NDI Fields International Election Delegation for Egyptian Parliamentary Polls

NDI is fielding an international election mission for the Egyptian parliamentary polls scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 28.

Members of the NDI mission will deploy in three teams to coincide with the three rounds of voting that will elect 498 members to Egypt’s lower house of parliament. In total, the Institute will have about 70 people from more than 25 countries, including 13 long-term delegates who have been in the country since early November and who will remain throughout the three rounds of voting and the post-election period.

Leading the first group, which will focus on the Nov. 28 polls, are Sergio Bitar of Chile, president of the Foundation for Democracy and a former senator who has held three ministerial positions; Markus Meckel of Germany, former member of parliament; and Les Campbell of Canada, NDI senior associate and director for the Middle East and North Africa. Others in the delegation include members of parliament Rodaina Al Atti of Jordan and Mo Sochua of Cambodia and former members of parliament Anita Neville of Canada and Jordi Pedret of Spain.

The second group, which will arrive for the Dec. 14 voting, will be led by Robin Carnahan of the United States, the secretary of state of Missouri. Leading the third group, which will focus on the Jan. 3 elections, will be Audrey McLaughlin of Canada, former member of parliament; Eugene Eidenberg of the United States, former secretary of the cabinet and assistant to the president in the Carter administration; Genaro Arriagada of Chile, former government minister, former Chilean ambassador to the U.S. and advisor to a number of international organizations; and Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI.

The purpose of the delegations is to provide an impartial assessment of the electoral process and to demonstrate the interest of the international community in the strengthening of democratic governance in Egypt.

Before they are deployed throughout the regions designated in each election round, members of the delegations will meet in Cairo with representatives of political parties, civic leaders, election officials, representatives of the international community, media and others.

The delegations will conduct their activities in a nonpartisan manner in accordance with Egyptian law. The mission builds on NDI’s 25 years of experience observing more than 200 elections around the world, including in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

NDI began its work in Egypt in 1995, opened an office in Cairo in 2005 and opened satellite offices this year in Alexandria and Assiut. The Institute has been working with dozens of Egyptian political parties and civic groups and women’s and youth organizations as they work to organize and participate in the country’s evolving political process. NDI also is supporting a coalition of domestic election monitoring organizations as they prepare for the parliamentary polls.

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Published Nov. 27, 2011