NDI announced the Oct. 18 arrival of its international observer delegation for Tunisia’s Oct. 23 constituent assembly elections.

The Institute is fielding 49 accredited observers from 17 countries who will deploy throughout Tunisia on election day. The mission’s objective is to observe impartially every aspect of the election process - including the campaign, the casting and counting of ballots on election day, and the post-election period. The delegation will issue a preliminary statement of its findings during a news conference Oct. 24.

The delegation is co-led by Alejandro Toledo, former president of Peru; Jorge Fernando Quiroga, former president of Bolivia; Jane Harman, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center and former U.S. congresswoman from California; Marwan Muasher, vice president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former minister of foreign affairs in Jordan; Ana Gomes, member of the European Parliament from Portugal; and Leslie Campbell, NDI regional director for Middle East and North Africa programs.

The group includes two long-term observers who have worked across the country since Sept. 26 monitoring the pre-electoral environment and campaign period.

During the mission, delegation members will meet with senior government and election officials, political party representatives, candidates, citizen election monitors, civil society leaders and media.

The Oct. 23 vote marks the first competitive poll in the country’s history and a significant milestone in the political transition following the overthrow in January of long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The principal role of the constituent assembly will be to write the country’s new constitution.

NDI’s election observation will be carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, which is endorsed by 36 intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and was launched at the United Nations in 2005. The mission builds on NDI’s 25 years of experience observing more than 200 elections around the world including delegations in Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

Last February, NDI began conducting political party and civil society strengthening programs, as well as public opinion research in Tunisia, building on work with Tunisian democracy activists since 2000. The Institute also supports political party pollwatching training and citizen election observation and voter education initiatives.

The Institute’s election observation mission in Tunisia is funded through a grant from the United States Agency for International Development.

Related:

• Tunisians Want Politicians to Address Jobs, Security as First Democratic Elections Approach»
• Opinion research shows Tunisians concerned about the future»
• Focus groups in Tunisia reveal young people’s hopes for democratic transition»
• Tunisian political parties learn from transition experiences of other democracies»

Published Oct. 18, 2011