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Report on the Forum for Electoral

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Report on the Forum for Electoral The Forum for Electoral Management Bodies in the Arab States League of Arab States – United Nations Cairo, 9-11 May 2016 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 I. Introduction Background of the Forum ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Purpose of the Forum .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................7 Forum's Perspective ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................7 Sponsoring Institutions and Participants .........................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Proceedings of the Forum .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Media Coverage ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 II. Welcoming the Forum Address by Deputy Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ambassador Ahmed Benhelli .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................12 Address by the United Nations Director of Electoral Assistance Division Craig Jenness ..................................................14 III. Presentations by Sponsoring Institutions Methodology of the Electoral Affairs Department of the League of Arab States .............................................................................16 The UN framework for Electoral assistance ..........................................................................................................................................................................................18 IV. Conceptual Framework Electoral Administration as a Profession ..............................................................................................................................................................................................21 Electoral Observation: Principles and Practice ........................................................................................................................................................................................29 V. Arab Countries Presentations Basic information on elections in the Arab Region ....................................................................................................................................................................35 VI. Presentations by Regional and International Organizations European Union .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................56 African Union .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................57 Organization of Islamic Cooperation ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................58 Arab Parliament .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................58 Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa .......................................................................................................................................................59 International Foundation for Electoral Systems ...............................................................................................................................................................................61 Arab EMBs Association .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................62 VII. Topics and Discussions International and Regional Cooperation for Elections ................................................................................................................................................................64 Electoral Observation .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65 IT and Electronic Voting ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................67 Women’s Participation and Representation .......................................................................................................................................................................................68 The EMB and Electoral Operations ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................69 Voter Registration ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................70 Capacity Building .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 71 Electoral Dispute Resolution ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................72 Overall Assessment of the Forum ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................72 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS VIII. Closing Messages Address by Assistant Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................74 Address by UNDP Director of Regional Hub for Arab States Dr. Khaled Abdel Shafy ..........................................................75 References .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................77 Annexes 1. Agenda 2. Press release and summary of press coverage 3. Country reports submitted by the EMBs from different countries 5 FOREWORD Building on the successful partnership between the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations (UN), the LAS organized, with the support of the UN, the ‘Forum for Electoral Management Bodies in the Arab States’ at its headquarters in Cairo from 9 to 11 May 2016. This first of its kind event, brought together officials and representatives of electoral management bodies (EMBs) in the Arab states, in addition to participants from leading regional and international organizations in the field of elections, all of whom contributed to the success of the Forum. The event was a partnership between the League of Arab States, the United Nations
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