IFES West Bank and Gaza Presidential Elections- Final Report February 2005

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In preparation for the Palestinian Authority's Presidential elections on 9 January 2005, and in anticipation of future Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and local elections, United States Agency for International Development/West Bank Gaza (USAID/WBG) issued a program description through the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening II (CEPPS II) cooperative agreement.

This program description was for an associate award to IFES for the provision of technical advice and operational assistance to the Palestinian Authority's Central Election Commission (CEC), and to the Elections Reform Support Group (ERSG). On December 10, 2004 USAID/WBG issued a pre-award letter authorizing IFES to begin implementation. This followed IFES' budget submission of December 7, 2004. IFES personnel arrived in-country on December 12, 2004 to start operations. The draft Cooperative Agreement was issued January 13, 2005 based on IFES' revised budget of January 5, 2005. The award was modified and signed by both parties on February 21, 2005.

The primary objectives outlined in the CEPPS II Program Description and highlighted in IFES' proposal included:

•         Support the CEC with human resources in the areas of expertise required for the CEC to conduct the January presidential elections;

•         Provide emergency election commodities and technical support for election administration. This may include: assistance in the establishment or development of facilities; procurement of election supplies and goods; security and arrangements for storage and transport of election materials, if needed; and, assistance in recruitment and training of permanent and temporary staff and international experts, as needed; and

•         Continue to provide on-going expert assistance and Secretariat support to the coordinators and members of the Elections Reform Support Group, in order to maintain effective donor support to electoral administration in West Bank and Gaza.

The project, as requested by USAID/WBG, is to run through December 31, 2005 and is divided into two phases: Phase I includes project start-up through the presidential election period (from December 5, 2004 through January 30, 2005); Phase II includes the upcoming Palestinian Legislative Council and local elections and runs through the balance of 2005.

This activity report focuses on Phase I of the project, the Palestinian Presidential Elections which were conducted on January 9, 2005.