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IFES - West Bank/Gaza

West Bank/Gaza

Yasser Arafat’s death and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza (and some West Bank) settlements are focusing new attention on Middle East peace efforts. The international community is pushing Palestinian and Israeli leaders to follow the Roadmap for Peace, reciprocal measures designed to reach a peace agreement and form a stable Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority’s new leadership is under pressure to form a functioning government in Gaza, adopt democratic reforms, rebuild the Palestinian economy and prevent militant attacks against Israelis. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have elections scheduled in 2006.

Past Projects

Elections

From mid-December 2004 through the end of January 2005, IFES, with USAID funding, provided technical assistance to the Central Election Commission (CEC) in support of the presidential elections. The direct assistance program consisted of two elements: 1) election-related assistance to the CEC in the form of rapid response expertise and the development/administration of media centers in Ramallah and Gaza City; and 2) emergency procurement of election or registration commodities and services. In addition to these two forms of direct support, IFES also provided the CEC continuing coordination and services for the Election Reform Steering Group (ERSG) through a third program. IFES activities since the January 2005 elections are detailed below.

• IFES continues to assist the CEC in the areas of organizational and strategic planning and in strengthening its independence over the long term. Specifically, IFES has supported the CEC’s need to fill gaps in human resources and commodities that are required by the elections calendar in an environment with significant political and logistical challenges.
• During the presidential elections, media centers--developed with direct support from IFES--were visited by more than 1,000 journalists and observers. They played an important role in providing news and information and, in so doing, enhancing the transparency of the process to national and international actors. IFES has continued to support the CEC Media Section by re-establishing and managing the media centers for the CEC in Ramallah and Gaza City and by creating a permanent capacity for this function inside the CEC and its district offices.
• In November 2003, IFES assumed the responsibility of providing support to the secretariat of the Elections Reform Working Group (ERSG). The ERSG is co-chaired by Quartet members of the European Union and United States. It was established in 2002 in order to provide a forum for the coordination of international support for the Palestinian election process and to build broad consensus on election reform issues. Peter Erben (Deputy Director of IFES’ CTPCG) has coordinated the activities of the ERSG; in this capacity, he has provided analysis and facilitated the coordinated program of donor contributions for the Palestinian elections. Under this proposal, Mr. Erben continues to provide secretariat services to the ERSG.
• IFES has provided support to the local elections process, including technical assistance to the Higher Committee for Local Elections (HCLE) and voter education programming.

A Pre-Election Assessment Mission Report (2002)

In July 2002, IFES, the International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (as well as a representative of the Government of Norway) jointly organized a pre-election assessment mission to the West Bank and Gaza. The goal of the mission was to evaluate the pre-electoral environment and to identify the requirements for a feasible and credible electoral process. A report on the mission's findings and recommendations was issued along with annexed documents containing background information on Palestinian laws, negotiated agreements and Palestinian Authority reform plans.

Assisting the Elections Reform Support Group (ERSG)

IFES has provided support to the ERSG secretariat since November 2003. Co-chaired by the United States and the European Union, the secretariat was founded in 2002 to coordinate international support for the Palestinian election process and to build broad agreement on major issues of the election reform agenda. ERSG members include representatives of Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Multilateral organizations such as the European Commission, the office of the European Union Presidency, the United Nations and the United Nations Development Program also participate in the ERSG.

Although the ERSG was dormant during parts of the last quarter of 2003 due to conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, it did undertake some activities. The ERSG met in November 2003 and the following month, IFES facilitated funding in preparation for a voter registration operation and helped develop a plan to coordinate donations to the ERSG. IFES also helped the ERSG establish funding and reporting procedures. In addition, IFES supported the ERSG as it developed and implemented a project to draft election law with the PLC Legal Committee in close coordination with appropriate USAID Mission personnel.