Weekly Statement
▪The Board of Commissioners (BoC) discusses procedural facilities for voters and candidates in its twelfth (12th ) meeting.
▪The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners follows up the outcomes of the second periodic meeting with the electoral stakeholders.
▪The chief executive officer (CEO) discusses the draft regulations with departments’ directors and divisions’ officials.
▪A member of the Board of Commissioners follows up work-field of the governorate electoral offices (GEOs).
▪IHEC is working on providing the requirements for the upcoming phase in coordination with IFES and UNAMI organizations.
Weekly Statement
The Chairman and members of the Board of Commissioners (BoC) of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Iraq, held their twelfth(12th) meeting on 12/04/2023, to discuss items in the agenda which including awarding establishment permit to the political parties wishing to register, as well as discussing the facilities that the Commission can work on, by including them in the procedures, regulations and instructions for voters, candidates, political parties, and organizations in order to achieve the fairness of the electoral process.
Following the success of the second periodic meeting held recently by IHEC with the electoral stakeholders, which was attended by many representatives of political parties and organizations concerned with the electoral process, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners follows up on the outcomes of this meeting, in order to transform the received observations into ideas, to strengthen and develop the stages of preparation to any future electoral event.
In a related context, the chief executive officer (CEO) discussed, with departments’ directors and technical divisions’ officials: procedures and training, voter register, coordination and field support. With divisions’ officials of (media and electoral relations) divisions. In addition to candidate affairs, drafts of systems, procedures and their technological programs for the upcoming electoral process.
Concerning the formation of committees composed of members of the (BoC), the (CEO), Directors Generals (DGs), and managers of departments; to proceed their inspecting field visits to the (GEOs) and their formations. member of the Board of Commissioners, Judge (Amer Musa Al-Husseini), accompanied by the Director General of the Department of (Political Parties and Organizations). They visit (Baghdad / Rusafa electoral office and its warehouses and a number of registration centers. They also met with the management of the electoral offices and its divisions’ officials to see directly the technical, operational and administrative activities, and to diagnose obstacles which may face the work, and follow up on the registration rates, biometric update, and the flow of work of mobile teams during their visits to update voter data.
On the other hand, the Board of Commissioners continues its joint coordination; to work with the United Nations Electoral Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), as it will communicate with the departments and divisions of the National Office in order to prepare a guide that includes the tasks of the divisions to be published on the official website of IHEC so that the stakeholders, including voters, can find out the answers to their questions and needs.
The efforts of the employees of the (GEOs) and their registration centers are focusing on preparation for the upcoming stage, by coordinating work with stakeholders of government institutions and departments, civil society organizations, and those interested in electoral affairs; to show the importance of concerted efforts in the electoral voters’ education process, and urging them to complete the biometric registration process and receive the electoral cards of those previously registered.
These efforts resulted in the registration of (766.217) voters. while registration centers distributed (1.016.712) cards. About (604.676) cards were distributed for the process private voting to members of security services and armed forces. And (360.896) cards were distributed for the process of public voting. (51.140) cards were distributed for the (IDPs) and migrants in the presence of a number of local observers and agents of political parties.
For those interested in the electoral matter, they could view the (cumulative operational situation) via visiting the official website of IHEC: – https://ihec.iq /biometric-registration/.
In another context, an under the directions the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the importance of work-follow up of the civil defense divisions in the (GEOs), the Manager of the (Civil Defense and Occupational Safety) Department, is following up the work of the divisions in the governorates; to review the mechanism for coordinating work with the civil defense directorates in the governorates, as well as coordination with the (preventive safety committees); to secure the preventive aspects of the safety of the devices and equipment in offices and warehouses, the continuity of charging batteries of the results accelerator devices to be maintained. In addition to following up the maintenance of the verification and transmission devices and sending them with scheduled stops to the Operations and Information Technology Department; to take the necessary measures through positive reports to inform the Board of Commissioners of work requirements.