The Weekly Chronicle May 2 – May 8, 2019

PPP Senior Leadership Meets TDEA-FAFEN’s Management to Discuss Election Observation Reports: In response to the General Election (GE) 2018 observation reports prepared by Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability -- Free and Fair Election Network (TDEA-FAFEN) and shared with key political and electoral stakeholders, former Senators of the People’s Party (PPP), Mr. and Mr. Taj Haider, requested a meeting to discuss the findings and analysis. PPPP politicians came to TDEA Head Office in Islamabad on Saturday, May 4, 2019 to provide feedback and gain greater insight into the reports. Furthermore, they expressed their satisfaction with the in-depth analysis and vowed to acknowledge TDEA- FAFEN’s observation efforts at a press conference they were planning to hold in the near future.

TDEA-FAFEN Requests ECP’s Permission to Observe Elections in Newly Merged Districts of KP: In line with the Elections Act 2017, TDEA-FAFEN submitted a written request to the ECP formally requesting permission to observe the upcoming elections in 16 provincial constituencies in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ECP was informed that TDEA-FAFEN intends to deploy around 1,000 independent citizen observers to observe activities including the opening of polling stations, voting, counting at polling stations and preparation of provisional and consolidation of results at the offices of the Returning Officers. ICT: Letter to ECP to for approval to observe elections in newly merged districts of KP.

Senator Praises TDEA-FAFEN’s Observation of GE-2018: During the reporting week, TDEA-FAFEN received a letter of appreciation from Senator Mian Ateeq expressing his gratitude and acknowledging the efforts to provide a detailed and accurate picture of the elections. The Senator offered his assistance for possible future collaborative endeavors. The letter was a significant motivator that underscores TDEA-FAFEN’s contribution to enhancing citizen oversight of reforming electoral processes in Pakistan.

TDEA-CVP Conducts Post-Award Orientation with Cycle 14 ICT: Letter of acknowledgement sent by Senator Partners: During the reporting week, TDEA-Citizens’ Voice Project Mian Ateeq. (CVP) organized a Post-Award Orientation session for the Executive Directors and Finance Officers of four partner organizations that have been awarded grants to carry out activities under Grants Cycle (GC) 14, whose thematic area is “Citizens’ Education and Mobilization for Women’s Voter Registration and Participation in Electoral Processes”. The day-long session included a series of presentations from different CVP units that provided overviews of the cycle and its requirements, including the Statement of Work, financial and tax reporting as well as monitoring and evaluation and communication requirements, among others relevant topics. Partners’ Senior Management is expected to provide a guiding hand to project staff and ensure GC 14 activities proceed on track.

TDEA-FAFEN Attends Convention of Commission on the Status of Women to Discuss its Work with Women Councilors: On Friday, May 3, 2019, the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women organized a day-long convention on the “Role of Local Councilors in Combating Gender Based Violence at the District Level in Sindh” in and invited TDEA-FAFEN to share its accomplishments relevant to the theme. Ms. Hina Tabassum, Manager Coordination, represented TDEA-FAFEN and spoke about its “Community Leadership Development Program” which Karachi: Convention held by Sindh Commission on the trained 522 local body representatives (LBR) on effectively Status of Women. conducting their duties, and sensitization on gender-based violence (GBV) formed an important component of the training. The trained LBRs were subsequently engaged with communities to raise awareness regarding GBV and their resolution mechanisms. The project also included the formation of District Support Groups for better coordination and redress of GBV issues and resulted in referring up to 49 GBV cases to the relevant departments for medical, legal and material support to survivors of GBV. The presentation was well-received by the participants.

TDEA’s Board of Trustees Holds Networking Dinner in Quetta: As part of its major interactive event with key political and electoral stakeholders of Balochistan, the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA) held a networking dinner at the Serena Hotel in Quetta on May 2, 2019. The objective of the informal get-together was to share TDEA’s achievements in promoting civic engagement for improved governance and to create buy-in from the regional stakeholders for collaborative efforts in the future. The BOT’s Senior Management provided a comprehensive overview of Quetta: Networking dinner of TDEA’s Board of TDEA’s work to date that aims to strengthen legislative Trustees. assemblies (through its Parliamentary Watch project), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP, through its election observation efforts and Women’s Voter Registration Campaign) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA, through its extensive work on the identification of unregistered women across the country). The information-sharing resulted in lively discussions and commitments to facilitate one another’s work. The congenial dinner effectively capped the day-long event, which is expected to be replicated in other provincial capitals after the month of Ramazan.

TDEA-CVP Partners Conduct Coordination Meetings with ECP and NADRA: In the reporting week, Cycle 14 partners conducted three coordination meetings with the local offices of the ECP in two districts, usually the District Election Commissioner (DEC), to discuss various issues related to the smooth implementation of project activities. Objectives included the establishment of an effective coordination mechanism and requesting a letter of recommendation for NADRA to approve Mobile Registration Vehicles (MRV). Moreover, three coordination meetings were carried out with local offices of NADRA, in one case for the purpose of acquiring MRVs during the month of Ramazan. In total, in the reporting week, GC 14 partners carried out three meetings with NADRA in two districts (Lakki Marwat and Shangla) and three meetings with the ECP in two districts, Chitral and Lakki Marwat.

TDEA-CVP Partners Conduct Introductory Meetings with Key Stakeholders: In order to mobilize support for project activities under GC-14, partner organizations conducted a series of meetings with assorted community members and key stakeholders, including religious leaders, local government officials, district administration officials, District Voter Education Committee (DVEC) and political parties. In the reporting week, partners carried out 33 such meetings in seven districts, namely Haripur, Buner, Kurram: Corner meeting conducted by Pak Women. Shangla, Chitral, Kurram, Lakki Marwat and Orakzai. Partners introduced their project to the stakeholders and discussed various other pertinent issues, e.g. sensitization about women’s under-registration, sharing of census block information and solicitation of help in the identification of unregistered women in the targeted communities. These introductory meetings, comprised up to 362 participants (including 83 women), supplement partners’ listing of unregistered women.

TDEA-CVP Partners Continue Efforts to List Unregistered Women: Partner organizations in four districts including Lakki Marwat, Buner, Haripur and Shangla continued listing unregistered women in their target communities. These women were approached with the intercession of local influential individuals and often through direct door-to-door visits; in the reporting week, partners conducted up to 21 listing activities (mostly door-to-door visits). The compiled lists will aid in the ultimate objective of the project, which is to facilitate the same women in the acquisition of their national identity cards (NIC) Lakki Marwat: Door-to-door activity for listing women by Human Development Organization. through NADRA. In the reporting week, GC 14 partners identified 141 unregistered women in Lakki Marwat, 34 in Buner, 160 in Haripur 206 in Shangla through at least 55 door-to-door visits and other activities.

TDEA-CVP Partners Conduct Meetings with ROs: In the reporting week, as part of GC 15 activities, two partner organizations conducted three meetings with Returning Officers (RO) in Khyber (two) and Bajaur (one). The RO is designated by the government to conduct the election in his/her respective constituency, and is an important source of information regarding the details of voters’ lists and polling stations. The partner organizations carried out introductory meetings to introduce the officials to their Bajaur: Integrated Rural Support Program (IRSP) conducting meeting with RO. project and to ask some pertinent queries, which were duly addressed.

TDEA-CVP Partners Meet with District Election Commissioners: As part of GC 15 activities, partner organizations conducted meetings with District Election Commissioners (DEC) of two districts of KP including Bajaur and Khyber. These visits were conducted to learn about the election schedule and clarify other relevant matters regarding the same. Partners have been supplied with a detailed checklist of questions relevant to the subject which they will fill out and submit on the Grants Management Information System (GMIS).

TDEA-CVP Shares FAFEN Election Media Updates with Key Stakeholders: From May 2 to May 8, 2019, TDEA-CVP shared five FAFEN election updates with key electoral stakeholders via email to update them on important electoral and political developments in the country. These updates are prepared on a daily basis after comprehensive scanning of national print media. The aim of this initiative is to consolidate and disseminate analyses of national political and electoral developments. CVP shared five FAFEN Election Media Updates with relevant stakeholders via email.