United Nations Development Programme برنامج األمم المتحدة اإلنمائي

Strengthening of the Democratic Process in Egypt تعزيز العملية الديمقراطية في مصر

STRENGTHENING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN EGYPT

PROJECT NUMBER: 00079914

AWARD NUMBER: 00062430

PROGRESS REPORT

(NOVEMBER 2011 – DECEMBER 2012)

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Table of contents

Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 3

Project Partners ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction by Mr. Carlos Valenzuela, UN Chief Technical Advisor .................................................. 5

I. Background .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

II. Description of Projects’ Outputs and Achievements ........................................................................ 10

1. Strengthened public outreach and voter information ............................................................. 10

A. Support the SIS in the implementation of the public outreach campaign.................................. 10

B. Support the SIS/HEC on the implementation of the media management strategy .................... 14

2. Upgrade of the technical and operational capacity of national electoral authorities ................ 14

A. Support to SIS/HEC/PEC/MoI to develop and produce training materials ................................. 14

B. Support the use of higher standards of election materials and equipment ............................... 19

C. Facilitate exposure to comparative experiences ......................................................................... 22

D. Increased awareness of electoral authorities on the importance of female participation in the electoral processes ............................................................................................................................. 29

3. Future benefits from lessons learned in 2011 and 2012 elections and the constitutional referendum 2012 ......................................................................................................................... 31

A. Support to key stakeholders in the consolidation of the electoral framework.............................. 31

B. Support to civic education efforts carried out by national counterparts ....................................... 36

4. Increased access of women and rural dwellers to citizenship rights in 2011 ................................ 37

A. Women Citizenship Initiative .......................................................................................................... 37

B. Gender oriented public outreach and awareness .......................................................................... 38

5. Project Management Unit operations and activities ............................................................... 45

III. Key Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................................. 45

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Acronyms and abbreviations

AEC Australian Electoral Commission

ACPCS Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies

CTA Chief Technical Advisor

EMB Electoral Management Body

EU European Union

GoE Government of Egypt

HEC High Elections Commission

IFES International Foundation for Electoral Systems

IDSC Information and Decision Support Center

ISIE Instance Supérieure Indépendante pour les Elections

IT Information Technology

LoA Letter of Agreement

MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MoI Ministry of Interior

MSAD Ministry of State for Administrative Development

PEC Presidential Elections Commission

PSA Public Service Announcement

PSO Procurement Support Office

OCV Out-of-Country Voting

SFD Social Fund for Development

SIS State Information Service

UN United Nations

UNDPA United Nations Department of Political Affairs

UNEAD United Nations Electoral Assistance Division

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UN WOMEN United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

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Project Partners

National Partners

High Elections Commission (HEC), Presidential Elections Commission (PEC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ministry of Interior (MoI), Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD), State Information Service (SIS), Social Fund for Development (SFD), Information Decision Support Centre (IDSC), Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), Constitutional drafting Committee

Development Partners

Australia, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Instituto Federal Electoral (Mexico)

United Nations

UN WOMEN, UN Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD), UNDP Regional Centre in Cairo, UN Procurement Support Office (UN PSO)

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Introduction by Mr. Carlos Valenzuela, UN Chief Technical Advisor

Since the beginning of the “Arab awakening”, the world has been following with heightened interest the political developments in the region. Egypt in particular, given its important role in the Arab world, has been the center of international attention. The United Nations has followed closely the developments since January 2011 and the Secretary-General was quick to offer support to Egypt’s transition, making particular note of UN electoral assistance. In political transitions elections play a determinant role; the electoral process is an essential step that can either make a significant contribution to consolidating the path to democracy or derailing it. Electoral assistance is one of the critical roles that the UN plays in promoting democratic governance, and UNDP in particular, has strong experience and expertise in supporting and consolidating capacity in electoral institutions and practices worldwide.

The UN’s offer to provide electoral assistance within the realm of what the national authorities was accepted at the highest levels of authority, yet the path to establish a modus operandi that was satisfactory to all national stakeholders was not an easy one. For one, the practice of international electoral assistance was not common in Egypt and the concept itself was often misunderstood. It took months of dialogue and negotiations to finally find and agree on a formula of assistance that the Egyptian authorities felt comfortable with and, although discussion started months earlier, the UNDP electoral assistance project document was only finally signed on 14 November 2011, barely two weeks before the beginning of the parliamentary elections.

These months of discussions were, however, extremely fruitful, as they allowed for the Egyptian counterparts to understand that electoral assistance was not “interference”, that national ownership of the process was respected and that the focus of the assistance was technical and not political in nature. It also allowed the UN electoral experts to understand the particularity of the Arab context, the Egyptian one in particular, and the need to adapt the usual modalities of assistance to fit the context and the specific needs of the region. Despite the fact that the project document was only signed in November 2011, a fruitful partnership was established well before, with UNDP (in close contact with the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs) already conducting a number of electoral assistance activities that helped build trust and access to the Egyptian electoral authorities. This is also why, once the project started officially, a substantial amount of preparatory work had already been conducted allowing UNDP to fulfill its established objectives.

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In this context, and acknowledging the innovative character of its electoral assistance in the region (Egypt in particular), UNDP has taken care to evaluate and to engage in a codification process of the lessons-learned that will serve to improve its assistance, not just in the region, but also in a broader context. One of the most important lessons-learned includes the need to be extremely sensitive to the sense of ownership of the process by the national actors, and thus to offer low-profile and focused support. Equally important has been the balance between international expertise and national capacities, as well as a certain programmatic flexibility to ensure adaption to rapidly changing conditions. Work with electoral authorities is focused on improving technical expertise, while other modalities of work aim at strengthening public awareness and knowledge of electoral issues and the promotion of women’s participation in the electoral process.

One year into the project, with support provided to parliamentary and presidential elections through work with various national counterparts, including the High Elections Commission (HEC), the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC), the Minister of Interior (MoI), the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD), the Constitutional drafting Committee among others, the inputs and benefits of the UNDP electoral assistance project in Egypt have been acknowledged and appreciated by the national partners. A collaborative and productive relationship has been created, where one of the major acknowledged strengths of the project has been the international comparative experience it has brought to the discussions. A special effort has been made by the project to the exchange of experiences and the building of networks around the world, and in the Arab region. The fact that the Chief Technical Advisor for the UNDP electoral assistance project is also the head of the UN’s electoral assistance in Tunisia and Libya has been instrumental in allowing information sharing and encouraged synergy, all the while supporting the creation of a regional electoral identity and network. Finally, through the project a strong partnership has been created between UNDP and UN Women, now seen as a case of “best-practice” for the organization.

Even if there are a number of possible elections in Egypt’s near future, to which the project has already been requested to support, UNDP electoral assistance in Egypt was never designed to be exclusively supportive to electoral events, but rather to strengthen both institutional capacities and national electoral practices. The new constitution includes the setting up of a permanent, independent Electoral management body and the setting up of a court which will deal exclusively with electoral related cases. These have been two of the main recommendations of the electoral assistance support project. The post-constitutional referendum election period is full of opportunities, not least of which are those associated to

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the establishment and capacity building of the permanent, independent electoral management body. The new electoral law, once it is passed by the new House of Representatives, will determine the future electoral system and will reflect those choices which need to be developed, hopefully in an environment of dialogue and informed choices, which highlights the continued importance of public awareness activities and work with decision and opinion makers on electoral issues. In short, UNDP electoral assistance in Egypt has come a long way in a few months and has a promising future ahead.

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I. Background Reform of the electoral process has been an essential component in consolidating the path to democracy over the post-revolution transition period in Egypt. When former President Mubarak stepped down in early February 2011, this marked an immense step in the opening up of the country’s political space. In response to the democratic expectations offered by the January 2012 revolution, the UNDP found itself in a unique and strategic position to extend its support and expertise in the processes of electioneering, and to contribute to the capacities of the country’s authorities in consolidating Egypt’s democratic institutions as the country moves forward towards becoming a full-fledged democracy. Given this exceptional context, the UNDP initiated a process of evaluation of the conditions under which its electoral assistance could best support the Egyptian electoral authorities and meet the new electoral needs of democratic governance. In order to expose the electoral authorities to international electoral practice, UNDP Egypt first supported the attendance of an Egyptian delegation to a joint UNDP, European Commission and International IDEA workshop titled Elections, Violence and Conflict Prevention, and held in June 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. Further, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and a panel of UNDP electoral advisors - in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and Political Science of Cairo University - addressed those electoral issues targeting judges involved in the electoral process. Building on this initiative, the UNDP then facilitated the attendance of an Egyptian delegation of senior government officials to an international workshop titled Democratic Transformations in Bucharest, Romania, in July 2011. The workshop helped build a rapport of trust and confidence with the Egyptian electoral authorities as well as familiarize them with a number of technical issues they would be facing during Egypt’s parliamentary elections of the following winter. On 14 November 2011, UNDP Egypt signed the Strengthening of the Democratic Process project document with the Egyptian government, in yet another step in its support to Egypt. The project document spells out UNDP assistance in building the country’s national capacities, in addition to backing national efforts to strengthen the efficiency and transparency of Egypt’s electoral institutions and processes - with the goal of enhancing credibility and acceptance of election results.

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With respect to these objectives, the project was designed to: a) strengthen public outreach and voter information on the parliamentary elections; b) strengthen technical and operational capacity of national electoral authorities; c) incorporate lessons learned and best practices of the 2011 elections in the subsequent elections processes, and; d) increase access of women and rural dwellers to their citizenship rights in the 2011 and future elections.

Since the signing of the project document, and with the ongoing collaboration with national counterparts and development partners, the project has been able to carry out a wide range of activities in line with its mission pillars. It has built a strong network of counterparts comprising the High Elections Commission (HEC), the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC), the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the State Information Service (SIS), the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) and other government agencies involved in the full range of electoral processes. In addition, the project team and its Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) have participated in a number of donors’ sub-group meetings organized by project partners, with the purpose of updating them on achievements, and discussing potential or future project activities, thereby fostering a genuine sense of cooperation with the donor community.

There have been three distinct phases of the project to date; these relate to (i) the parliamentary elections held from November 2011 to March 2012 comprising the election of the People’s Assembly and the Shoura Council, (ii) the recent presidential election of 23-24 May 2012, with the run-off on 16-17 June 2012, and (iii) the constitutional drafting phase with the subsequent referendum on the constitution

With electoral assistance being envisaged as a long term endeavor, the project is now entering a new stage as it looks forward to strengthening the capacity of the electoral administration, as well as enhancing civic awareness and women citizen empowerment. Within this context, the project is committed to pursuing all its activities within the overall framework of its project document and to upholding its strong working relationships with counterparts in the Egyptian government and the donor community.

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II. Description of Projects’ Outputs and Achievements

1. Strengthened public outreach and voter information

A. Support the SIS in the implementation of the public outreach campaign

2011/2012 Parliamentary elections

In order to strengthen the credibility of elections as well as raise voter participation, the project aimed at supporting the HEC in its efforts to increase public understanding and knowledge about the elections. Despite the tight timeline, a media campaign for the parliamentary elections was quickly implemented by the HEC with the support of the UNDP. The campaign covered two distinct phases: the first phase of six weeks targeted the People’s Assembly elections and the second of four weeks targeted the Shoura Council elections.

The elections for the two chambers of Parliament were held separately. Additionally, each of those elections was conducted in a staggered manner: three phases for the People’s Assembly election which lasted for six weeks (including run-offs) and two phases for the Shoura Council held during four weeks (including run-offs). The People’s Assembly elections were held first, followed by the Shoura Council elections. Due to this staggered approach, the electoral authorities (as well as the project) had the possibility to review, modify and improve the conduct of the electoral operation and procedures.

Under the slogan “Egypt is in your hands”, the campaign featured three Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for television and radio. The project and the HEC secured agreements with large national stations to broadcast these free of charge. The announcements were produced for the first phase of the People’s Assembly elections, and later rebroadcasted for the Shoura Council elections. A base song, played at the beginning of the spots, was created for each of the three announcements to provide the motivational focus of the campaign. Its lyrics encouraged Egyptians to see their vote as a way of guiding the country’s future. The announcements then moved to their distinctive informational messages. The first TV spot focused on providing information regarding voter eligibility - including how to access one’s voter registration number and identify the proper polling station. The second spot provided

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procedural information on how to cast a valid vote, while the third promoted confidentiality of the vote process. The three PSAs broadcast on the radio were 45-60 second audio recordings of the announcements shown on television.

TV spot Printed media campaign

Responding to HEC’s request, the project developed three additional PSAs for both television and radio for the second phase of the People’s Assembly election. With a view to further contribute to the promotion of voters’ confidence in the overall electoral process, these PSAs focused on public understanding of the electoral process, including its complaint mechanisms, while also urging voters to see themselves as fundamental to the processes’ overall credibility with the motivational messages: “It’s your right to vote”, “Your vote is not for sale”, and “Your vote is secret”. To facilitate and expand its public outreach impact, the project produced a set of 2,000 CDs containing the described PSAs, which were subsequently distributed throughout Egypt through the UN WOMEN NGOs network. In addition to the project’s broadcasting activities, a campaign for print materials – featuring the same characters who appeared in the TV spots to further reinforce the cohesiveness of the message – was also developed and launched with support of the project. Within that context, the project produced, printed, and distributed a total of 10,000 informational posters throughout Egypt’s governorates detailing where to receive election information and how to cast a valid vote.

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Informational posters for the Parliamentary elections of November 2011

“How to vote and ensure that my vote is valid?” “Voting is the right of every Egyptian” Informational poster depicting the process Who is eligible to vote? Holder of ID to cast a valid vote, identify the governorate above 18, people with disability

and date for each phase and people free of criminal background

How to get information on the elections

Both TV spots and printed materials addressed male and female voters (18 years and above), national ID holders, first time voters, literate and illiterate people as well as the disabled. In an effort to enhance HEC’s communication with the media, the project supported the development of (i) branding themes for two of its press conference rooms, as well as its sub-offices in Cairo (branded materials included banners, flags, folders, and 2m x 1m posters with the HEC logo), (ii) an animated PowerPoint presentation with detailed information on the seat

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allocation process for the HEC to present to the media during a press conference announcing the Shoura Council Phase II results.

Sample material developed to enhance HEC’s communication with the media

(banners, flags, folders and posters)

2012 Presidential elections

Building on the experience of the parliamentary elections, the project continued its public outreach for Egypt’s presidential elections with a media campaign consisting of three television and three radio spots (audio recordings of the announcements on television). The PSAs stressed three central messages: basic logistical information about voting (dates, locations, etc.), the importance of the secrecy of the ballot, and the importance of making an informed vote. These messages were broadcast on several television stations, and similar to the parliamentary campaign, the project and PEC were able to secure airtime with several satellite stations, comprising Al Hayat, MBC, Dream ON TV, Nile FM and Radio FM, free of charge. The campaign also included the production and dissemination of print materials in the form of informational posters developed in collaboration with PEC. The posters outlined the various procedural steps of the polling process in a clear and concise manner, and were illustrated with explanatory photographs to emphasize impact (annexed on the right). These were posted at the entrances of the polling stations, as well as on the walls inside the premises themselves. As for the parliamentary elections, the campaign material developed for

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the presidential election targeted all segments of society, including women, the disabled and illiterate.

B. Support the SIS/HEC on the implementation of the media management strategy

Training on media and elections

With the aim of providing local media with tools to report on elections and as part of the team’s partnership with State Information Service (SIS), the electoral assistance project recruited two international consultants to develop the curriculum, write the content and deliver a 5-day Training of Trainers (ToT) with the final objective of having a 3-day training course on the key issues surrounding media and elections. The ToT was designed as a sustainable tool that could be used by a future EMB or others. It was delivered during 4-8 December 2012, to a core of 8 SIS and 4 UNDP trainers and was well received.

Subsequent to the ToT, the first 3-day course on media and elections was also successfully delivered in Ismaeleya, providing 35 media professionals with a basic understanding of the key concepts of the role and responsibility of the media in election time. The SIS and UN-appointed trainers will conduct other three trainings in Aswan, Alexandria and Cairo in January and February 2013 targeting SIS staff and local media from all governorates.

2. Upgrade of the technical and operational capacity of national electoral authorities

A. Support to SIS/HEC/PEC/MoI to develop and produce training materials

The project supported the upgrading of the different national electoral authorities’ technical and operational capacity to conduct fair and credible elections.

2011/2012 Parliamentary elections

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For the first phase of the People’s Assembly elections, the electoral team developed a voter information leaflet from technical contents provided by SIS. The language provided was structured into a comprehensive, clear and concise text with a visually attractive layout of illustrations and text. The leaflet was subsequently distributed through SIS channels in the Egyptian governorates and published as an insert in the Al Ahram daily newspaper.

In order to help initiate the process of standardization of procedures at the polling stations, the project supported HEC efforts with the printing of 12,000 copies of a legal manual for the judges containing extracts of relevant legal texts. The manual was subsequently disseminated to judges who were in charge of polling stations in the preparation to the parliamentary elections.

Similar actions were taken to facilitate the planning of the various electoral operations to be carried out by the Ministry of Interior (MoI). In this regard the project contributed to the graphic design and printing of 2,000 copies of a detailed operations manual for the use of MoI electoral operations staff.

In order to help ensure the cohesiveness of the procedures implemented in polling stations, the procedures and training officers of the UNDP team developed a sample model color-illustrated polling manual detailing the procedures to be followed for the first phase of the People’s Assembly elections. The manual was put into use during the third phase of the People’s Assembly election.

For the Shoura Council elections, the color-illustrated polling manual detailing the operational procedures and including all relevant forms (such as the minute’s form) to be used by the polling staff during the polling operations was produced and widely used by the judges presiding in polling stations. The manual which had been used in the final phase of the People’s Assembly election was slightly revised to include, as well as illustrations showing the set up in the polling station and the role of each member, the detailed depiction of how the finger should be inked (see illustrative picture below), and the detailed depiction how the plastic seals should be applied to the ballot box. The aim of the illustrations was to make the manual more attractive, and as diagrams and pictures are more easily memorized, the illustrations helped ensure the message was passed appropriately.

Following a request from the MoI, a text on counting procedures was drafted by the project for the final phase of the People’s Assembly and also Shoura Council elections, relying on the law and the forms used during counting. The procedures were not made into manual form or incorporated into the existing manuals. They could serve as the basis for a counting manual with illustrations, or as a step by step guide to the counting, showing as well what should be considered as an invalid ballot.

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Based on contents, legal provisions and procedures provided by the HEC, the procedures and training officers of the project developed an illustrated Quick Reference Guide intended for polling stations officers who receive their training on the spot from the judge. The Reference Guide, which can easily be adapted to other types of elections, has the added value of being potentially re-useable in forthcoming electoral events and contribute to further standardize the procedures.

Finally, the project staff helped the HEC develop a PowerPoint presentation to explain the seat distribution system, which was used in press conferences.

Manual developed for the 2011/2012 parliamentary elections

2012 Presidential elections

During the presidential election, the project’s capacity building efforts were guided by the vision of “improving services to voters by introducing enhanced electoral administration practices”, which included a number of activities related to planning, public outreach, training and procurement. The project prepared a concept paper for PEC highlighting the importance of establishing a media and communication department within the PEC to handle all media and communication activities during the nomination period and the election itself. The document aimed at supporting PEC in creating the department and in defining messages for different target

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audiences, not only for communicating with the media but also for communicating with political parties, voter information and the general public. The document included a sample table of how to plan actions with dates/needed information/required media action and potential partners for each activity.

Branding theme developed for PEC communication

For the nomination process the project assisted the PEC and the MoI to develop various forms and posters used during the nomination process and on the election day. Additionally, the project financed the physical supplies of all nomination forms, cardboard boxes to nominees, envelopes/folders, tamper evident seals, and CDs containing soft copies of nomination forms which were distributed to potential candidates.

The primary training contribution of the project during the presidential election was the production and distribution of a 10 minute simulation/training video clearly depicting step by step voting and counting procedures for the two-day election period. The video, which was the first ever such training endeavor developed in Egypt, received widespread attention among national counterparts, and was screened at both a training session of judges and during a PEC press conference, in addition to being broadcast on television, and 13,500 copies of it were distributed in CD format to the judges as polling stations’ presiding officers.

In terms of procedural and operations manuals, the project worked with PEC and MoI to develop three manuals to upgrade the technical quality of the polling process. These included:

a Manual for MoI Staff; Judges Manual (Presiding Officers Manual) and; an Out of Country Voting Manual.

Developed by the Ministry of Interior for MoI staff working in the field of election administration (administrative and logistical), the Manual for MoI Staff (cover page on the left)

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was printed in 1,000 copies and disseminated with support from the project. A similar manual had been used during the People’s Assembly elections and it had been considered helpful to ensure a smoothly functioning process, explaining the operational/logistic details of the process.

The project’s contribution to the Judges Manual (see below) was particularly noteworthy. For the first time, a manual consisting of explanatory, operational steps (with illustrations) was used to provide judges with a clear picture of how to procedurally operate the polling station and staff. Divided into three parts (procedures for the day prior to the polling; procedures for the polling process and; procedures for the closing and counting process), the Judges

Manual was printed and disseminated in 13,500 copies. Its illustrations were used to create informational posters for voters displayed in the polling stations (annexed page 13 above).

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The Out of Country Manual was made available electronically on the PEC website. It assisted Out of Country voters and diplomatic staff working in embassies and helped ensure uniformity of approach.

Poster developed for the presidential elections nomination period and distributed to the Ministry of Justice notaries at the civil registry offices. The poster highlights the main procedures candidate needed to follow to complete a successful nomination process. The poster was printed and distributed to all civil registry offices nationwide.

B. Support the use of higher standards of election materials and equipment

Procurement of electoral material

Ink, Polling Station Staff Vests and Tamper Evident Seals – Upon request from the national electoral authorities, and with a view to raising voters’ confidence in the polling process and preventing people from voting more than once, the project procured and supplied through the UNDP

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Procurement Support Office (PSO) in Copenhagen a total of 250,000 bottles of indelible ink for the first-round and run-off of the presidential elections.

The electoral assistance project procured a total of 57,000 vests for polling station staff and tamper evident seals, which were all instrumental in upgrading the overall quality and reliability of the election process.

Ballot Paper – Upon request from the HEC, the project contributed to the printing of 15 million ballot papers for individual forms for the Shoura Council elections, in addition to another 15 million for party lists. During the Constitutional Referendum, the HEC printed the ballot papers in booklets with serial- numbered stubs. This measure, recommended by the project, adds to the accountability and integrity of the process by enabling a better tracking of ballot papers.

Accreditation Cards – A total of 77,900 accreditation cards for national and international ‘witnesses’ and media representatives along with ID badges for judges for the parliamentary elections 2011 were printed and laminated with support from the project.

HEC Operations Room – Upon request of the electoral authorities, an operations room was fully renovated and equipped within the HEC premises in Heliopolis. The operations room served as a focal point for communication and monitoring of the polling by the electoral commissioners and aimed at enhancing their communication with other governmental authorities involved in the process. Through the project, UNDP Egypt procured the operational offices’ furniture, thirty desktops with monitors and Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), four printers, a network server, two satellite receivers, two flat-screen TVs and telecommunication equipment.

Support to the HEC in the archiving of ballot papers

Following the three phases of the parliamentary elections, the project went on to equip two large secure storage areas (one at the Egyptian Mint, the other at the Egyptian Archive) with stands, boxes, IT equipment and furniture to properly store and archive ballot papers, Mandatory under Egyptian law, the archiving of ballot papers helps ensure that national

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electoral authorities access original ballot papers when appeals are lodged by elections candidates.

2012 Constitutional Referendum

Upon the announcement of the referendum of 15 December 2012, only two weeks prior to the referendum, the project received various requests for support from the different institutions (HEC, MSAD, MOI). However, due to the extremely tight timeline, no specific UN support could be provided to the Constitutional Referendum.

HEC eventually informed that they would carry out the procurement of all items but would expect support from the project for the 2013 parliamentary elections instead.

MSAD requested UNDP’s technical and financial support to engineer a 2012 referendum website for HEC, through the recruitment of an IT company. The site is intended to provide the public with information about the electoral process, polling station inquiry services, services to the media, observers and judges. This support will continue during 2013 for the Parliamentary elections.

Preparations for the 2013 Parliamentary elections

Several coordination meetings were held with MSAD officials to discuss the project technical assistance for the voter registration update required for the parliamentary elections. It was proposed that the electoral team could assist in: (i) Providing technical assistance by reviewing and revising the plan to update the voter lists; writing procedures, logistics requirements, and defining the roles and tasks of all the authorities involved in the updating of voter database such as MOI, HEC, and MSAD; (ii) Planning and conducting a media campaign for the process of updating the voter lists; (iii) Providing assistance to MSAD in designing measures to expedite the issuing of national ID cards for around three million marginalized women and rural dwellers, in collaboration with the UN Women; (iv) Providing financial assistance to print voter registration lists that can be used for the exhibition and challenges period and(v) Organizing a one-day roundtable discussion for all the national electoral authorities before starting the updating.

In November 2012, an international voter registration expert, staff member of the UN electoral assistance project in Libya, carried out a 2-week mission in Cairo. During his mission, the expert provided advice to the MSAD technical staff on the voter registration update as well as on general considerations for future tabulation of results. The national authorities were very satisfied with the technical support provided, hence requested further support for the printing of the provisional voters list for exhibition purposes (for voters to confirm or correct their

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names, or to challenge any non-eligible person). The exhibition and challenges process will be conducted to update the register that will be used for the 2013 parliamentary elections.

The voter registration database has been successfully updated until 31 December 2012 but not yet displayed to the public for challenges. An exhibition and challenge process has been planned to start early 2013; an awareness campaign, covering core messages related to challenges to the provisional list (i.e. the voter list which closed on 31 December), will be launched to encourage registered voters to review the register.

C. Facilitate exposure to comparative experiences

In addition to its operational support to the national electoral authorities, the project organized a number of knowledge exchange events with the aim of strengthening the technical capacity of the electoral authorities. Throughout 2012, the project’s work towards foundation building centered on its visits, study tours, lessons learned exercises, post-election summary meetings with counterparts, in addition to a forum on the principles of sustainable Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) jointly implemented with IFES. These activities planned and facilitated by the project were aimed at supporting and building new capacities among relevant Egyptian stakeholders based on knowledge-sharing and experience gained during previous electoral processes.

During the period between Egypt’s parliamentary and presidential elections, the project conducted several knowledge-sharing events with influential public officials from Egypt’s parliament and ministries, along with the project’s institutional counterparts. These were preceded by facilitating the attendance of Egyptian delegation of electoral authorities staff to a UNDP, European Commission and International IDEA workshop on Elections, Violence and Conflict Prevention held in June 2011 in Barcelona during which a series of lectures on electoral issues targeting judges were given in an effort to expose Egyptian electoral authorities to the international electoral practice community. This June 2011 workshop was complemented with a workshop on transitional elections held in Bucharest, Romania, in July 2011, which brought together Egyptian and Tunisian electoral stakeholders and further contributed to familiarizing them with the various challenges related to the organization of electoral events (more information on this further below). These two workshops proved an opportunity for building trust and confidence between the various stakeholders involved in the process and the UNDP counterparts, which all contributed to the formulation of the subsequent project document under which the project is now operating.

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Workshop: North Africa and Eastern Europe: Viewpoints and Shared Experiences of Transition – Bridge over 20 Years, Bucharest, Romania – July 2011 In July 2011, a workshop on democratic transformations was held in Bucharest, Romania, with a view of bringing together Egyptian and Tunisian electoral stakeholders. Organized jointly by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNDP, UNEAD and the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA) of Romania, the workshop was designed to encourage an exchange of views and experiences between countries with recent experience in transition. The event set the stage for roughly 80 participants to gather and discuss the democratic future of Tunisia and Egypt, with a specific focus on organizing genuine, fair and transparent elections.

The participant list included 25 Egyptians and 20 Tunisians. The Egyptian delegation was both diverse and distinguished, featuring: senior representatives from MoI, MoFA, the Ministry of Justice, Civil Society Organizations, academia, media, and HEC. In addition to these delegates, the participant list included high level representatives from public institutions and Electoral Management Bodies from Romania, Moldova, and Mexico.

The Romania workshop focused on the following core concepts:

• A comparison between the process of democratization in Eastern Europe and the unfolding transition phases in Egypt and Tunisia;

• An evaluation of how Romania built a democratic government and new state institutions after the violent fall of its totalitarian regime;

• Preparation of Egypt and Tunisia for credible, transparent, effective elections. The workshops were effective in facilitating debate among representatives regarding issues such as how an electoral authority preserves its political neutrality and how to effectively manage electoral processes in post-authoritarian societies.

Related to this, much discussion was given to the two models for administering an election: an independent EMB or the existing transitional government. Romanian PEA officials were able to offer a comparative analysis of the two models based on the country’s experience with both. On the topic of voter registration, the Romanian PEA assisted both Egypt and Tunisia with their distinct and different models.

A variety of details suggest the Romania workshop had a positive impact on the 25 Egyptian delegates attending. The Egyptian delegation left with a much clearer understanding of the capacity requirements necessary to conduct the first election through the country’s existing governmental institutions, as had been decided. Additionally, it was clear the Egyptians left

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with an increased awareness of how to approach voter registration, Out of Country voting, women in the electoral process, voter education, and public information campaigns.

Conference: Building Key Principles into Design of Future Electoral Management Body: Tunisian and International Perspectives, Tunis, Tunisia – February 2012 On 27 February 2012, the project supported the participation of senior HEC and MoI officials to a conference hosted by UNDP Tunisia. Organized in partnership with the European Union (EU) and IFES, the conference was aimed at legislators responsible for the drafting of the Tunisian electoral law. International experts contributed to the conference with discussion papers on various aspects of electoral administration and comparative experiences. Members of EMBs from Palestine and Australia presented their respective experiences, while the President of the Tunisian Instance Supérieure Indépendante pour les Elections (ISIE) and the former head of the Electoral Liaison Committee operating under the auspices of the Prime Minister reviewed their respective experience during the National Constituent Assembly elections. The analysis of the technical and operational aspects of the Tunisian electoral process, as well as the examination of the various lessons learned was of great benefit to the Egyptian electoral authorities then involved in similar types of processes (see Lessons Learned Exercise below).

Conference: Information Technology and Elections Management: Informed Decisions for Sustainable Outcomes, Mombasa, Kenya – March 2012

In March 2012, a delegation of eight senior Egyptian electoral officials, comprising members of HEC, MoI and MSAD, was invited to Kenya to attend a 5-day UNDP/EU organized conference on “Information Technology and Elections Management: Informed Decisions for Sustainable Outcomes”. The conference was an opportunity for the Egyptian delegation to discuss the pros and cons of the different IT options for each type of electoral operation and phase. The Egyptian delegation was provided with comparative information and data, indicative analysis of timelines and costs, which allowed its members to make more informed decisions on the possible use of Information Technology during the then forthcoming electoral processes, as well as to effectively evaluate the different options available to them for each type of electoral operation. Further, the Egyptian delegation took this opportunity to present and discuss the systems used for the registration of voters during the parliamentary elections in Egypt. The presentation served as a basis for a broader discussion on the topic with representatives and experts in the subject matter from other countries attending and facing similar IT challenges.

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The conference was attended by 210 representatives of electoral commissions and electoral support projects from over 30 countries.

Visit: Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), Mexico City, Mexico – March 2012

The project planned, funded, and monitored a visit to Mexico with participation from Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia from 22-24 March, 2012. Mexico was chosen in light of its strong electoral infrastructure, as well as the expressed interest of the country’s Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) in hosting a delegation of Egyptian electoral representatives. The delegation consisted of fifteen participants from Egypt, five from Libya and ten from Tunisia, representing opinion leaders, media, civil society, parliamentarians, and Electoral Body members. Representatives from MSAD, PEC, HEC, MoI, MoFA, print news, television, and the parliament participated on Egypt’s behalf. The visit featured three main topics: establishment of a permanent, independent EMB; electoral operations and administration; and electoral justice.

Visit to the Instituto Federal Electoral (Mexican Electoral Management Body)

The Egyptian delegation particularly appreciated the importance of strategic planning for electoral operations and how detail-oriented the process should be; the importance of engaging citizens in managing polling stations; as well as the importance of transparency. The delegation was also impressed by the degree of transparency displayed by the IFE and its Council towards the media and public, their operational procedures being open to public view for integrity assurance.

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The delegation also noted the importance of including in the Constitution an article defining the main elements of an independent and permanent electoral body with fundamental rules governing autonomy and independence in decisions and budget, and powers to organize and conduct elections based on the principles of transparency, impartiality, integrity and professionalism. Participants envisaged an EMB model that would free judges from operational and procedural polling duties to attend to dispute settlement. Additionally, there was greater awareness that an independent, permanent EMB in Egypt would require a major public relations efforts and gaining voters’ trust in the new mechanism. An indication of the success of the meeting was that two parliamentarians present drafted a text on electoral administration following the meetings, to be submitted to Egypt’s Constitutional Committee.

Visit: French Electoral Authorities / First Round of Presidential Elections, Paris, France – April 2012 During the first round of Egypt’s presidential election in late April 2012, the project organized and funded a visit to Paris for 11 Egyptian participants from SIS, MoFA, MoI, MSAD, HEC, PEC, and members of parliament. Organized in collaboration with the French authorities, the objectives of the visit were to: introduce the participants to the preparations for the French 2012 presidential election by:

- Acquainting them with the ballot preparation process (design, specifications, printing); - Providing an in depth understanding of the French logistical and operational planning

process; - Demonstrating how overseas voting is managed operationally and logistically; - Indicating how polling station staff is selected, allocated, remunerated, and evaluated.

Over the course of the 5-day visit, participants were also given access to a number of institutions, including the MoI, the Superior Audio/Visual Council, the National Commission for Campaign Accounting, as well as the Constitutional Council. Additionally, the Egyptian delegation was given the chance to view operations at a polling station, a tabulation center, and a media center during the announcement of results. The dialogue between the Egyptian delegation and high-level French officials was crucial to the overall effectiveness of the learning experience.

The Egyptian delegation expressed particular interest in the function of the National Commission for Campaign Accounting and was keen to learn how the commission was able to conduct such a large volume of accounting with a staff of only 180 employees.

Additionally, in the delegation’s meeting with the Constitutional Council, participants were especially interested in the French experts’ opinions regarding electronic voting for citizens abroad and the approach of the French authorities concerning electoral observers.

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Visit to the French Ministry of Interior, April 2012

Other exchanges indicate the impact of the visit: one parliamentarian requested a copy of the French electoral code; one member of the HEC asked for a copy of the software program used for tabulation of results; and a member of the PEC personally invited the French official responsible for the delegation’s visit to observe Egypt’s presidential election.

There was general consensus among the delegation that Egypt’s election broadcasting should be monitored by a body resembling the French Superior Audio/Visual Council.

Sub- regional forums for sharing comparative experiences and best practises With the aim of sharing comparative experiences and best practices, a series of Forums are planned to be carried out in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. These forums not only allow for international exposure of the national electoral authorities in the international community of electoral practice, but also contribute to strengthen the networks between electoral officials, opinion leaders and civil society between the three countries.

It has become a practice for the forums to be preceded by a roundtable in each country, where the delegation that will represent the country in the forum, agrees on key issues and prepares for the assigned presentation to the Forum. This pre-Forum roundtable ensures delegates are better prepared on the topic, which in turn allows for a more informed participation in the discussions arising during the Forum.

Sub-regional forum: Principles for Independent and Sustainable Electoral Management — Global Comparative Experiences, Cairo, Egypt – April 2012 The first of a series of sub-regional forums planned by the project, and in collaboration with the IFES, took place in April 2012 in Cairo. The topic was “Principles for Independent and Sustainable Electoral Management - Global Comparative Experiences. The three-day event

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focused on EMB theory and practice as it applies to the current electoral administration models in the Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. It brought global experts on electoral management as well as influential stakeholders in the election processes of the three countries, and provided a platform for dialogue and technical exchanges between electoral stakeholders on the guiding principles for independent and sustainable electoral management.

Participants from Libya attending the sub-regional forum on “Principles for Independent and Sustainable Electoral Management—Global Comparative Experiences”

The forum provided an opportunity for networking and cooperation by bringing together electoral stakeholders from the region and from Costa Rica, Mexico, India, South Africa, Australia, Hungary, Jordan and Yemen.

Highlighting the success of the event, a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, Administrative Affairs and Elections, declared that:

“The event highlighted both the cooperation and coordination between the UNDP and IFES as well as between the two organizations and Egyptian public institutions. Such forums pave the way for the Egyptian people and Egyptian public institutions to work with international organizations without sensitivities, as a result of their established credibility in Egypt.”

Sub-regional forum: “Women’s participation in post-revolutionary parliamentary elections: Comparative experiences from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia”, Cairo, Egypt – December 2012 The second sub-regional forum “Women’s participation in post-revolutionary parliamentary elections: Comparative experiences from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia” was successfully held in

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Cairo on 9-10 December 2012. It brought together policy decision makers, legislators and opinion leaders from these three countries. UNDP partnered with UN Women and IFES-Egypt for the event, but the latter had to withdraw days beforehand due to the deterioration of the security situation in Cairo. Guest speakers were invited from Nepal, United Kingdom, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Yemen to share the positive experiences and examples from these countries on the main topics. The main issues addressed at the forum included: (i) special measures to enhance women’s representation; (ii) women’s participation as candidates; (iii) women’s participation as voters; (v) gender sensitivity in electoral administration; and (v) the role of civil society in promoting women’s political participation. The report and its findings will serve as a planning and programming tool for the project‘s future activities. It is hoped that this report will not only record the proceedings of the Forum, but will constitute a reference document for the three countries and for other countries in similar stages of democratic transitions. A short visual documentary entitled “Fighting for Inclusion” was prepared during the conference and aired on national television, as well as being uploaded on You Tube.

D. Increased awareness of electoral authorities on the importance of female participation in the electoral processes

Sensitization of key figures in the electoral administration on the importance of women’s empowerment and effective participation is crucial in fostering an understanding of the importance of the inclusion of women in decision making processes.

In order to train the electoral authorities the project undertook the translation of a UNDP customized version of the “Gender and Elections” module from the BRIDGE Training Curriculum. BRIDGE courses are based on the “BRIDGE Election Administrator’s Training Curriculum” which is a comprehensive training programme developed by International IDEA together with the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD), the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). BRIDGE is unique in the field of electoral training due to the breadth of its scope, the practical nature of the content as well as the innovative use of dynamic adult teaching methodology. The translation of the 100,000 word customised module will serve as a training tool wherever Arabic is used.

The UNDP electoral project participated in a regional BRIDGE “Train the Facilitators” (TtF) course in Cairo for two weeks between 26 August – 6 September 2012. The training targets were electoral staff of the UNDP electoral assistance projects in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, as well as other staff from various UNDP country offices in the region (mostly Arabic speakers). The TtF was financed by GPECS and logistical arrangements were organized by the UNDP

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Regional Center in Cairo and UNDP Egypt electoral project. Although the training was conducted in English, the main target were the Arabic participants in an effort to accredit a larger pool of Arabic speakers as BRIDGE facilitators.

A four-day BRIDGE training on Gender and Elections (in English) was successfully held on 20-23 November 2012 in Cairo with around 20 participants. Two project team members co-facilitated the training with the guidance of an accrediting BRIDGE facilitator. The target audience was staff from UNDP Elections Support project, UN Women, IFES, Arab League in Egypt, Social Contract Centre, women and human rights organizations. The main objectives of the training were for the participants to gain exposure of gender-related and electoral issues, monitor women’s participation in the electoral process and to identify gender biases in electoral processes.

Participants from BRIDGE Gender and Elections training, November 2012

A second course in Arabic is expected to be held in March 2013. A member of the project team will assist in the co-facilitation. The target audience of around 20-25 participants will be members of the electoral commission, MSAD, MoI, SIS, NGOs and political parties.

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3. Future benefits from lessons learned in 2011 and 2012 elections and the constitutional referendum 2012

A. Support to key stakeholders in the consolidation of the electoral framework

The lessons learned and best practices component of the project aims at supporting the improvement of future electoral processes in Egypt through reflection on past achievements and experiences, as well as exposure to international electoral management practice.

Lessons Learned Workshop in the follow-up to visits to Mexico and France – May 2011

In late May 2011, the project hosted a knowledge exchange event at the Conrad Hotel in Cairo, specifically for the Egyptian participants from the earlier France and Mexico visits. This allowed participants from the respective visits to discuss and reflect on the knowledge they had gained during their various visits and exposure. The discussions were orientated to producing real, conclusive steps forward for Egypt’s electoral system based on the knowledge and experience acquired in France and Mexico. A substantial list of electoral recommendations was produced and a number of participants conveyed their conviction that the first step for Egypt was the creation of a permanent EMB. It was clear the visits had a significant impact on the Egyptian participants as many of the recommendations later made were derived from some of the practices they were able to observe in both France and Mexico.

Amongst the good practices participants recommended for the future were the following:

Enforcement of electoral silence (the period just before elections when all campaigning must cease), with a clear specification of penalties;

Establishment of a set of procedures and mechanisms to promote media balance and neutrality during coverage of elections;

Creation of an independent electoral court, as observed in Mexico, to look into appeals year round and cover all election activities, including local council, parliamentary and presidential elections;

Setting of specific standards for international electoral monitoring and observation, as is the case in France, as well as a coordination and administration system for such observers;

Establishment of a training unit affiliated to the electoral commission to train electoral staff and judges in an on-going and consistent manner;

Institute proper coordination with civil society and NGO actors to promote voter education.

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Lessons Learned Exercise with HEC, Ain Sukhna, Egypt – March 2012

In March 2012, the project organized a Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE) in Ain Sukhna which aimed at reviewing operational and administrative aspects of recent Egyptian electoral events (People’s Assembly and Shoura Council elections); the purpose was also to identify areas requiring further support and assistance from the United Nations and the international community towards attaining a sustainable, independent and permanent institution. For this purpose, and in close collaboration with the Egyptian electoral authorities, the project designed, prepared and implemented a comprehensive exercise intended for the electoral authorities to evaluate the proceedings of the parliamentary elections, focus on the various procedural and operational aspects of electoral administration, as well as reflect on their application to the forthcoming presidential elections and other elections to be subsequently organized. During the exercise, participants had the opportunity to assess the challenges and areas for improvement in the conduct of elections in Egypt, and provide recommendations for future capacity development measures.

The LLE was preceded with intensive preparatory work and multi-stakeholder consultations. Initiated in late February 2012, this aimed at collecting feedback and input on the conduct of the parliamentary elections to provide the material of the lessons learned workshop that followed. The topics assessed covered a wide range of issues, including: a) voter registration; b) electoral operations and security; c) electoral complaints, appeals and audit processes; d) Out-of-Country Voting (OCV); e) voter education and public outreach; f) media strategy and communication-related issues; g) election observation and monitoring and; h) the electoral administration model being used in Egypt.

In addition to the above outlined issues, the lessons learned exercise also included: (a) surveys with different stakeholders by the Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) as a lead implementing partner; (b) a set of roundtables with 6-8 judges in each session, carried out in a focus group modality; (c) small group workshops on issues pertaining to electoral administration, legal framework and operations; d) a general discussion to complete the recommendations on the way forward and; e) a proposed “national conference” to finalize the evaluation with all stakeholders.

Data was collected via four qualitative surveys, comprising questionnaires targeting three focus groups: (i) 500 polling staff; (ii) 1,500 voters and; (iii) Out-of-Country Voters (through online surveys).The questions allowed participants to have a clear view on how voters and election officials at various levels experienced the processes. Statistical experts from IDSC prepared the data results by mid-March 2012 which were subsequently used and analyzed at the conference.

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The general discussion took place in the form of an internal Lessons Learned conference convening from 29-31 March, 2012 in Ain Sukhna with the participation of 30 officials from the Egyptian electoral authorities involved in various stages and levels of the parliamentary elections, and comprising: judges - including 5 female judges, HEC, MoI, MoFA, and SIS officials. A chairperson and a rapporteur guided the small groups discussions conducted throughout the exercise. The participants then reported their findings to the plenary session held at the end of each day.

Several working sessions analyzed and discussed the data collected in an effort to bring together HEC officials, various Egyptian authorities and other experts (including academics) to reflect on the previous electoral processes and extract findings and recommendations for the way forward.

Lessons Learned Exercise in Ain Sukhna, March 2012

The findings and outputs of the lessons learned exercise is intended to serve as a basis for content towards an anticipated ‘national conference’ in the near future with other stakeholders (including local observers, political parties and women groups). Following the Lessons Learned Exercise of March 2012, HEC requested the project to prepare a concept note on the comparative EMB models applicable to the Egyptian context. In response to this request, the project, in collaboration with IFES and the UNDP Regional Centre in Cairo, organized the Sub-Regional Forum on EMB in April 2012 (see above).

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Lessons learned exercise with PEC, Alexandria, Egypt - August 2012

In order to evaluate the 2012 presidential elections, a 3-day lessons-learned exercise, entitled “Lessons Learned and Upcoming Challenges, Presidential Elections Process 2012”, was held on 23-25 August, 2012 in Alexandria to review challenges, areas for improvement and provide recommendations for future capacity measures. Over 30 participants attended the workshop, representing PEC, MSAD, MOI, SIS, opinion leaders and civil society (National Council for Women, League of Arab States). The format of the exercise entailed a plenary session and three parallel working groups each day. Issues of discussion included voter registration, candidate nomination period, electoral observation and monitoring, security and logistics of the electoral process and voter education.

Round Tables on Electoral Issues

With the aim of providing a platform and promoting a wider discussion on important electoral issues in the debates on the constitution and the electoral reform, the project in collaboration with IFES and through the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) organised a series of theme-specific roundtables on electoral issues targeting policy makers, political parties, parliamentarians, academics, opinion leaders, former and current electoral officials, and civil society. In August-September 2012, two successful roundtables were organised with various stakeholders on the legal drafting for the establishment of an EMB in Egypt. The August-September roundtable focused on the role and structure of an EMB and the international constitutional principles guiding the work of an independent and permanent Election Management Body. In October 2012, a third round table was held on “Electoral Systems” and its inclusion in the constitution; it addressed the various types of systems in Egypt in an attempt to accommodate the political differences of society through adequate representation of citizens at the government’s institutions. In November 2012, a forth roundtable was held on “Different Measures for the Referendum” with the objective of facilitating a dialogue on the important measures, such as the threshold to validate the referendum. Unfortunately, the referendum did not have such measures.

It is envisaged that the series of round table discussions will continue also in 2013 and will inform the debate on the new electoral law or electoral code which will be part of the legislative program of the soon to be elected House of Representatives in 2013.

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Electoral Assistance internal lessons learned, evaluation and planning exercises

Internal Lessons Leaned Exercise between the three UN electoral assistance projects in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia – April 2012

On 19 April 2012, the project held a regional event in Cairo for staff members from the election projects in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The event provided a forum for dialogue on the election experiences in each of the three countries, and benefited from the input and expertise of the UNDP Chief Technical Advisor in charge with overseeing the projects in the region.

Examining lessons learned from the respective projects, participants worked to find commonalities and broaden their understanding of electoral assistance. Given the similarities in the political situations in the three countries, the experiences and knowledge shared by the various participants was mutually beneficial. Formal presentations were given by lead coordinators from each of the three countries. These presentations summarized the work being conducted in each country and identified some of the main challenges and achievements of each project thus far. These presentations were followed by thematic group discussions which focused on the following subjects: working with EMBs, relationships with stakeholders, challenges for UNDP Country Offices, and coordination with headquarters.

While participants agreed that their electoral assistance efforts did not together constitute a single regional program, they did mutually recognize a variety of shared challenges, including: the difficulty of working closely with electoral authorities, given the sensitive nature of the transitions and the challenge of providing assistance in countries where previous elections did not meet international electoral standards. Participants concluded that their electoral assistance needed more creativity to be effective, given the sensitive contexts of the respective countries. With this in mind, participants conceptualized topics such as budgeting from new perspectives. They discussed several subjects, notably the implementation of fast track procedures and DEX rather than NEX implementation modalities. Participants explored how to work with counterparts in a non-intrusive manner in order to build trust, as well as how to keep donors informed on the progress of the project. There was a general consensus that the projects should be flexible in terms of planning, and to be well prepared to provide assistance based on the particular circumstances of each country.

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Internal Electoral Workshop on the “Way Ahead” between the three UN electoral assistance projects in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, Libya – December 2012

In December 2012, the UN electoral assistance projects in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia met in Cairo for an electoral workshop on the way ahead on strategizing and planning for 2013 activities. The meeting was an informal exchange of views and experiences in order to plan for better and more effective coordination among the three projects and was attended by representatives of UNDP Country office, UNDP RCC and EAD/DPA. The discussions were organized in three parts: (i) a debriefing on the sub-regional forum on women’s political participation; (ii) ways to increase the effectiveness of the projects’ assistance to EMBs and other stakeholders in the three countries and (iii) electoral assistance coordination among the three projects.

Electoral workshop on “Way Forward”, December 2012

B. Support to civic education efforts carried out by national counterparts In addition to its efforts in the field of voter education, and following the completion of the parliamentary and presidential elections, the project was recently able to look at its activities from a long-term, sustainable perspective. The project’s aim is to contribute to the civic education efforts carried out by its national counterparts, in particular through the production and dissemination of civic education materials. Within that context, the project has been able to start its consultations with national counterparts in support to civic education as such. In this respect, the project aims to partner with UN WOMEN (with which it is already collaborating on increasing women’s access to citizenship rights) as well as with the Social Contract Center, both

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of which are well positioned to contribute to the project’s impact and able to reach out to all segments of the Egyptian population. The project is currently working on finalizing a concept note to formalize these partnerships and to identify a set of activities to promote a genuine sense of civic empowerment throughout the country.

4. Increased access of women and rural dwellers to citizenship rights in 2011

A. Women Citizenship Initiative

Implemented in partnership with UN WOMEN, MSAD, MoI, MOFA, the Civil Registry, the Social Fund for Development and CSOs, the “Women Citizenship Initiative” campaign aims at facilitating the on-going national registration process for the issuance of two million national ID cards for women over a period of three years. Formally launched on 18 March 2012 through a press conference held on MSAD premises, the project has contributed to the creation of a coordination unit within MSAD to manage efforts and procedures to provide mobile units in marginalized areas, in order to facilitate the issuance of national ID cards to women in rural areas. In that context, a Statistical Mapping Study – illustrating the rate of women with no national ID cards – was finalized and used to prioritize governorates for execution of the project. A total of 152,239 women with no ID cards were identified in the Qalioubia governorate, which was selected for the execution of the pilot phase expected to conclude by the end of August 2012. In addition, the mapping of women in the new governorates indicted that in Giza 600,000 women lack ID cards, in Sohag 700,000, in Minya 500,000, in Assiut 400,000 and El Wadi Elgedid 3,000 women. Following the signing of the agreement for pilot project execution between Social Fund for Development (SFD), Qalyoubiya governorate and the Egyptian Red Crescent in April 2012, 42,270 women have been registered and the eligibility of other 30,000 has been confirmed. Forms are now under review by the Ministry of Interior. During the registration phase, the SFD in collaboration with UN WOMEN was able to hire 240 field pioneers to communicate with nominated women and explain to them the importance and benefits of obtaining IDs. The field pioneers also assisted the targeted women in filling out their registration applications and provided dates for photographs to be taken to complete the process. During the ID card handover phase, field pioneers made sure that women were present and received their ID card slip. As of December 2012, a total of 6,000 women have received their IDs.

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The registration will not only enable women to access polls, vote and seek membership in political parties in the short run, but also allows them, in the longer run, to access government services (including medical care in public hospitals), obtain property titles and deeds, access literacy programs, banking services and employment positions. The SFD is in the process of developing a database of women registered in order to ensure better targeting in economic and social services.

Women receiving their ID cards,

Qalioubia governorate

Local community leader showing how to fill

the application form, Banha district, Qalioubia governorate

B. Gender oriented public outreach and awareness

In order to enhance the credibility and acceptance of the election results as well as to boost the participation of women and rural dwellers, the project had developed a comprehensive national public awareness campaign which also addressed female citizens eligible to vote and encouraged them to reject any kind of pressure from parties violating the law, reassuring them

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on the strict confidentiality of their vote and reinforcing the right of voters to make a free and independent choice.

Within this broader context, and in collaboration with UN WOMEN, the project also developed a gender oriented informational campaign consisting of TV and Radio spots, a jingle, and print materials (including banners, sticker posters and T-shirts). This was complemented by a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter. The general message of the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) was to showcase how women would benefit from having ID cards - not only as a tool to access political rights, but also to gain socio-economic rights. To increase impact, the five PSAs displayed different characters of women: a mother, a daughter and a wife, and for each case the PSA explained how a national ID card would support her and her family for a better present and future. A total of 9,000 copies of PSA posters were disseminated through the UN WOMEN network to a large number of local NGOs. Audio-visual products related to the first and second round campaigns were subsequently incorporated into a total of 1,000 CDs. Produced in collaboration with UN WOMEN, and in order to maximize impact, the CDs were distributed to NGO networks focusing on women in rural areas.

Informational poster for women voter

Additionally, the display of three PSAs has recently started in 30 public buses around Cairo, with an additional 20 to join in the coming weeks. The anticipated target audience of the buses is expected to reach a total of 24,000 monthly.

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In collaboration with UN WOMEN, the project also developed video clips for an awareness raising song and one video jingle, both targeting women living in rural areas. Lyrics for the songs were developed by youth representatives and the two clips were aired without cost.

“I am simply half of the world” - words from the Nos El Donia song of the same title, are part of the lyrics developed by UN WOMEN on the occasion of the 101st International Women’s Day. The soundtrack was launched during an event attended by over 700 people at the Cairo Opera House on March 10, 2012, in partnership with CARE Egypt and the Gender and Development Donor’s Subgroup in Egypt. It was broadcast on the radio on March 21, and the video clip posted on YouTube on April 3 (total viewer count: 257,185 as of May 29, 2012 – see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3OwhRGjf90). This is in addition to being distributed to 45 TV channels and 8 radio channels in Egypt. The song became a strong component of the media strategy of the Women Citizenship Initiative, as it highlights the various roles women can play in both the public and private spheres, and sends a powerful message for the respect of their rights and liberties.

Citizenship campaign on National TV An agreement between UN Women and “Sout Al Qahera Advertising Agency”, the only Egyptian national company that has the exclusive rights to allocate advertising spots on Egyptian national Television. For 30 days, 5 PSA were aired during prime time on the 4 most watched national TV channels in Egypt with the greatest outreach to urban and rural women and men. It is worth noting that this is an unprecedented agreement with national television. Campaign toolkit for illiterate women: The Citizenship Initiative kit revolves around the concept of "invisible women" or in other words, women who do not have a national ID. Throughout the kit these invisible women are called to action and asked to register for an ID so that they can claim their rights and become visible. Women’s rights are displayed on a set of cards that can be assembled together. The purpose of these cards is to inform illiterate women of the benefits of their economic, political and social rights. The illustrations below serve as a visual aid.

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Maximizing social media: UN Women launched its awareness generation campaign via the social media in partnership with the youth-led organization Kijami, which was directed by the leading youth who created TedXCairo.1 Kijami is taking the lead in designing, testing and reporting on all social media activities through Facebook and Twitter2. The target audience of the social media campaign is residents of urban areas, particularly in Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, educated people and individuals aged 16 years and older. The social media tools used are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr “1MillionID”. The social media campaign was launched on 5 March 2012, on Facebook and Twitter and it consists of the following: (1) Facebook ID application, whereby a person can lend their profile picture in support of the campaign; (2) Social media ambassadors who are influential Twitter and Facebook users that champion the cause; (3) Real life case studies via viral videos, wherein online users are encouraged to upload videos of success stories related to women’s use of national ID on a YouTube channel; (4) Online Social Kit that is available with information and material on how to support the campaign; (5) Change an individual’s profile picture to their favorite female role model; and (6) Viral Status wherein individuals share inspirational quotes by women.

Throughout the past three months six different genres have been used in posting on the Facebook page:

• Women Success Stories • Facts • Quotes • Branding posts

Last accessed 31 August 2012. http://www.tedxcairo.com/See: 1

2 To access weekly reports on the social media campaign please contact the UN Women Egypt office.

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• Pictograms • Lifestyle Posts • Special Occasions

The Women Success Stories have been shared with the community since the beginning of the campaign on March. The application is used to stress the empowerment of women. The application “facts” simply presents numbers and figures about the most common problems women face in Egypt. Quotes for motivating and empowering women are the most efficient genres of applications that result in high engagement and interaction. The application is used as a motivation tool. Branding Posts are also used to inform the community about the different activities and services that the campaign offers and to provide more credibility to the initiative. Pictograms reveal to the community the various unpleasant situations that women might face without an ID card. Lifestyle Posts is the kind of application that reflects the Campaign’s interests and the social development causes it stands for. Special occasions such as the 6th of October Victory, the international girl’s day, UN day, covering the Egyptian Heroes in the Paralympics and the campaign field visits are highlighted. Upcoming activities include the ‘volunteers’ tab’ that will be launched with an embedded application where volunteers fill in their basic information and then are registered on a volunteers’ list. The volunteer application will start to be active during the international volunteers’ day on the 22th of December 2012. The Progress Map is a new application which tracks progress achieved in the target governorates. It will consist in a Google map pinned with the four governorates and a window will appear which once clicked on, will show the goals accomplished and the number of volunteers involved. In November 2012, the PSAs of the campaign have been launched on YouTube through an official channel: www.Youtube.com/MillionID

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As of early December, the social media campaign via Facebook resulted in 620 fans on twitter and 7,600 fans on facebook; 529 stories on the campaign; and some 81,534 total impressions.

Eighteen people on Twitter added a twibbon of the citizenship campaign to their avatars

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Art design of the social media campaign

Branding posts

Pictograms visualizing the different situations women may face in our society such as inheritance problems, health care problems etc.

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Pictures of field visits published on the social media channels

5. Project Management Unit operations and activities

The Project Management Unit (PMU) has been operational and working in full capacity since December 2011. The PMU has been helping in “keeping the dynamic project alive”, such as dealing with contractual issues and recruitment processes of the project staff. The PMU has also been facilitating the work of the project team, through the provision of effective administrative and logistical support. This also entailed the PMU’s support to the development of the work plan and the budget, relocation of the office to its new premises, obtaining security measures for the new premises and procuring its supplies. The PMU has also been actively supporting the procurement processes of the project with daily interaction with the different parties and stakeholders. In short, the PMU has been assuming roles in Human Resources, administration, management, finance, and logistics, with the help of the rest of the team and the Country Office

III. Key Lessons Learned

UNDP Electoral Advisor oversees three electoral assistance projects: Egypt, Libya and Tunisia

The “Strengthening of the Democratic Process in Egypt” project was signed on November 14, 2011, just a few days ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections. In its nine months of implementation, the project set a real breakthrough both in terms of its capacities to access

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electoral authorities and with regards to the upgrading of national electoral capacities and procedures. The project also noticeably enhanced a more open and internationally orientated mind-frame amongst electoral authorities and stakeholders. In addition, the project benefitted from the technical expertise and vantage point of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) overseeing the three UN supported electoral assistance projects in the region – in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia respectively. The CTA’s regional perspective was instrumental in ensuring the consistency of the UN electoral assistance support in the region and to the identification of best practices that could be derived and replicated from one country to another. This further contributed to document a number of lessons learned and best practices of relevance to UN supported electoral projects, as well as to their potential replication in the future for such endeavors.

Below is a summary of some of the most pertinent lessons learned and best practices identified throughout the projects’ implementation and of potential application to future UN supported electoral assistance projects.

Sensitivity to local particularities and inclusion of national staff in the project management structure With a view to foster national ownership of the project’s outputs, the UN electoral assistance team in Egypt sought to develop a modus operandi that would adequately take into consideration local particularities and sensitivities. It was noted that upon initial discussions with national authorities, the value added of international electoral assistance was not particularly well regarded by Egyptian counterparts. Against this background, the project adopted a low key approach and sought the expertise and support of national staff – a fairly new and unusual feature in electoral assistance projects. The Chief Technical Advisor noted that the inclusion of national staff in the electoral assistance projects in the region proved an effective way of addressing national authorities’ concerns and positively contributed to the projects’ overall ability to develop locally sensitive and accepted strategies.

In Egypt, the electoral team is comparatively small and focused, with a fair mix of national and international experts. Highlighting its relevance and potential contribution to future UN electoral assistance projects, the CTA however underlined the importance of maintaining a fair balance of both national and international staff in such projects, in order to secure relevant expertise and know-how.

In Libya, the electoral assistance project is operating under a joint UNDP/DPA umbrella. The CTA, acting as head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), is supported by two deputies from UNDP and UNSMIL respectively. One of the major constraints faced by the Libyan authorities in the organization of the first democratic elections of the country was the lack of available financial resources to assume the conduct of the electoral operations as per

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agreed schedule. The UN support to Libya proved in that respect critical to ensuring that elections were organized in a timely and credible manner by being able to mobilize resources to cover for both electoral material and equipment in addition to technical expertise and support to the authorities.

Public outreach The UN electoral team in Egypt supported national public outreach efforts through a variety of means, including through close collaboration and partnership with national stakeholders and UN WOMEN. The collaboration with UN WOMEN in that respect proved instrumental in maximizing the impact of public outreach activities by building on the organization’s well-established network with grassroots NGOs operating in the different Egyptian governorates. This is in addition to support and collaboration with international organizations such as the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) with regards to the organization of workshops which aimed to consolidate the national electoral capacities of the Egyptian authorities.

Upgrading of technical capacity The project activities transitioned from rather ad hoc support to the organization of the parliamentary elections to an improved number of standard electoral practices – such as well-codified procedures, better quality of electoral materials, and acceptance of the need for training. In addition to operational support activities, the project insisted on the need to establish proper electoral procedures and trainings for electoral staff. Within that context, the project worked with national electoral authorities in a gradual manner and developed a set of manuals to help build national electoral capacities. This gradual approach proved effective in helping national stakeholders build their technical capacities and operational abilities to assume the organization of the different elections (and their respective stages insofar as the parliamentary elections are concerned), as well as solidify such capacities from one election to the other as exemplified in the recognized improved conduct and organization of the Shoura Council election as compared to the People’s Assembly election, and from the Shoura Council elections to the presidential election.

International exposure and networking The exposure of national electoral authorities to the international community of practice was an entirely new area for the Egyptian electoral partners. With a view to consolidate national capacities in terms of electoral administration, the visits to the various EMBs and participation to international conferences and forums were all instrumental in enhancing the knowledge and expertise of the Egyptian electoral authorities as well as their ability to engage in substantive discussions and dialogues with their peers.

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Building on such achievements, the project team is now putting further emphasis on the need to set up an independent and professional EMB in Egypt to contribute to the sustainability of the country’s electoral administration capacities. This could – overtime - contribute to create a distinctive regional electoral identity and community of practice in the Arab region.

In Tunisia, the electoral assistance project developed an electoral lexicon in the local Tunisian Arabic that proved effective in developing a common understanding of electoral terminology and enabled national authorities and stakeholders to ‘speak the same language’. The lexicon received wide recognition and success, as exemplified by the need to print extra copies than had been earlier anticipated. The Egypt project could contribute to that effort by organizing a regional workshop with attendance from other Arab countries, experts, academia, opinion and decision makers, to initiate the discussions around a standardized electoral glossary (in classical Arabic) to effectively address the problem of terminology observed in the region.

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Annex 1: Contributions by Development Partners (as of 31 December 2012)

Donor contributions in US$ Total

Germany 3,333,333.33

Ireland 333,333.33

Austria 93,333.33

Romania 175,000.00

UNDP 300,000.00

Norway 2,558,853.63

Australia 1,031,814.01

Belgium 968,992.25

Sweden 1,213,040.18

Japan 1,000,000.00

TOTAL 11,007,700.06

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Annex 2: Financial situation (as of 31 December 2012)

Activities Australia Austria Belgium Germany Ireland Japan Norway Romania Sweden UNDP Total

Activity 1: Public outreach and voter information strengthened

41,832 13,369 347,986 6,497 13,333 475,131 64,821 962,969

Activity 2: Technical capacity upgraded

955,925 54,856 763,433 2,985,346 274,803 964,867 2,482,631 38,501 347,266 223,138 9,090,766

Activity 3: Subsequent elections benefit from additional support

5,150 5,150

Activity 4: Access of women and rural dwellers to their citizenship rights

32,700 5,450 201,011 10,900 21,800 32,700 240,439 545,000

Activity 5: Expertise & Advisory Services (PMU)

19,658 4,548 41,132 43,522 47,265 1,579 157,704

Grand Total 1,030,457 93,333 968,992 3,333,332 333,332 1,000,000 2,558,853 38,501 1,110,101 294,688 10,761,589

Remaining Balance

1,357

0

0

1

1

0

0

136,499

102,939

5,312

246,109

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