IFES - Iraq

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Iraq

Iraqis on the streets of Baghdad take a moment to read the draft Constitution prior to Referendum days.

As Iraq starts to emerge from the conflict that shaped its history for the past two years, it continues the process of molding a new political identity. With the world watching, its political leadership is encountering a number of serious challenges--such as inter-regional and ideological differences--but the primary issue they must contend with is the uncertain security situation.

Each of IFES’ three projects plays an important role in addressing this issue either directly or indirectly and is part of a larger assistance plan that will eventually bring peace and stability to the embattled country.

Current Projects

Election Violence Education and Resolution

The women of Najaf Governorate listen to a lecture on the participation and role of women towards peaceful and non-violent elections in Iraq.

Our Electoral Violence, Education and Resolution (EVER) project is being implemented throughout Iraq. While historically, substantial efforts have been made to observe elections, little has been done to explicitly monitor and mitigate ethnic, racial, or political conflict during the electoral process. The EVER program is one of a very few initiatives that are pioneers in bringing election-related violence and conflict mitigation strategies to the forefront. The implementation of the EVER program in Iraq sets another landmark by operating in a volatile conflict environment. As such, this program plays a unique role in energizing civil society to take the initiative in reducing conflict and moving Iraq towards a democratized, violence-free state. The EVER project teaches Iraqi partners to assess public concerns, raise awareness, monitor incidents and develop community led mitigation systems.

Electoral Assistance to the IECI

IFES is providing significant technical assistance to the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission (IECI) and the constitution drafting committee. This assistance will help ensure stronger election systems and the integrity of the constitutional process by increasing the technical capacity of the Commission and constitutional drafting committee and in turn will improve the country’s security situation by providing strong and transparent governance.

Voter Education for Iraqis with Disabilities

IFES has developed and is currently implementing voter education programs for disabled Iraqi citizens. This is of particular relevance in Iraq where, in part due to its many wars, some estimate that as many as 10% of Iraqis live with a disability. The IFES DVE program equips key Iraqi civil society organizations with the tools to encourage Iraqis with disabilities to participate in the electoral and political process.