDGE workshop and impact of learning while having group discussions. All the topics presented were of major interest and importance for both target groups (NGO & EMB).

In recognition of completion of the five-day training course, participants received a BRIDGE certificate.

The NGOS were very supportive of using BRIDGE as they view it as being one of the best tools for training and capacity building. They welcomed this approach by the IHEC to work with NGOs to prepare them for the Election of the Council of Representatives of Iraq in 2014.