Special Elections Report: Election Violence Education and Resolution
Highlights
The Election Violence Education and Resolution project, supported by Iraqi CSOs and USAID, trained Iraqis in monitoring and mitigating election-related violence.
"I live in the west side of the capital. The neighborhood is mixed between Sunnis and Shi'ites. In the early morning, we were awakened by a series of explosions. By 8 AM the situation was still tense and confusing. Reports on the Arabic and Iraqi television channels were not encouraging. By 9:30, the situation had started to changed. My son, who was with his friends outside the house, came and told me that people were moving in small groups toward the polling stations. Iraqi TV started to report similar news. I decided to go vote. Two of my children insisted on joining me. By 10 AM, we were on our way to the polling station.
"Walking towards the polling station - about 3 kilometers away - you could see two kinds of people: pedestrians marching toward the polling center and smiling to each other, and people standing by their houses looking at the situation. After two hours, we managed to cast our votes and get back home with the feeling that we had defeated Zarqawi and his savage animals. It was an exciting experience for my kids. They were proud of the blue ink that covered their fingers."
- An Iraqi father describes his voting experience in an e-mail to USAID |
Helping Iraqi Voters Cope with Violence
In the lead-up to the January 30 elections, the Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) project was established with the support of Iraqi Civil Society Organizations and USAID to create a set of techniques and approaches to be used in monitoring electoral conflict.
Recruiting and training of local staff to monitor examples of violence and intimidation took place throughout the months preceding elections. These training initiatives were conducted in conjunction with the monitoring of incidents of election-related violence. A database was created to track incidents of violence during the elections.
Activities and Achievements
To meet the above challenges, the EVER team conducted ongoing recruiting and training of field staff and potential local partner organizations. Policies on public relations and translation were developed and disseminated to the different filed offices.
Arbil Office. In addition to monitoring reported cases of election-related violence, the northern regional office operating out of Arbil completed EVER training for 28 Civil Society Organization participants from six northern and central governorates. As part of the mitigation objective of the EVER Project, a successful seminar on Article 58 of the TAL was sponsored by the EVER Arbil Field Office. It was attended by some 45 participants from all northern governorates.
Basrah Office. In the South/Central region operating out of Basrah, Program Officers from nine governorates attended a two-day training to review the EVER Incidence Monitoring Form. The training included establishing contacts with local authorities, gathering information and conducting investigations to confirm the nature of reported violence.
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