The Weekly Chronicle June 20 – June 26, 2019

ECP Accedes to FAFEN’s Request for Observation of Elections in NMDs: The Election Commission of (ECP) allowed Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) to observe the upcoming election in Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of (KP) on July 20, 2019. FAFEN will deploy 1,000 trained, non-partisan citizens to observe the polling and counting processes during elections on 16 provincial assembly seats. The ECP has directed the Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) to ensure timely issuance of accreditation cards to FAFEN observers. The PEC sought credentials of all the profiled observers from Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA)-FAFEN ICT: ECP’s approval letter for issuance of accreditation cards to TDEA-FAFEN observers for in Islamabad. tribal districts election.

TDEA-CVP Partners Inform Key Stakeholders about Importance of Women NIC and Voter Registration: In order to highlight the need for Women National Identity Card (NIC) and their Vote Registration, TDEA-CVP partner organizations held a series of meetings and public forums with relevant stakeholders including teachers, religious leaders, local government and district government officials, elders of the community, and representatives of the civil society. The public forums were held in Orakzai, Kurram and Battagram districts, while 71 meetings Manjiwala: Introductory meeting being conducted with representatives of the Local Government. were conducted in Lakki Marwat, Kurram, Orakzai, Kohistan, Swabi, Battagram, Abbottabad, Karak, Buner, Khyber, Chitral and Charssada districts. A total of 950 participants including 203 women took part in these meetings.

TDEA-CVP Partners Continue Efforts to List Unregistered Women: TDEA-CVP partner organizations continued the listing of unregistered women in their target communities of Lakki Marwat, Kurram, Orakzai, Shangla, South Waziristan, Kohistan, Swabi, Battagram, Abbottabad, Karak and Buner districts. The eligible-age women were approached through door-to-door visits with the assistance of local community members. Partner organizations were also able to conduct 104 listing activities in Chandu Khel: More than 65 unregistered women their areas of work during the reporting week. The partners also being facilitated at MRV for NIC registration. facilitated 572 women at NADRA’s Registration Centers (NRCs) and Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) in Lakki Marwat, Shangla, Haripur, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Chitral and Mohmand districts.

TDEA-CVP Partners Conduct Coordination Meetings with ECP and NADRA: During the reporting week, TDEA-CVP partner organizations conducted four coordination meetings with NADRA officials in Orakzai, Kurram, Battagram, Abbottabad, Khyber, Bajaur and Charssada districts for facilitation of un- registered women. Officials ensured that NADRA will provide MRV in Charssada to facilitate unregistered women from July 1, 2019. Meanwhile, partner organizations also conducted six meetings with District Election Commissioners (DECs) and other Coordination meeting with District Nazim in Lakki Marwat. election officials in Kurram, Orakzai, Bajaur, Battagram and Charssada districts and discussed coordination mechanism for smooth implementation of the project activities. The ECP officials were also invited to attend public forum meeting in . ECP Charssada official gave details of new census blocs where nearly 80 women are yet to be registered.

TDEA-CVP Engages with Political Parties and Citizens for Pre- Election Observation in NMDs: During the reporting week, TDEA- CVP partner organizations conducted interviews with the citizens in Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and ex- to get information about election campaigns and implementation of Code of Conduct in the newly-merged districts of KP. The Constituency Coordinators (CCs) also interviewed eight candidates and their election agents in Khyber, Kurram, Bajaur and South Bajaur: A view of the political gathering in Waziristan districts and asked them questions related to the connection with July 20 tribal districts’ election. election campaign and the conducive environment provided to them to contest the upcoming election in KP tribal districts. The partner organizations also observed political gatherings in North Waziristan, Bajaur, ex- Frontier Regions and Kurram districts and arranged meetings with the contesting candidates. Interviews were also conducted with the citizens to assess the accessibility of polling stations in Mohmand district.

TDEA-CVP Shares FAFEN Election Media Updates with Key Stakeholders: From June 20 to June 26, 2019, TDEA-CVP shared five FAFEN Election News Updates with key electoral stakeholders via email to update them on key electoral and political developments in the country. The election updates are prepared on a daily basis after comprehensive scanning of main English and newspapers. The initiative is aimed at providing analyses on political and electoral developments of Pakistan. CVP shared five FAFEN Election News Updates with relevant stakeholders