<< BACK Middle East and North Africa: Iraq Nearly three years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, a difficult political evolution continues in Iraq. Despite numerous challenges, Iraqis successfully held two nation-wide elections and a constitutional referendum in 2005. Elections for a four year, 275-member permanent legislature under the new constitution took place on December 15. Despite heightened sectarian tension, the Iraqi government of National Unity was formed on April 22 and the Council of Representatives began holding sessions. Amidst this difficult environment, NDI continues efforts to build democratic national institutions that transcend sectarian divides. NDI's engagement with Iraqi democrats has been ongoing since 1999. The Institute established an in-country presence in June 2003 and launched programming with a comprehensive country-wide assessment and a series of focus groups to determine how best to provide assistance to Iraqis. Current activities focus on civic participation, political party strengthening, assistance with the formation of a democratic legislature and executive branch of government, supporting women's political participation and helping to ensure open and fair electoral processes. To implement these programs, NDI draws on a number of Iraqi and international experts and has produced numerous publications in Arabic and Kurdish. Civic Participation Woman voting in Baghdad NDI's work with civic groups focuses on democratic political awareness and citizen participation in Iraq's political life. Specifically, the Institute assists civil society groups in developing basic organizational structures and strategic plans for becoming actively involved in the political process by creating an intermediary role between citizens and public officials. The Institute implements such programs by facilitating regular meetings between leaders of civil society groups, organizing seminars to discuss the role of civil society in a democracy and arranging workshops and consultations for groups to build their internal capacity. In early 2006, NDI instituted the "Civic Outreach to Citizens on the Role of Parliament." Twenty-one NGOs were trained to support and coordinate efforts to hold citizenship and leadership forums on the role, responsibilities, and functions of a parliament and its members as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. These activities included a letter-writing initiative to strengthen the relationship between citizens and their elected representatives after which 88,000 letters were presented to the Council of Representatives. In addition, NDI and its NGO partners presented and distributed 40,000 copies of a 42-page booklet to the public, in Arabic and Kurdish, on the structure and role of the National Assembly. Governance NDI is currently providing assistance and technical support to the Council of Representatives and to the executive branch, including holding orientation sessions and providing materials for members and staff on the roles and responsibilities in a democratic legislature. Additional training sessions are designed from member and staff requests and include rules of procedure, committee work, and techniques for holding effective meetings, among others. NDI is also assisting the Assembly with developing information technology capacity and an enhanced communications infrastructure. In addition, NDI is providing a series of seminars to political parties on the oversight functions of parliamentary committees. Political Party Strengthening political party program has a long-term goal of building coalitions and strengthening political parties that represent a democratic middle. Since January 2004, NDI has trained more than 14,000 political activists from at least 165 parties around the country on issues such as; party organization, leadership, message development, voter outreach, communication, media coaching, fundraising youth outreach and budgeting. These activities provide hands-on experience for party activists and augment NDI's ongoing consultative services. The Institute also conducted several post-election leadership meetings with high ranking political party members to discuss legislative and institutional reform issues, and the challenges in coalition coordination. NDI's work also relies on focus group research designed to help Iraqi political parties, government officials and civil society organizations, by providing information on attitudes of ordinary Iraqis, unfiltered by elites or media. During 2005-2006, NDI conducted 154 focus groups and over 300 hours of in-depth discussion with more than 1,200 Iraqis. Women’s Candidate Workshop, Erbil Supporting Women's Political Participation women's political participation program in Iraq is designed to foster an environment in which women are viewed as credible and effective leaders. The Institute works with political parties and civil society organizations in developing concrete, organic strategies for including women in political structures. For example, NDI aided in the launch and maintenance of the Multi-Party Women's Caucus, an organization of female politicians and activists from 21 diverse parties committed to ensuring equal rights and treatment. In June 2006, the Caucus reached agreement on issues such as citizenship, domestic violence, education, child welfare, and implementation of personal status laws. NDI also continues to provide support and assistance to the National Women's Coalition of Iraq (NWCI), a broad-based coalition of fifty non-governmental organizations working to promote policies and legislation that protect women's civil, political, social and economic rights. Constitutional Dialogue & Education Program NDI's Constitutional Dialogue & Education Program, in coordination with five regional Iraqi NGOs, was designed to facilitate constituent involvement in the constitutional process through civic education and public input. Over 3,000 dialogue sessions were held, directly and indirectly reaching more than 100,000 Iraqis. The participants in the dialogues shared their opinions on the constitution with members of the National Assembly's Constitutional Committee. Upon completion of the draft, NDI launched a public education program that included information sessions to introduce and broadly explain the content of the constitution to more than 100,000 Iraqis. Election Monitoring NDI aided in the formation and launch of the Iraqi Election Information Network (EIN), Iraq's largest and most comprehensive election monitoring organization. NDI provided EIN with an array of training and support ranging from structural organization, information dissemination, international best practices and conflict mediation. By the end of Iraq's two nation-wide elections and the constitutional referendum in 2005, EIN, with support from NDI, trained and deployed more than 30,000 domestic election monitors in over 90 percent of polling stations. Focus Group Research NDI conducted a series of focus group discussions in April to help provide decision-makers with public opinion on the constitutional process, among other significant themes. Findings from these focus groups held with Iraqi men and women were organized into two reports in July and October, which can be found at www.ndi.org. "A great many thanks for this NDI initiative. This important information will be a very valuable in the coming period and most helpful both for our party members and also for us parliament members." —Ra'uf Othman, senior member of the PUK & Iraqi National Assembly - May 19, 2005 Contact Information For more information on NDI’s programs in Iraq, please contact: Erin Mathews, Director Send Email Sarah Ahmed, Program Officer Send Email << BACK