Lebanon’s June 7 election was fundamentally peaceful and well administered and should provide the basis for confidence in the electoral process, according to a statement issued by an NDI election observer mission. The delegation was composed of short- and long-term observers from 22 countries who were deployed throughout the country to offer an impartial assessment of the polls.

Excerpt from the preliminary statement offered by the delegation:

In one month, the Lebanese people will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. They will do so under a new electoral law and administration agreed upon by all political contestants. This represents a significant step toward greater transparency and confidence in the process and the development of Lebanon and its institutions as a sovereign state.

Parliamentarians and staff members from eight countries on three continents gained new insights into budget oversight in a three-day World Bank Institute (WBI)-NDI seminar that focused, among other things, on the role of parliamentary budget offices in overseeing spending and aiding transparency.

A two-day regional conference in Jordan, hosted by NDI, brought together civic leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen to discuss innovative uses of information technology in election monitoring.